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RWA optimism

The recent opening of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE), the new Redfern Health Centre and the one-year anniversary of the Eveleigh Farmers Market are three tangible examples of the good work being done to benefit Waterloo and Redfern, according to Redfern Waterloo Authority CEO, Roy Wakelin-King reports Kelly Lane in the South Sydney Herald of April 2010.

Mr Wakelin-King believes they signify some of the changes that are occurring, changes that have resulted from a holistic, community approach and the hard work of many people. “Whilst it’s early days yet, these are really some major initiatives or activities that will have positive lasting benefits on the Redfern area,” Mr Wakelin-King said. “I acknowledge and recognise that there is still obviously more work to be done. And we remain very committed to trying to add value to the Redfern-Waterloo area, and doing so in partnership with the community.”

Mr Wakelin-King said the RWA’s ongoing efforts were demonstrated by the establishment this year of greater resources in human services, with the appointment of Melissa Gibson as Director, as well as a continued commitment to the Aboriginal employment program. “We’re delighted and very proud of that work. It’s created great opportunities and has been successful, whereas other models have previously failed.”

But REDWatch spokesperson, Geoff Turnbull, said that more needed to be done to improve employment in Redfern-Waterloo. “Some of the Aboriginal employment programs have been good programs, but we are also not convinced that they’ve tackled the most difficult end of that problem, where you have people who don’t have a culture of work, come from families where people haven’t worked, or where they’ve had problems in the schooling systems and they don’t have the base levels of education,” Mr Turnbull said. He said the RWA’s focus had largely been on Aboriginal employment but the needs of social housing tenants also needed to be addressed.

Mr Wakelin-King said the RWA was conscious they were established for the whole community of Redfern-Waterloo, and will be working with the community to provide greater employment opportunities to those members of the community. “It’s a key priority of ours for this year. It goes in line with our human service planning commitment.”

Other key priorities this year will be working closely with RailCorp on the redevelopment of Redfern Station, as well as the Built Environment Plan Stage 2, the redevelopment of public housing in Redfern-Waterloo. “They’re major strategic issues for this area, particularly BEP2,” Mr Wakelin-King said. “That will set the framework for the future of this area in the next 20 to 30 years in many respects. There’s a lot of work to be done in that, I cannot begin to describe the complexities, the challenges, the opportunities, but also the need to make sure we get that as right as we can. And that’s going to involve engaging with the community to work with that. It’s a very complex process but it is also very important.”

Mr Turnbull said the challenge for REDWatch over the next few years was how to create a greater involvement between the community and the RWA on identifying issues and taking action. He welcomed that human services was a key priority but said there was an even greater need to address the ways people on the ground encountered services in the area.

“We’d primarily like to see them addressed because with the changes that are happening in Redfern-Waterloo, the bulk of the disadvantage in the area will in future be confined to public housing tenants,” Mr Turnbull said.

Source: South Sydney Herald April 2010 www.southsydneyherald.com.au