In July, members of ACORN Australia and Tenants Action Wellington gathered at Victorian Trades Hall for a three day training intensive and presentation from Edinburgh citywide organiser, Sinead McNulty, on the work of ACORN International's Scottish affiliate, Living Rent.

We heard about Living Rent's history from a campaign group punching above its weight on tenant reform in 2014 to a membership organisation with thousand of members. From blocking evictions and winning vital repairs to freezing rents across the whole of Scotland, Living Rent has built real power block-by-block and street-by-street with a rock-solid membership.

The three day intensive covered ACORN's history and organising model, with a focus on developing practical skills and building a mass-membership organisation. Then, we hit the doors across Melbourne's suburbs to talk to members of the community about the issues they were facing and ACORN Melbourne's plans for building a community union that wins real change in our communities and how they could get involved in building the union.

July's meeting, attended by working class people from right across Melbourne, ended with a committment by ACORN Australia attendees to another run on the doors in September in Yarraville in Melbourne's inner West while Tenants Action members headed back to Wellington to continue building power for low-and-moderate income tenants across Aotearoa New Zealand's capital and fighting the housing crisis.

To find out more or get involved join ACORN to become a member and contact [email protected]!