Court Hearing For Activists Who Occupied Housing Development in Auckland

In March this year, four activists occupied a private housing development in Glen Innes. The activists were arrested on charges of being unlawfully in a building and committing wilful damage. Their case is going to a judge-alone trial today at 9:30am in Auckland’s District Court.

The activists occupied a property scheduled for an open home that day, in order to make a statement regarding the gentrification of Glen Innes and the selling off of state housing.

“The house that we occupied was one of many private houses being built on previously state- and council-owned land. Developers are making profit, while state housing tenants are being displaced,” says spokesperson Vanessa Cole.

“The particular private housing development that we occupied was only a part of a larger state-led project of gentrification which has been going on for years in Glen Innes.”

According to QV.co.nz, land value in Glen Innes has increased from $400,000 to over $800,000 since 2010. The activists believe that this is a result of the gentrification process. This process has been led by public-private partnerships between the state and both Creating Communities and the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company, which operate in different areas in Glen Innes.

“Glen Innes land values have skyrocketed since this process of gentrification began. This means that the idea that the private housing redevelopment is better for everyone, and that everyone will have a right to return, is simply not true,” says Cole.

According to the activists, this is because low-income families and state housing tenants are being forced out of the community by rising land values. The activists believe that despite Creating Communities’ name, its project is in fact displacing low-income communities in order to create more space for the wealthy.

“Glen Innes is a state housing community and is home to many low-income tenants. It is not a company which can be sold off for the profit of a few.”

ENDS

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