January 2015 - The Sydney Morning Herald
Millers Point residents fear that their diminishing community may force the closure of the church. Photo: Dean Sewell
Worshippers at the historic St Brigid's church at Millers Point say the Baird government's decision to relocate about 600 public housing tenants and sell their homes has decimated numbers at Sunday morning mass. They fear for the future of the 180-year-old institution.
"I've been a parishioner there for 45 years. Our numbers have depleted … it's very sad," said Dawn Caruana, a Millers Point public housing tenant.
The sandstone church in Kent Street has hosted Caruana family christenings, confirmations and weddings, and the funerals of Ms Caruana's husband and young son who were killed in a car accident in 1979.
Ms Caruana, 69, said the church community kept her afloat after the tragedy.
"They rallied around and babysat, did the cooking, washing and cleaning on a roster – it was like one big family. And it went on for months," she said.
"I would be devastated [to move away from the church]. I don't know how I'd cope."
St Brigid's was completed in 1835, and is the oldest surviving place of Catholic worship in Australasia.
When the plague broke out at Millers Point in 1900, the government resumed and demolished much of the suburb, but St Brigid's survived.
Parishioner Kelli Haynes owns a home in the area and has attended the church for more than a decade. She said up to 50 people once attended Sunday mass, but it now attracts fewer than 20.
When contacted by Fairfax Media last month, the church rejected suggestions it might close its doors. However Ms Haynes feared the closure was inevitable, or that services would become less frequent.
A broader decline in church attendance may have contributed to falling numbers, but the drop had been most marked since relocations began, Ms Haynes said, adding that even if new residents joined the church, the congregation was losing "its relationships, its history".
The government says proceeds from the sale of 293 properties at Millers Point and the Rocks will be reinvested into the social housing system. But it has failed to explain exactly how the money, expected to top $500 million, will be spent.
The Department of Family and Community Services did not respond when asked how many Millers Point residents have been relocated so far.
Meanwhile, the NSW Ombudsman has asked the department to improve its dealings with Millers Point residents after an investigation found its relocation practices wanting.
The Redfern Legal Centre had complained that NSW Housing was not properly informing tenants of their right to an appeal in the event that alternative housing offers were rejected and their tenancy was being terminated.
Some residents have refused department requests for relocation interviews. The Centre alleged Housing NSW was coercing tenants by arranging property inspections – which tenants cannot legally refuse – then conducting relocation interviews during the inspection.
The Ombudsman told Housing NSW to include appeal rights information in its statements to tenants, and to cease attempts to combine relocation interviews with inspections.
A department spokesman said the Ombudsman noted there was no implication of wrongdoing by the agency or its staff. He said a leaflet explaining tenants' right of review was sent in the same envelope as relocation statements.
Redfern Legal Centre tenant advocate Martin Barker said many Millers Point residents were ill or elderly, and to "try and force your way into their house isn't a reasonable way of approaching [a discussion about] their housing needs."
Nicole Hasham, State Politics reporter
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