Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 27 January I attended a very sad event at the Sirius building in Millers Point, when the last resident, Myra Demetriou, moved out. This was a very sad ending to the Save Our Sirius campaign, where the local community and people from all over Sydney and New South Wales fought to save this iconic building that is being sold off by the New South Wales state government.

Sirius was built in the 1970s in response to a very strong community campaign against the then government's proposal to knock down historic buildings across The Rocks and Millers Point and replace them with high-rise towers. The Sirius building was supported by the green bans, and it would not have been built except for community and union activism at the time. It was designated by the National Trust in 2014 for its architectural and social significance. Nevertheless, the New South Wales Liberal government has continued with its plan to sell off this iconic building, this icon of brutalist architecture, that has housed working-class people, families and individuals since it was built.

I want to particularly note the role of the union movement in the initial building of this building, the green bans that protected The Rocks at Millers Point from destruction decades ago and the continuing involvement of particularly the MUA and the CFMEU in protecting local residents, decade after decade, from the attempts by state governments to move them out. Millers Point has a proud industrial and maritime history, and unions have worked very hard to defend that legacy. It wasn't just the union movement that was involved in the Save our Sirius campaign. It was so many people from so many walks of life. A recently published book, Sirius: the book, shares this story. I particularly want to mention Barney Gardner, Shaun Carter and John Dunn for their incredible work and for standing up for the people of Millers Point and The Rocks.

Many residents had lived in the building for decades. Residents such as Flo Seckold and Chris Hinkley spoke so movingly about what it meant to them to lose their homes. In particular, I want to mention Myra Demetriou. Myra first moved to Millers Point in 1959. She is 91 years old, legally blind and has been forced out of the home that she knows, the home that she is familiar with. It is a shocking thing to see this community broken up in the way that it has been. Iconic buildings like Sirius, that aren't just known for their architecture but for the role they've played in society, will be lost. (Time expired)