The groundwork is being laid for a large attack on NSW public housing. The state government’s “Social Housing in NSW” discussion paper, released in November, outlines a series of measures that would cut costs and leave tenants out in the cold.

The government hopes to lessen demand by making people “transition out of social housing”, dumping them on the private rental market, where 78 percent of low income households suffer housing stress and more than 40 percent spend half their income on rent.

Punitive measures against tenants look likely to increase: the discussion paper favourably cites schemes that make evictions easier. Already, tenants are subject to a “bedroom tax” that pressures them to shift to smaller homes.

Eager to ditch its responsibilities, the government is also courting the private sector. Public-private partnerships have replaced public housing in many cities overseas; the paper gives these initiatives the nod. The “increased involvement of the non-government and private sectors” will mean tenants’ rights will play second fiddle to investors’ returns.

Almost 300,000 people rely on the public housing system across the state. Another 60,000 sit on a waiting list that is expected to balloon to almost 90,000 in a few years. Waiting times in Sydney often are beyond a decade. Just how far short the system falls is illustrated by Housing NSW’s own modelling, which estimates a further 133,000 households would be eligible for public housing if they applied.

While the public housing system is stretched to its limits, the housing department has been busy selling up. Six thousand homes have been bulldozed or sold in the last four years. In Campbelltown alone, 1,400 homes have disappeared despite an increase in demand. One of the most vicious sell-offs, at Millers Point, is being fought by a public campaign.

With public housing at breaking point in NSW and a state government determined to degrade it further, it’s up to tenants and their supporters to defend the right to housing.