NSW Greens human rights bill includes a right to housing |
The ACT Supreme Court ruled in favour of three public housing tenants living on Ngunnawal land on January 31. They claimed their rights were breached when a program seeking to redevelop and expand such housing sought to evict and move them to another property.
If Greens MP Jenny Leong has her way, tenants in New South Wales may soon be protected.
Justice Verity McWilliam found that the three Canberra tenants were denied their basic human rights and procedural fairness, under the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT).
Yvette Van Loo, one of the tenants who is in her mid-70s, was asked to vacate in 2022, after living in her home of 40 years. After this ruling, the three tenants have been allowed to remain in their public housing homes.
The ruling set a precedent for ACT public housing tenants and renters. It recognised that the ACT public housing units were, in fact, constituents’ homes.
Public housing tenants in NSW do not have the same protections. However, this is set to change if Leong’s Human Rights Bill 2025, which was tabled in last October, is enacted.
The bill scheduled for debate in early March contains a right to housing. Leong has long been campaigning for more robust tenants’ rights; she led the push for a no-grounds eviction law, which was passed in 2024.
Leong told Sydney Criminal Lawyers that the ACT judgment “shows that a Human Rights Act is far from symbolic: it is an effective tool that people can use to get justice and fairness when public........