All 44 of Melbourne's public housing towers are set to be demolished -- as part of a massive overhaul to tackle Victoria's crippling housing shortage. The state government says the buildings will be replaced with improved accommodation.
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00:00 Some tenants in the public housing towers, like the ones behind me, say they're shocked
00:06 and disappointed by the State Government's decision to knock down these towers and rebuild
00:11 them. And they say that the way in which the Government went about making this announcement
00:16 has led to real fear and confusion. The ABC has been told that officials were door knocking
00:22 people in these towers and handing out pamphlets only after the public announcement had already
00:28 been made. And one resident over in the North Melbourne Tower, which is one of the first
00:33 that is going to be demolished and rebuilt within the next eight years, says that his
00:37 phone blew up after this announcement with dozens of calls and text messages from his
00:43 neighbours who are in a real sense of panic as to exactly what was going to happen to
00:47 their homes. Now the Andrews Government says that this is necessary and it's all part of
00:53 its very ambitious plan to build 80,000 homes every year over the next decade. And it says
01:00 that by knocking down and rebuilding these housing towers, it will actually triple the
01:06 capacity allowing 30,000 people to live here by the time that all 44 are demolished and
01:13 rebuilt in 2051. The Victorian Council of Social Services says while it is needed to
01:20 have much more public housing, there needs to be genuine ongoing engagement with the
01:25 community and they need to be consulted in all steps of the process so that they feel
01:30 supported and empowered. And it also says that all of these tenants should have the
01:36 right to return to their original location.
01:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]