Rosebery residents take action

The Rosebery Resident’s Action Group formed itself, as a sign of strength and solidarity, in opposition to the Church. Created with only eight people, the grassroots RRAG has grown into a congregation of more than 100 members when its monthly meetings are held at the church hall on Kimberley Grove.

While the catalyst for the establishment of the RRAG stems from the community’s non-compliance with the development of the megachurch, the flock is also not afraid to stand in the way of other overdevelopments.

A recent meeting of the RRAG had an attendance of over 50 people. The general topic of concern remained the Hillsong Church but other developments in the area were also discussed, including the Corporate Express Distribution Centre’s plans for expansion. 

The City of Sydney’s Urban Renewal Project has a special place in the once heavily industrial area of Green Square. Encompassing the suburbs of Zetland, Beaconsfield, Alexandria, Waterloo and Rosebery, the Green Square area is considered the largest urban renewal project in Australia. What was once a small triangular shaped park has now morphed into super-suburb of its own.

The RRAG is gravely concerned with the development of Green Square because it has the potential to overwhelm Rosebery and its neighbours with convention centres and giant apartment complexes of 10 to 20 storeys, transforming the area into a ‘hyper-density’ urban area.

The grassroots organisation feels provoked into defending its suburb and its neighbours from massive overdevelopment in the area that is being dumped upon them with no concern for their village and its amenity.

One of the founding members of the RRAG, Graeme Grace, is a long time union member and has had plenty of experience standing up to bullies. His strong stance against the Hillsong Church’s regional-sized facility has empowered his Rosebery comrades and their solidarity in the face of adversity finds no bounds.

“People power, through action groups and ballot boxes, can be very effective and can make a difference,” he said, “[And] we wouldn’t bother if we did not believe that.”

As with the Hillsong development, Grace states that one of the main concerns of residents is the flow of traffic within the area. Already exhausted to capacity, the arterial roads of Botany and McEvoy are clogged to extremity. The proposed development of Green Square would be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, except there wouldn’t be one but thousands.

The RRAG is not against development altogether. It simply asks that development be appropriate for the area, like the construction of agedcare facilities for its rapidly aging population.

With the battle over Hillsong still raging it’s certain that the RRAG’s war has only just begun.

Source: South Sydney Herald April 2008 - www.southsydneyherald.com.au