Historic agreement boosts reconciliation in Sydney
Reconciliation in Sydney received a boost today with the signing
of an historic agreement between the Sydney City Council and Metropolitan
Aboriginal Land Council.
The principles of cooperation
agreement establishes formal communication, consultation and negotiation
processes between Metro and the City of Sydney.
It also opens the way for possible
future projects to improve employment, education and training opportunities for
Aboriginal people, including tourism management.
Metro Land Council Chairman, Rob Welsh, said he was
confident the agreement would promote a greater understanding of Aboriginal
culture and history in Australia’s largest
city.
“This agreement builds on what is
already a strong, positive relationship between Metro and the City of Sydney,” Mr Welsh
said.
Mr Welsh said the agreement was
particularly important given the significance of Redfern to Aboriginal
people.
“Despite the creation of the Redfern
Waterloo Authority, the Sydney City Council still has responsibility for large
parts of our suburb of Redfern,” Mr Welsh said.
“We want to work with the City
Council to help make Redfern once again a site of Aboriginal hope and
achievement.”
Mr Welsh said he hoped Redfern’s
distinctive Aboriginal identity could one day attract international tourists and
people from all over Sydney to visit the
suburb.
“Like Harlem in New York and Brixton in London, what was once the scene of a race riot
could become the most dynamic part of the city,” he
said.
Mr Welsh said he hoped to pursue similar cooperative agreements with the State and Federal governments to benefit the Aboriginal community of inner city Sydney.