Government fiddles while seniors & disabled continue to be shut out of housing

Seniors and disabled are paying the price for Spring Street and local councils’ obsession with overdevelopment said Fawkner Residents Association (FRA) spokesperson Mr Joe Perri. 

Commenting further Joe Perri said, “This was rammed home last month when Moreland Council set a new low and precedent for Fawkner by approving the construction of six triple storey units on a single block at 110 Jukes Road that also included the waiver of statutory carparking requirements”. 

For the Residents Association, the most disappointing aspect of Council’s approval for the project was the revelation that the “standard” for housing accessibility is the ability for a senior or disabled person to get their walking frame or wheelchair through the entry of a multi-storey building in order to be deemed “acceptable”.

Joe Perri continued, “Time and again, the growing tally of similar projects by commercial developers that are coming to Fawkner that do not meet the Liveable Housing Design gold and platinum level guidelines has been pointed out to Moreland.

“Instead, Council preferred to ignore the appeals, objections and protests highlighting the reality that seniors and the mobility challenged are being deliberately deprived of access to housing suitable for their needs. 

“In doing so, it makes a mockery of Moreland Council’s own policies of inclusivity and non-discrimination”.

Out of sight out of mind has been the preferred approach to this matter by the state government and local council. 

Is it any wonder that seniors and disabled feel abandoned by councillors, politicians and government when council applies abysmally low accessibility standards for housing? 

A reality that will not be addressed in the near future as reflected in the lack of urgency contained in the narrative of the recent Building Ministers’ Meeting: Communique April 2021.   

Joe Perri concluded, “The ability of seniors and disabled to live normal lives in overdevelopment obsessed Melbourne and inner-city municipalities like Moreland is becoming a significant challenge. 

“Forced to live lives shut indoors because of age and disability, the elderly and disabled now find themselves shut out of access to housing as well”.

Issued by the Fawkner Residents Association

Media enquiries:      Mr. Joe Perri

                                    Mobile:  +61 412 112 545    Email:  jperri@joeperri.com.au