Photography from Fairfax (this page and opposite: tree removal and digger), Alamy (protest marches), Jean-Paul Horré (PFL protest).

INSIDER HG

AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN| 67

F

or more than two decades, Van Ngo, 68, lived with his

wife and two sons at St Peters in Sydney’s inner west.

One afternoon in early December last year, a police squad

was called to Ngo’s home following a confrontation

with Roads and Maritime Services as they attempted to

serve the family with an eviction notice. Ngo was arrested,

allegedly to “avoid a breach of the peace”. After being released

later that day, he returned to the property, where he was rearrested

and charged with property damage and

entering a premises – his own home – without

a lawful excuse. For this, Ngo spent a week

in prison. What had gone so wrong that an

otherwise peaceful man with no prior

criminal record could be arrested and

prosecuted for entering his own home?

Ngo’s reaction is emblematic of the

emotional experience of hundreds of people

being evicted from their homes – in this case

for the NSW government’s $16.8 billion

WestConnex motorway project that is

intended to ease traffic congestion in

Sydney’s west. More broadly, Ngo’s anger

reflects the rapid and unsettling change

occurring across many suburbs in Australia.

These changes may be varied in nature, but

the deep frustrations and overwhelming sense of dislocation

and disempowerment in communities is widely shared. If we

value our architectural heritage, it is argued, what sense does

it make if more than 50 Federation homes in the ‘garden suburb’

of Haberfield are demolished for a tunnel pushing motorists

into a traffic clog closer to the city? What is the point of cherishing

century-old trees along Sydney’s Anzac Parade if they can be so

easily cut down to make way for a light-rail line to Randwick?

Is it any wonder that long-time residents berate state governments

and local councils for poor planning decisions when a modest

semi-detached house is allowed to be dwarfed by a four-storey

unit block that’s slotted in next door?

One of the more bizarre media reports in February was the

case of an elderly couple who were set to be evicted from their

home of 40 years. Sydney’s Georges River Council wanted to

resume, or take possession of, the property so it could demolish

the house for a car-park extension. The

couple, aged 88 and 77, has asked to stay in

their home for the rest of their lives, or until

they can no longer live independently. But

in this case, civic urgency seems to be

overriding compassion.

Fast population growth in Australia’s big

cities, where most of the nation lives, and a

shortage of accommodation are the forces

driving rapid change – and personal upheaval.

State governments are under increased

pressure to rezone land for high-density

living, and to create new roads and

infrastructure that service the expansion.

In large part, the rush for action now is the

legacy of a lack of foresight and tough

decision-making in the past. Former NSW

Premier Mike Baird, who abruptly resigned in January after less

than three years in the job, was accused of acting too quickly,

often without consultation. Baird was seen to be in too much of

a hurry as he made up ground in the interests of the modernisation

of Sydney and NSW. Yet his perceived steamroller approach,

lacking full explanation and even branded dictatorial at times,

only added to the anger in suburban communities as people felt

their concerns were ignored for the juggernaut of progress.>

Australia’s urban landscape is undergoing an unprecedented

period of change, and emotions run high when the family home

lies in the path of progress, writesBrad Norington.

Changing

SUBURBS

In our fast-growing cities, there is widespread anger as infrastructure programs and rezoning encroach on established neighbourhoods and green space,

leading to passionate protests against Sydney’s WestConnex motorway, the removal of 100-year-old trees for light rail, and Perth’s Freight Link project.