Minister steps in to fix playgrounds

NO MORE PLAYING AROUND

REDFERN Playgrounds that put children's safety at risk with broken swings and rusty, sharp edges are currently being repaired as a mater of urgency after being revealed in Central last week.

Housing Minister Matt Brown contacted Central following Risky State of Play, an investigation into the shocking state of Housing NSW playgrounds in Waterloo Green.

Mr Brown said he had arranged an emergency meeting with the authority to inspect the grounds.

"The condition of the playgrounds is clearly not good enough," Mr Brown said.

"It is a concern to me.

"We are building stronger public housing communities and part of that improvement is providing community facilities such as playgrounds.

"When I was informed of the conditions of the two playgrounds I ordered Housing NSW to improve the sites as a matter of urgency.

"I am pleased to say work has begun repairing the damage and making the swings and slides safe for the children."

Work has already begun at the Pitt Street sites, parts of which have been boarded up.

The broken swings have been removed and will be replaced "as soon as possible", with quotes currently being sought from contractors.

A "broken and melted plastic tunnel" was set to be removed.

A bridge with missing wooden planks will also be replaced, with a long-term view to "renewing" the whole bridge.

Torn and damaged flooring will be replaced. The minister said graffiti had been removed. Redfern mum Ifeanna Tooth said she was relieved to hear the playgrounds would be fixed.

Pictures: Phil Rogers - Evidence that repairs have begun at Waterloo Playground, in response to Central's exposé. 'The condition of the playgrounds is clearly not good enough,' Housing Minister Matt Brown said.

EDITORIAL - GETTING THINGS DONE! Central 30^th April 2008

AFTER last week's Central hit the streets, l got a phone cal! from Housing Minister Matt Brown's office saying they were "very concerned" about the state of Redfern playgrounds as highlighted by this publication, and they would be fixed as a matter of urgency.

You can't play with children's safety, they said.

The quick response is fantastic for our children, who as I said last week, deserve a whole lot better.

I guess the sad thing is their fed-up mums have been complaining for almost a year now, and no one listened.

Until the article appeared in Central, that is.

Now the broken equipment has been removed and hopefully will be replaced - to quote the Minister's office - "as soon as possible", luckily for them, before anyone was injured.

What it does show though, is the power of the media, especially your local newspaper.

We are here to highlight your problems, raise awareness for your issues, and get things done.

If you have something you think deserves attention, call us, because we listen.

Another coup for Redfern was the MTV Awards on the weekend, which attracted huge Aussie and international names.

Who would have thought the creme de la creme of the music and entertainment industry would be walking the red carpet down your street.

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

FAIR PLAY

I WAS very glad to see the plight of Redfern children and the lack of maintained playgrounds highlighted (Central, April 23). The key point to add is that those maintained Housing Commission playgrounds you have identified are effectively the only fenced playgrounds in Redfern writes Nicola Cunningham in a letter to Central 30^th April 2008.

There are no maintained fenced playgrounds in Redfern. If I lived in Surry Hills or in East Redfern (East Redfern being the locale of Clover Moore, instigator of the greener City of Villages program), I would have 10 fenced playgrounds to chose from.

I wonder why Redfern residents do not need pocket parks, open space or children's playgrounds, each of which Clover identifies as core aspects of community? I am a mother of a child in Cope Street, Redfern, and our closest fenced park is Alexandria Park, a 10 minute walk. Our closest park is an equally badly maintained and unfenced City of Sydney playground on Wyndham Street.

The temporary park in Redfern Oval is also a 10-minute walk, but it is unfenced and 10m from a major traffic route. Furthermore, I live opposite the Redfern Public School site, one of the very few open spaces in Redfern. This would make a perfect location for a children's playground. Currently, it is rarely mown, and needles, rubbish and broken glass are buried beneath the long grass. Incredibly, this site is slated for an oval, in addition to the Redfern Oval upgrade, the Waterloo Oval upgrade, the Alexandria Park Oval, and of course the Moore Park playing fields.

This area needs fenced, maintained children's playgrounds, not more ovals.

- NICOLA CUNNINGHAM, Redfern