Judge may force release of secret documents detailing decision to raze Melbourne housing towers

Secret documents detailing the decision to raze Melbourne’s public housing towers may be released to the public after a judge refuted the Victorian government’s argument they should stay locked under cabinet privilege.

Meanwhile, the public housing tenant leading the class action lawsuit against the state has hit back at Premier Jacinta Allan – who described the tenants as “a small group backed by the Greens” – calling her comments “shameful”.

Public housing tenants enter court led by lead plaintiff Barry Berih.Credit: Jason South

North Melbourne public housing tenant Barry Berih is leading the class action on behalf of 479 households in the three of the first five public housing towers to be demolished and rebuilt. Just five households from three towers in Flemington and North Melbourne opted out of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is technically complex and argues the government failed to properly consider the human rights of residents when it decided it would demolish the towers. It also argues that other alternatives – including retrofitting the towers – were not considered.

On Monday, the court heard the proposal for the redevelopment of all 44 towers over a 30-year period came from Homes Victoria and went to cabinet for approval, and that it was Homes Victoria CEO Simon Newport’s opinion that the towers were beyond refurbishment.

Premier Jacinta Allan (right) and Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny.Credit: Jason South

Newport, who was cross-examined on Monday, said his belief was based on technical reports, which the state government has shielded under cabinet privilege.

Justice Melinda Richards said it was “really very unfortunate that the actual substance of that decision-making has not been made public”, with lawyers to thrash out whether they can be made public on Tuesday.

“I don’t want to know cabinet’s reasons [for demolishing the towers], I want to know Homes Victoria’s reasons,” she told the government’s barristers.

CEO of Homes Victoria Simon Newport arrives at the Supreme Court on Monday.Credit: Jason South

Tenants were informed of the plan after then-premier Daniel Andrews announced it in a press conference in September last year.

Allan described the lawsuit on Monday as “a small number of people … backed by the Greens political party, who have demonstrated that they don’t want particularly vulnerable Victorians to have the dignity of a new modern home”.

The trial coincides with a major suite of housing reform announcements from the state government which began last week.

When asked about the tenants’ human rights claims, the premier said: “I think it’s an important right … to have a modern roof over your head.”

Outside the Supreme Court, Berih said the comments from Allan were “really, really shameful and unrespectable”.

“Many people have been there for many, many years in those buildings, it’s their home. They grew up together,” he said.

The view from one of North Melbourne’s public housing towers.Credit: Scott McNaughton

The courtroom’s public gallery was full on Monday, with up to 50 public housing residents and supporters in the room.

The government has already signed a $100 million contract with John Holland for the demolition of the first tranche of towers, expected to happen late next year.

About 50 per cent of households in the three towers have already moved out or been matched with a new property, according to Newport.

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