National Centre part of Redfern renaissance, says CEO

The NCIE is being developed by the Indigenous Land Corporation and is planned to open on the old site of Redfern Public School in January, with some facilities being activated in December.

Mr Glanville said of the long-awaited opening: “It’s a little bit behind time, in terms of our original expectations but, with a project of this size, things often run overtime and our concern is that we get the project right rather than rush it to try and get it finished. And for us a new year opening is a good thing. We get to start the new year with a new centre.”

Some locals are skeptical about the need for the new Centre and believe it may take attendance away from similar local services, such as the Police Citizen Youth Club.

Geoff Turnbull of REDWatch, said: “All the services already exist, it’s just a matter of another one being added in.”

However, Mr Glanville says the NCIE is targeting national, as well as local, needs. Speaking of his own role in the development, he said: “Our job is to oversee the entire project … and make sure that, as a national Centre based in Redfern, we start to build that national outreach; while being of as much use to the local community as we can possibly be, also growing into a national centre and being useful to as many young Aboriginal people from across the country as possible. Our ambition is that we’ll have about 5000 young Aboriginal people through the Centre every year from right across the country, and we’ve already got interest in bookings from organisations as far away as North Queensland and Western Australia.”

Locals such as Mr Turnbull have questioned whether the project is necessarily more suited to Redfern’s needs than the old school. “There’s been a fair amount of unease and resentment about it from the local community … population is going up and Redfern no longer has a school … It was done because it’s what the ILC wanted, and thought Redfern was as good as anywhere else,” he said.

But Mr Glanville is enthusiastic about the role of the privately funded NCIE in government plans to renovate Redfern. “I would hope that the Centre is being established at the right time, given the approval of the Pemulwuy plan … to be a part of the renaissance at Redfern.”

Photo: Ali Blogg - Jason Glanville, CEO of the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence

Source: South Sydney Herald December 2009 www.southsydneyherald.com.au