[Greens-Media] Community made homeless

[Manderson, Roland]

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ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey MEDIA RELEASE
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10 May 06



Koomarri and Government make community homeless

ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has called for the ACT Government to ensure the Narrabundah Long Stay Caravan Park continues to provide a home for its residents, or ensures a new park is built to accommodate them.  Dr Foskey has laid the blame for the eviction of a whole community living at the Park at the feet of the previous owners, Koomarri, and the ACT Government.

"Around two hundred people have just received eviction notices, and are about to lose their homes, and their community, at a time when Canberra faces a shocking shortage of public and affordable housing" Dr Foskey said today.

"That is the direct consequence of the ACT Government giving away the Narrabundah Caravan Park to Koomarri Society in the first instance, and then doing nothing to protect it when Koomarri announced it would sell the Park rather than hand it back."

"When I called on the Planning Minister in February to protect the Park as a site for secure and affordable housing, he replied he would simply wait and see."

"That has proved to be a cruel and inadequate response to a housing catastrophe which was clear and imminent at the time. 200 hundred people have been betrayed by the ACT Government and a business masquerading as a caring community organisation."

"The ACT Government has made sympathetic noises but done nothing. It needs now to ensure the new owners withdraw the evictions and run the park as a site for secure affordable accommodation, or set up a new park which is secure, affordable and convenient" Dr Foskey said.


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Roland Manderson   Media Advisor
ACT   Greens    MLA  Deb  Foskey  
Legislative Assembly for the ACT 
ph(02)62050551      m 0412241379
==== www.act.greens.org.au ===== 
  
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