|
The Castle Mk II
This
is a script that appears to be similar to The Castle movie. However at
this moment, it is more of a tragedy than a comedy. Unfortunately there
is nothing “that is going straight to the pool room,” in this tragedy.
It
is taking place at the Parkview Village in Waitara, where the residents
were informed in mid 2014 that the village would be demolished by the
owner, Vasey Housing Association, and replaced by a $47m 12 story
building containing 117 units. This was the start of a drive to get all
residents to vacate the buildings. They were successful in that there
are only two residents left, Richard Best and Stephen Baume.
At
a Tribunal on the 9 June, Mr David Elkins the CEO of Vasey, has engaged
one of Australia’s largest law firms to terminate the lifetime resident
contract and evict Richard and Stephen, who will then be homeless.
Richard
and Stephen are the only two souls left in the village that housed 55
residents. There was a lot of pressure on the residents to leave, which
included bullying by way of a threat. At a budget meeting in late 2015,
the residents were informed that due to the closure of the village,
there would be an increase of $500 per quarter in their charges for
residents remaining in the village. The oldest person to leave
was a 92 year old lady; a terrible age to be forced to leave her home,
friends, doctors and other support systems she had relied on for years.
Richard
and Stephen are in their seventies and have lived there for 7 and 10
years respectively. They had been told that they had lifelong leases and
could stay there until they died!
Have
they been too demanding in their negotiations, which have caused this
impasse? All they are asking for is like accommodation, but it must be
in close proximity to where they are staying. They chose this village
because it was ideally suited for their needs. Richard grew up and lived
in this area for most of his life. There are extensive medical
facilities close at hand with a variety of specialist doctors in the
fields of oncology, cardiology which are needed. They have been using
these services for years and would not like to change any of this, at
this stage of their lives.
They
do not want to change homes but if they have to, it is essential that
they do not change their local environment and support systems.
Walking around this deserted village without knowing if or when this
matter will be resolved is extremely stressful and is potentially
damaging to the health of a senior citizen. The anxiety caused has
manifested itself in changes to their normal sleep patterns.
Richard and Stephen have been engaged for almost a year in fighting their cause, mostly on their own.
However, as a result of the Tribunal proceedings to evict them, the
RVRA (Retirement Village Residents Association) has started this
petition on their behalf. Peter Hill, Hill & Co Lawyers, the RVRA
honorary solicitor has agreed to defend these disadvantaged residents in
this case, on a pro bono basis.
This is a very worthy cause, which we hope you will support by voting for this petition.
Your one vote could easily turn to three, if you share this with two friends. Please do so;
it makes an enormous difference to how soon we will be able to present
the petition to the CEO of the Vasey Housing Association.
Thank you for your support!
|
No comments:
Post a Comment