City Limits

Kevin gives us the weekly roundup of news from the industrial action up north to the inaction of the Minister for the Environment. Jack and Shane take us through the upcoming events and ongoing developments in public housing.

Kevin brings us the news roundup with his usual appreciation of the contradictions in the system -- from birthday parties, to city closures, to data centres and more.Public Transport expert, John McPherson, contemplates the fuel crisis, electrification, and Victoria's free public transport. MusicStoney End (1971) by Barbra Streisand

Kevin brings us the news of the week from A.I. to the Avalon Airshow to the shopping habits of Australia's central bank governor.Kevin then speaks with David Sweeney, anti-nuclear campaigner with the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Kevin brings us the news with his usual appreciation of the absurd - from AI and water usage, to the health benefits of Arnott's bikkies.Public Transport expert, John McPherson, contemplates the new metro tunnel in Melbourne, and Victoria's complex ticketing system.

Kevin provides his unique take on the news of the day. What does Australia's highest earning CEO, Australia's owner of the largest agricultural holdings, and the most disappointed past Labor premier all have in common? They are all women.We speak with Kate Shaw about the amazing array of speakers at the public housing forum: ENOUGH! Standing together for Victoria’s public housing held at The Capitol theatre on Thursday, October 23, 2025.Why are we set on demolishing the towers when it is more efficient, more humane, and more environmentally friendly to follow international practice, and retro-fit them?!

Kevin puts his own twist on the anniversary of the Dismissal.As ever Helen van den Berg is a font of information about how we could all be better stewards of that most precious resource - water! More information: Maribyrnong River and Waterways Association (MRWA) a community-based organisation that advocates for the health of rivers and creeks in the Maribyrnong catchment.

Speaking with Julia Stockigt from Save Westernport about yet another development proposal the local community demands to see ethically and safely executed: this time a Windfarm Terminal proposed by the Port of Hastings on behalf of Victorian Government.Julis discusses the proposed dredging of Western Port (Bay) to facilitate passage of large ships with turbines and pylons twice as tall as the MCG towers, to make way for an offshore wind energy project.Building this shipping channel will disturb the marine environment and rare species in water and on land, in this internationally recognised RAMSAR site of significance.

Kevin and Zeb get the latest updates on our waterways from Friends of Steele Creek's Helen van den Berg.

Public Housing Rally details: Saturday August 2nd 2025, 11am - 1pm at the State Library.The Victorian Labor Government plans to demolish and privatize public housing and sell off public land to private developers.Over 10,000 residents are set to be displaced, and 6,660 homes are set to be demolished.

We chat with regular guest John McPherson about Naarm/Melbourne's public transport planning woes. John provides sage advice to build infrastructure for the timetable you need - not the other way round!Find out more about the Sydney Road Accessible Tram Stops Campaign: https://www.facebook.com/SATScampaign/

We catch up with our regular housing guests for their view on the recent election and Victorian State Budget.

Kevin and Zeb catch up with John to talk all things transport in and around Naarm.A new accessible transport rally will be held on Saturday 10/05 at 10am at the Brunswick Rd/Sydney Rd tram stop, demanding all tram stops be made accessible. Come along!

Kevin and Zeb interview Jessica Harrison, presenter on Breadline (Mondays 6:00pm to 6:30pm - https://www.3cr.org.au/breadline) and long-standing activist in Gippsland.

Kevin and Zeb interview Nasser Mashni, president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) and presenter on 3CR's Palestine Remembered (9.30am on Saturdays).The next Free Palestine rallies coming up are a snap action on Friday 28th 5.30pm at Parliament House and on April 13 12pm at the State Library.We also hear an audio clip from the Tuesday Brekkie show: Juliette interviews Cath Rouse from the 'NO Northern Incinerator Wollert' Campaign about some of the background and updates with what's happening in the north of the city.

Web Forum on the risks of nuclear to Far North Queensland, Wed 12/03/25 6.30pm AEST, 7.30pm Melbourne time: https://www.foefnq.org.au/the_risks_of_nuclear_for_fnq_forum?splash=1 Check out interactive mapping showing how a Fukushima-scale nuclear disaster could contaminate different areas depending on proposed reactor sites by the Liberals:https://nuclearplume.au/

This week Kevin goes on holiday and Karina and Zeb go rogue and drink coffee instead of tea! We interview socialist activist Dimitri Tafidis regarding the train disaster in Tempi, Greece 2 years ago which claimed 57 lives, and the general strike that is planned in Greece on the anniversary of this terrible collision.'Greece remains gripped by unanswered questions, systemic failures and institutional malpractice.' Details of the rally at the consulate: https://happeningnext.com/event/justice-for-the-victims-of-tempi-eid3a0c8kffmeRally to fight for tunnel filters on West Gate Tunnel: Organised by the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group (MTAG) the ‘Clean our air – filter the stacks’ rally will take place at Yarraville Gardens on Sunday, March 2 11am-12pm, calling to have filtration devices installed in the tunnel’s ventilation stacks which are currently under construction.

Kevin and Zeb are joined by Freja Leonard, No More Gas Campaign Coordinator for Friends of the Earth Melbourne (and Scourge of the Gas Industry in Victoria) regarding the latest on this polluting and climate destroying fossil fuel.We play an audio excerpt from Radio Ecoshock, a weekly environment bulleting from Canada hosted and produces by Alex Smith (listen to their program 6am Sundays/10pm Mondays). Dr Timothee Parrique, economist at the faculty of Lausanne in Switzerland, speaks on the problem of economic growth on a finite planet. This is in tribute to Professor Paddy Moriarty, longtime guest of the show, who was a proponent of the need to not only transition our energy production to renewables but to decrease our energy consumption overall.Event on Thu, 13 Feb, 6:30pm - 8pm: Who Owns the Holy Land? Muslim, Jewish and Christian voices share their stories and visions for peace:https://events.humanitix.com/who-owns-the-holy-landNo Rig Decommissioning in Corner Inlet - Exxon Out! Petition: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/petitions/environmental-effects-statement-for-the-decommissioning-of-oil-and-gas-at-barry-beach-marine-terminal/More info: https://www.melbournefoe.org.au/no_rig_decommissioning_in_corner_inlet_exxon_out

City Limits' monthly housing update with Shane McGrath from Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG) and Jack Verdins from Friends of Public Housing Victoria.In the top half of the show, Keving mentions the event at Coburg Town Hall on Saturday 23 November: Voices from the Frontline of the Climate Crisis – an urgent call from the NTShane McGrath comes on the show to discuss retirement villages. HAAG featured recently on a 7.30 Report's investigation on Retirement Villages' prioritise profit over their residents. Also discussed were the upcoming rental reforms and their shortcomings as well as the long waiting lists for aged care packages. You can give HAAG a call on 1300 765 178 if you're looking for help accessing aged care services. Upcoming HAAG AGM: 28th Nov 11am-1pm Ross House. RSVP online or call 96547389. Updates provided by Jack Verdins: CLASS ACTION UPDATE FROM INNER MELBOURNE COMMUNITY LEGALPublic housing class action against the Victorian Government The Victorian Government made the decision to ‘retire and redevelop’ all public housing towers across Melbourne by 2051 on 18 September 2023. Inner Melbourne Community Legal ("IMCL") filed a class action on behalf of public housing residents in North Melbourne and Flemington against Homes Victoria over the decision. What happened in the class action trial?IMCL argued in the Supreme Court of Victoria that Homes Victoria's decision to demolish the public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne was made without regard to the policies and procedures it is required to follow. It was also argued and that Homes Victoria did not properly consider the residents’ human rights before it made the decision and compatible with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). Homes Victoria said its proposal for the redevelopment of 44 public housing towers across Melbourne was based on the understanding that the towers could not be refurbished. They said the decision was based on documents that cannot be shared with the Court because they are Cabinet documents and therefore cannot be released. The Judge has paused the trial to decide whether the documents should be produced in Court and considered as evidence in the matter. The class action documents can be found on the Supreme Court of Victoria's website. What happens next and what do you need to do?IMCL will return to Court before the end of the year to argue the documents the decision was based on should be included as evidence in the trial. Once this issue is decided, the trial can resume. This means the timeline for the trial has been extended and we will not have a final decision until next year.Residents do not need to leave their home for now.The Judge has ordered Homes Victoria to not send residents eviction notices to make them leave their homes because the trial is still underway. Public housing residents can contact IMCL for free legal advice on (03) 9328 1885 or by email at info@imcl.org.au.Services overwhelmed as 3 million at risk of becoming unhoused, says Homelessness Australia report - Monday 18 NovemberA new Homelessness Australia report has found more than a 60 per cent increase in risk of homelessness since 2016. The Impact Economics modelling estimates that between 2016 and 2022, the number of Australians at risk of homelessness increased by 63 per cent, representing between 2.7 and 3.2 million people.due to increasing rental stress and low incomesservice providers say they are having to shut their doors to new clients due to poor resourcing.Homelessness Australia has commissioned modelling of the number of Australians struggling with complicating factors such as low income, rental stress or low social resources, and says people with two or more of those factors are 'at risk' of becoming homeless. "People who could have afforded private rentals just a few years ago are now resorting to couch surfing, sleeping in cars or pitching a tent."Victoria and Queensland the fastest growersA...

In this week’s food-based episode, Kevin and Zeb chat with dumpster diver and academic Willow Ross as well as Josh Cullinan, Secretary of the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union.Find out more about some of the topics covered:George Mann: https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/george-mann-keeping-union-history-alive-songPrevious episode with Willow: https://www.3cr.org.au/citylimits/episode/serrated-tussock-grass-and-dumpster-divingSong: There's No Such Thing As Waste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V7AbD-RuxMKing Charles' Aston Martin: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/11/prince-charles-car-runs-on-cheese-wine-byproductsLidia Thorpe's truth-telling to King Charles: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBX2oGMT4UG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==More on the campaign against youth and trainee rates in fast food and retail:https://raffwu.org.au/campaigns/industry/living-wages/

This housing week, Karina reads some news prepared by our regular Public Housing commentator Jack Verdins, then plays an interview recorded during national homelessness week with Jeremy Poxon, welfare rights advocate and officer with the Australian Unemployed Workers Union - check out the AUWU's new 3CR program, Breadline. Later we listen to a talk by Darebin Vic Socialists candidate Steph Price entitled A Socialist Response to the Housing Crisis, Originally broadcast on this week's edition of Solidarity Breakfast - thanks to Annie for the audio! Song: Happy Home by Siouxie and the Banshees To access all previous podcasts and any extra links in our podcast descriptions, visit 3cr.org.au/citylimits