Residents in the over-55s public housing block of 150 Inkerman Street, St Kilda, have taken pest control into their own hands. In the face of negligence by the ALP State Government and its agency, Homes Victoria, elderly residents are organising a campaign against bed bugs, cockroaches and mice. They plan to bill the government for the trouble.
Residents in their 8th and 9th decades have kitted out in hazmat suits and are helping neglected neighbours with cockroach spray, sealant, and mouse traps. They will be charging Homes Victoria for all materials and labour time.
The elected residents committee for 150 Inkerman Street sent a letter to Homes Victoria on June 3 demanding a systematic, time-lined plan of action on bug infestations. The agency stonewalled their request.
‘If the ALP-led Homes Victoria responded to our reports of infestations and issues with maintenance, this building would be a fine place to live,’ says Tom Cooper, chair of the residents committee. ‘There have been years of neglect, and so we have to get togged up and take matters into our own hands to help our fellow residents. We’re going to bill the department for all of this.’
The residents committee has also submitted letters of complaint regarding the situation to the Health Complaints Commissioner, Victorian Health Department, and Victorian Ombudsman.
In its June letter, the committee also demanded a 24/7 security team after numerous acts of intimidation and damage to the communal areas by outsiders. Homes Victoria conceded to this demand without ever formally acknowledging the letter.
The ALP State Government is currently trying to displace all 109 residents from 150 Inkerman Street, and the tenants have been organising a campaign to save their community as part of the 44 Flats United organisation.
‘Homes Victoria and the ALP are completely ignoring our complaints, or if they act, they don’t do it properly,’ says Leika Chlaen, an elected resident representative of the sizeable Russian-speaking community at 150 Inkerman Street. ‘They think that because we’re old, they can treat us however they want. They are deeply mistaken.’
Residents traverse the building in hazmat suits.