In the following talk Liz provides an account of the 2008-2009 Student Housing Action Co-operative (SHAC) campaign and discusses its background and strategy. For more than five months 50 students were housed at 272-278 Faraday Street Carlton and the space was also used as a social centre and open community space. The squat and its attendant campaign not only put abandoned houses to good use, but also raised the issue of student hardship and homelessness and exposed the failure of Melbourne University (the property’s owner) to address these issues. The talk was recorded by by Laurel at the Squatting Past and Present gathering held at Hot Shots on August 27 2016.

Footage from the SHAC Emergency Rally, 7 January 2009. To follow the campaign as it unfolded, SHAC’s blog from the time can be found here.