18 December 2006
In this Update:
Yaama Dhinawan has first Hospitality Graduates
RWA Employment and Enterprise Update
Commonwealth CDEP Changes threaten Redfern Waterloo Aboriginal Employment
Calls to Return 3801 to Eveleigh following relocation bungles
Alcohol Free Zones and Street Drinking Strategy
Inner Sydney Homelessness Action Plan Phase Two
St Andrews School DA Exhibition Extended – 12th January 2007
REDWatch Development Contributions Plan Submission
Northcott UN Award Gives Hope of Similar Community Development Workers in Public Housing Estates
Have your say – Summary of Current Consultations
Coming Events (look at the new local events entered on the REDWatch website that are not covered here)
Yaama Dhinawan has first Hospitality Graduates
The first students to complete a new indigenous food training course at Redfern were awarded their graduation certificates by Education Minister and Member for Marrickville Carmel Tebbutt on 15th December 2006. The Yaama Dhinawan training centre opened its doors in October and will give local and indigenous students a better chance of employment in the hospitality industry. Fifteen students were in the first group to complete the eight-week training course run by Aboriginal elder, caterer and former TAFE teacher Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo, along with Aboriginal chef Matt Cribb. Yaama Dhinawan is part of the North Eveleigh Training Centre which was established at 255 Wilson Street Darlington next to the entrance to the CarriageWorks. It was established with the support of a $750,000 investment by the Redfern-Waterloo Authority. The college is already available for functions and will soon be opening to the public as a café with a bush foods flavour. The North Eveleigh Training Centre will also offer training in construction skills.
Training funds have been provided by the NSW Department of Education and Training and the Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. Five 8-week courses in Certificate II Hospitality (Operations) will be run out of Yaama Dhinawan next year training at least 60 people. The first one for the year (starting 5 February 2007) is for sole parents. Future courses will be open to ALL unemployed people wanting to work in the hospitality industry. Anybody interested in doing the course or any business in the hospitality industry looking for committed and well-trained staff, should contact Louise Wagner at the RWA on 9202 9100 or louise.wagner@rwa.nsw.gov.au.
The text of Minister Tebbutt’s media release can be found at YAAMA DHINAWAN SERVES UP FIRST HOSPITALITY GRADUATES. The latest RWA Redfern Waterloo Update December 2006 (pdf ~196kb) has Yaama Dhinawan as its main Employment and Enterprise story.
RWA Employment and Enterprise Update
As mentioned above the RWA has produced a new Redfern Waterloo Update December 2006 (pdf ~196kb) which focuses on the RWA’s Employment and Enterprise activities. In addition to Groundbreaking training enterprise - Yaama Dhinawan opens in Darlington the Update also includes:
- Diploma in Business Management which provided training to 14 not-for-profit organisations in the area
- Congratulations Allana! Allana Varga the first apprentice on the CarriageWorks site who recently won a Field Officers Choice Award
- Local job creation The RWA is talking to local businesses about employment opportunities which employ local people
- Construction opportunities in Redfern-Waterloo – Building Company FRH have created 13 of the 26 jobs for Aboriginal people they have committed to at the ATP.
- PROFILE: Raymond Russell completed the Koori Job Ready Course in construction spending 10 weeks at Lidcombe TAFE learning building basics and picking up his OH&S card, forklift drivers licence and senior first aid certificate.
- Aboriginal Business Service success story – looks at the experience of Helen & Jurgen Empacher from GTE Fitness with the Aboriginal Business Service that operates from the RWA and advises Aboriginal people who have an idea for a business and want to obtain advice in setting up a business.
The latest update is also available in text form on the REDWatch website at December 2006 Redfern-Waterloo Update - Text Version
Local Business Needs Survey
The following notice recently appeared on the RWA website.
“As part of the RWA’s on-going commitment to improving business and employment opportunities in the Redfern-Waterloo area, the RWA is conducting an Employment Opportunities - Business Needs survey of businesses. The RWA wants to work with you to help your business grow in the local area and we are looking for information from you on what your business needs to expand. An important step in this process is gathering information from local business people about staffing needs and any unmet training requirement. Local business people are invited to complete the survey.”
Commonwealth CDEP Changes threaten Redfern Waterloo Aboriginal Employment
Everyone thought CDEP was going well, the Minister Kevin Andrews praised it as can be seen in his media releases CDEP 2006-07 To Build On Success - 1 July 2006 and Twice As Many CDEP Participants Get Jobs - 20 October 2006. Then without warning the Minister announced that the Government planned to close urban CDEP programmes Indigenous Employment Discussion Paper Released - 6 November 2006 and the response from the opposition’s Chris Evans Cut to Indigenous Employment Services A Backward Step and Warren Snowdon CDEP Changes: Gutless Approach, Missed Chances and in many communities was outrage. The Discussion Paper which can be found at www.workplace.gov.au/cdep has recently finished exhibition.
As we advised in an earlier update, a meeting was organised by Redfern Residents for Reconciliation to discuss the closure of urban CDEP projects and to look at the impact on the local community. The meeting heard reports from ReconciACTION’s Ben Spies-Butcher, Federal MP Tanya Plibersek and from locals involved with CDEP. While the local CDEP believes that they should be able to pick up one of the brokerages aimed at getting people into the mainstream job market, they will not be able to cater for many of their current clients who undertake community work activities as they are unlikely to be employable in the broader job market. The Minister has said that there will be arrangements to cater for such people but no announcement has been made that gives details about how this gap will be filled.
The RWA Employment and Enterprise programmes were put in place while the CDEP was working with a significant number of the area’s unemployed. If the CDEP is left only with the new STEP brokerage those involved in community work activities are likely to fall back into the area’s Human Services and Employment programmes making the RWA’s task to address the area problems more difficult. Given that the RWA now has a Redfern-Waterloo Partnership Agreement with the Federal Government covering delivery of Aboriginal Services in Redfern-Waterloo we hope that the RWA is in discussion with the Federal Government to ensure that Redfern Waterloo is not adversely affected by the proposed CDEP changes. The agreement specifically states that Commonwealth / State co-operation will include Employment and Enterprise and states:
“New South Wales, through the Redfern-Waterloo Authority [RWA] and under the proposed Redfern-Waterloo Plan, will use its influence as a major landowner to actively facilitate Aboriginal employment and training both in the construction phase of the urban renewal process and in any subsequent employer activity arising from the construction phase. The RWA will also explore all avenues during the urban renewal process to provide and promote commercial opportunities for local Aboriginal businesses.
The Commonwealth, through its relevant agencies coordinated by the Indigenous Coordination Centre (IC ) Sydney, will apply federal programs and services as appropriate and with flexibility as needed, to meet the Redfern-Waterloo Plan's employment and enterprise objectives.”
Submissions that have been made on the STEP Discussion paper include Redfern Residents for Reconciliation submission on CDEP Changes and Clover Moore Submission on CDEP (MS Word 64Kb). If any others are received concerning Redfern Waterloo we will post them at Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) on the REDWatch website.
RWA Annual Reports
The Reporting Season is upon us again with the release of both the ATP Annual Report 05/06 (pdf 3.5MB) and the RWA 05-06 Annual Report. The RWA report is available as both 05-06 Annual Report - Full Version (pdf ~2mb) and as 05-06 Annual Report - Text Only Version (pdf ~253kb). The RWA have again used photos of local people to illustrate their annual report. Ironically the front cover of the RWA report this year has a photo of Carol de Souza from SquatSpace. SquatSpace arrange tours of people interested in finding out first hand about Redfern Waterloo. Each tour SquatSpace changes some of the people talking to the tours so those on the tours are exposed to a range of local perspectives. SquatSpace has been trying for some time to get someone from the RWA to talk to one of their tours but without success.
The Annual Reports provide the community with a summary of what has happened in the last year and some indication of how the RWA sees itself and where the RWA sees itself as going. We are sure that many of those frustrated at trying to engage and work with the RWA will be surprised to learn from the RWA’s Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer’s report that “A highly visible community cooperation now exists that includes regular informative newsletters home delivered to residents, an interactive website, consultation on major issues, public forums, meetings, discussion groups and direct access to the RWA via phone, email and in person.” A highly visible community co-operation between the community and the RWA …now we would all like to see that, but we think that the RWA still has some way to go before it can be said that it has arrived at community cooperation!
The Annual also reports provide the only look at the financial operations of the RWA and ATP available to the community. The RWA Annual report shows the Consolidated Profit for the RWA was $15.133 million of which $9.35 million was derived from an independent revaluation of its assets. The Annual Report reports on 21 Sponsorships and Grants totalling $47,381 which were made by the RWA to community groups and programmes. In comparison the total cost of external production and printing shown under the Annual Report was $32,725.
Annual reports provide a lot of information and we encourage people to download at least the text version of the RWA Annual Report and have a read. If you also want to have a look at the City of Sydney’s Annual Report it can found at http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Council/FormsPoliciesPublication/AnnualReport20052006.asp.
Aldo Pennini leaves RWA
Aldo Pennini, RWA’s Director Reforming Human Services, has left the RWA to take up a position as an Economic Advisor to the Queensland Premier. Julie Parsons, who has been working with the youth clusters has taken over Aldo’s role as the Acting Manager Reforming Human Services.
Calls to Return 3801 to Eveleigh following relocation bungles
The 3801 transfer to the Hunter Valley Training Company (HVTC) for assessment has seen the engine narrowly escape damage when rails collapsed unable to take the weight of the engine. The Friends of Eveleigh have issued a media release Who is Responsible? For the Near Disaster and Possible Damage of the States Most Significant Movable Heritage Item - Locomotive 3801? The media release raises a number of serious questions about the handling of 3801 when it arrived at the HVTC and the lack of preparations for its arrival and dry storage. The Rail Transport Museum (RTM) has acknowledged problems with the track on 3801’s arrival RTM Update on 3801 on 12 December 2006.
The National Trust Australia (NSW) website Bring the 3801 home to Eveleigh carries some of the photos taken at HVTC documenting the problems. The website says: “The Trust again calls for a commitment by the State Government to retain the Large Erecting Shop intact with its collection of locomotives, rolling stock and equipment, the return of the 3801 locomotive to the Large Erecting Shop and urgent attention to the maintenance of the skills base for the care and operation of the state’s historic railways.”
Sydney Lord Mayor and MP Clover Moore has also reiterated concern about the future of Eveleigh Our Railway Heritage Under Threat as the “Large Erecting Shop is listed on the heritage schedule of the Redfern-Waterloo State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), this SEPP rezones the site for commercial use with buildings up to 12 storeys allowed”. In a radio news item Sartor dismisses rail heritage worries the Minister said "Our record in Eveleigh, the Australian Technology Park, shows that we do value railway heritage and we have by far the biggest amount of railway heritage probably anywhere in the world". The Minister did not address the planning conflict in his own plans or the specific future of the Large. In John Watkins Letter on locomotive 3801 December 2006 which has been received by people who had written to him about the future of 3801 and the Large, the Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport made the following comment about the Large “I can also assure you that the Large Erecting Shed at Eveleigh, 3801 Limited's home, remains available to both 3801 Limited and the Powerhouse Museum until 2008.” This is consistent with earlier RailCorp comments to the Powerhouse Museum that they can continue to use the Large into early 2008.
The company 3801 Ltd has broken its silence and announced by email that 3801 Ltd will re-commence tours. The email said: “After a period of uncertainty, and despite the loss of steam locomotive 3801, 3801 Limited is pleased to announce that tours will re-commence on Sunday 21st January. We aim to provide a varied and interesting range of tours throughout 2007.” The initial summer programme includes heritage diesel runs starting on 21st January 2007 which is usual during the summer fire season, with the Cockatoo run recommencing on 11th February 2007. The 3801 Ltd announcement means that the Large will continue to have heritage rail operating from it in 2007. Continued active rail heritage use of the Large in 2007 will strengthen the campaign for the Large to be an active Rail Heritage Centre beyond 2008. Hopefully this can be achieved as part of both the Redfern Waterloo Authority’s plan for the redevelopment of Eveleigh and the State Government’s Office of Rail Heritage plans for active rail heritage.
[Readers with an interest in rail heritage may also be interested in the Joel Cartoon: Frank $artor memorial museum - where history is made which links together plans for the CUB site, 3801 and the Large Erecting Shop and The Block].
CarriageWorks Opening Events
The CarriageWorks is scheduled to open on Friday 5th January 2007 when Sydney Festival’s Zero Degrees by Akram Khan takes to the stage in the 800 seat theatre of Bay 17. The programme for the Sydney Festival at The CarriageWorks can be found at http://www.carriageworks.com.au/whatson/whatson.html. The CarriageWorks is planning an Open Weekend on the weekend of 20th – 21st January 2007 of free performances, forums and guided tours. Two forums will take place each day, including guests from the Sydney Festival and Stalker who will talk about a range of issues from contemporary dance and performance to the history of the CarriageWorks site. As well as Erth and Legs on the Wall, visitors will be able to see Aerialise in training and Rosie Dennis in a showing of her new work in progress. Other resident companies who will join CarriageWorks include Performance Space and Stalker with its intercultural company Marrugeku.
For those with an interest in Eveleigh and rail heritage the Open Weekend will include an exhibition of historical railway archives and a testimonial booth in Bay 19 where people can record their day to day stories about what it was like to work on the site. One of the Open Weekend forums is intended to provide details of the site’s rich history and heritage as a repairer of railway carriages and the associated industrial functions that occurred in the area. Hopefully the CarriageWorks can play an important role in preserving some of the areas history and railway culture for current and future generations. So mark the weekend of 20th-21st in your diary as a good opportunity to find out about the new CarriageWorks and some of the areas heritage. When it is available, more information will be posted on the CarriageWorks website www.carriageworks.com.au or will be emailed to people who register for email notices on the CarriageWorks website.
With the CarriageWorks opening imminent there are a lot of articles appearing about the venue. Recent articles have included Matthew Westwood’s article in The Australian Off the rails in a creative move, Peter Whitehead’s South Sydney Herald article CarriageWorks, Redfern/Newtown’s - newest theatrical venue opens and Ian Gould’s Sydney Star Observer article Blast from the Past.
Alcohol Free Zones and Street Drinking Strategy
There has been some concern raised with us concerning the proposed Alcohol Free Zone (AFZ) on The Block following the Sun-Herald’s article Street drinking banned at casino and on Block. What the article did not mention is that the City of Sydney also has on exhibition a Draft Street Drinking Strategy (PDF 406Kb). In the earlier consultation about AFZs for Redfern a number of submissions made the point that AFZs move street drinking elsewhere and that there is a need to address the underlying issues and not just deal with the visibility of the problem. The earlier submissions can be seen at http://www.redwatch.org.au/govt/cos/afz.
The Draft Street Drinking Strategy has been developed by the City in consultation with Street Drinking Working Group (SDWG) members and with other agencies that work directly with street based drinkers. According to the Draft, the Street Drinking Working Group was established in November 2005 “to develop a multi-faceted response to street drinking and to reduce the adverse impacts arising from this activity. The Working Group included representatives from: homelessness services, NSW Police (relevant Local Area Commands and the Liquor & Licensing division), the Liquor Industry, the Redfern-Waterloo Authority, the Bligh Electorate Office, the Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service, NSW Health and the Department of Community Services (DOCS)”.
The Draft Strategy identifies The Block and adjacent streets as a “known major street drinking hotspot” and the Draft says that the City will advocate for the “establishment of a detoxification and rehabilitation service within the inner-city or Redfern Waterloo area for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.” The Draft Strategy also details a Partnership with the Redfern Waterloo Authority on the problem. The report says:
“Various Federal and State bodies and other community advocates have recognised the need for responses to alcohol dependence that recognise the particular needs of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander (ATSI) people.
The City of Sydney and the Redfern Waterloo Authority have established a partnership to seek funding from the Commonwealth Government for the establishment of a service for ATSI people in the Redfern Waterloo Area who experience alcohol dependence.
The service aims to provide opportunities for Aboriginal men to engage with each other in a culturally supportive environment that is alcohol-free and encourages either abstinence or a reduction in harmful levels of alcohol consumption.
The proposed service model incorporates three service streams:
- Short to medium term accommodation for men who choose to abstain from the consumption of alcohol and who require support to achieve that goal.
- A day centre providing material support (food, showers etc), recreational activities, cultural support and linkages to various health and social supports.
- Community meeting space for the Aboriginal Men’s Group.”
One of the complications for an AFZ on The Block is that it only effects drinking on the street and the footpath. Until the vacant private land is again built upon there will be lots of areas within the AFZ to drink, including along the wall near the top of Eveleigh Street where houses once stood. With a lot of un-delineated public and private land on the Block an AFZ is potentially a sign posting and enforcement nightmare.
If you have any comments on any of these issues then you should read the Draft Strategy and make your submission on the Strategy and / or the AFZ. Details of the exhibitions can be found at CoS Proposed Alcohol Free Zones - Until Friday 22 December 2006. and CoS Street Drinking Strategy - Until Friday 12 January 2007.
Inner Sydney Homelessness Action Plan Phase Two
According to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre the NSW Government has developed Sydney's Inner City Homelessness Action Plan Phase Two to address the problem of homeless people sleeping rough around inner Sydney. It came about in order to guide the Partnership Against Homelessness, a Department of Housing led initiative bringing together 12 NSW Government agencies that fund or administer programs for homeless people (established in 1999). Phase One of the plan saw the Department of Housing establish the Homelessness Action Team Support and Outreach Service. Representatives from government and the community sector met to work out what Phase Two of the plan would look like. In terms of its scope, Phase Two is a four year plan covering the January 2007 - January 2011 period. It will include short, medium and long-term objectives and prioritise support for people with mental illness, development of effective housing and support models, early intervention for rough sleepers and a response to Aboriginal homelessness. The PIAC statement refers people for more information to the Department of Housing website but we are unable to find the information to pass it on.
St Andrews School DA Exhibition Extended – 12th January 2007
The St Andrew’s proposal for a Redfern Campus in the Redfern Community Centre (RCC) received further media comment in the Sun-Herald’s Aboriginal kids to get top private education. On Wednesday 6th December St Andrews held a public meeting to discuss their proposal for a Redfern campus in the Redfern Community Centre. From what we are told it was a lively meeting and the views expressed differed from St Andrew’s earlier discussions with some organisations around the area. We are told there was considerable concern expressed about the RCC leasing space to St Andrews. At the meeting people asked for an extension to comment on the DA. The exhibition has now been extended until 12th January 2007. For further details on the proposal visit http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Development/DAsOnExhibition/details.asp?tpk=814936.
CUB Site Submissions
The City of Sydney is still working on its Owner’s Consent for City owned land to be taken up in the CUB site development. With the project called in by the Planning Minister, the giving of consent is the only bargaining chip the City has, although in this case the layout of the Concept Plan reduces the City’s bargaining power. Clover Moore, in her eNews Nos 326 and 327, has provided updates on the City’s submission and the issue of Owner’s Consent in Clover Moore update on CUB Concept Plan and CUB Site "Owner’s Consent" Update. The City submission on the CUB Concept Plan sets out their concerns with the Concept Plan and it can be downloaded from City of Sydney CUB Concept Plan Submission (2.3Mb PDF). The Combined Chippendale Community Groups Submission on the CUB Site Concept Plan (MS Word 344Kb) can also be downloaded along with CCCG Submission Appendix A (MS Word 85Kb), CUB Site Concept Plan Shadow Diagrams (6.7MB PDF) and the Parkway Concept Discussion Paper (4.9MB PowerPoint) which we have covered in an earlier Update. The CCCG submission also included a printout of National Pollutant Inventory Emission Report for Postcode 2008 for the years 2003-4 when the brewery was still operational. We have provided the link to Pollution Readings for Chippendale rather than the print out, as we expect some readers might also want to change the postcode and year to see what the database says about other areas. The REDWatch Submission on CUB Concept Plan was only small and in general supported the submissions made by the City and Combined Chippendale Community Groups.
During the CUB Concept Plan exhibition of The Greens, The Liberals and some of the Upper House Cross-Benchers made a call for papers on the CUB site. Three boxes of documents were delivered to the Clerk of the Upper House including one box for the eyes of upper house members only. We have not yet received a report on what is in the public boxes and we would be interested in hearing from anyone who has been through the documents.
[Readers with an interest in the CUB site may also be interested in the Joel Cartoon: Frank $artor memorial museum - where history is made which links together plans for the CUB site, 3801 and the Large Erecting Shop and The Block]
AHC Pemulwuy Project Update
The AHC held a meeting at the Redfern Community Centre on 13th December to present the Pemulwuy Project and to answer community questions. The meeting heard that landowners in the State Significant area of Lawson Street next to the AHC have also decided to look at some options for developing their land. While this is not part of the AHC project it and other proposals could be added to the AHC Concept Plan if adjoining owners can reach agreement on a plan for their land and the AHC is agreeable to these proposals being added to the Concept Plan. Some of the issues covered on the night included car parking, the location of the Elders Centre, creation of Aboriginal employment during construction, the location of public space and why RED Square was not included. A further community meeting will be held in January. The Department of Planning have now updated their website to contain the Amended Pemulwuy Project (PDF 1.2Mb) that was presented to Minister Sartor. The AHC has rearranged and updated the Development page of their website at www.ahc.org.au to provide further detail on the application.
[Readers with an interest in the Pemulwuy Project may also be interested in the Joel Cartoon: Frank $artor memorial museum - where history is made which links together plans for the CUB site, 3801 and the Large Erecting Shop and The Block].
REDWatch Development Contributions Plan Submission
The REDWatch Submission on RWA Draft Redfern-Waterloo Authority Contributions Plan 2006 has been added to the REDWatch website. The submission primarily expresses concern over the RWA Proposed Public Works Schedule. The schedule has over 40% of the proposed Developer Contributions going to try and fix connection problems around the railway station, while the only new community facility for 18,000 new workers and 3,200 new residents is a $1.2 million childcare facility and the provision for new public spaces in the development around the station and the North Eveleigh. The Draft Redfern-Waterloo Authority Contributions Plan 2006 (1.6Mb PDF) can be downloaded from the REDWatch website after it disappears from the RWA website. If we receive any other submissions on the Draft Contributions Plan we will also post them on the REDWatch website.
December South Sydney Herald
The December 2006 edition of the South Sydney Herald has been posted SSH December 2006 (PDF 3.9 MB). As usual we have extracted some of the articles which directly pertain to Redfern Waterloo and added them to the REDWatch website. In A Void exists in drug and alcohol treatment centres in the inner city Dr Naomi Myers calls for an increase in the number of detox beds in the inner city and says that the state government should give serious consideration to a self-injecting room in Redfern. On public housing issues the paper ran Public housing sold to private owners about the sale of five Waterloo Department of Housing properties and also covered in Public Housing Tenants face uncertain future the government announcement to redevelop the Lilyfield public housing estate along Balmain Road and Edward Street. Other stories included CarriageWorks, Redfern/Newtown’s - newest theatrical venue opens, The divisions over Regent Street changes: Council and RWA support it, RTA is against it, St Vincent’s sells Caritas to developers - aggravating residents and Graffti – potential cultural asset or environmental vandalism?. The SSH also had an article about the Berkley Hotel licence change No meal means no drink at the corner pub and the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service (GLCS) in Newtown More Low Cost Counselling Clinics open in South Sydney, these email updates Turnbull updates: empowering the community and Political Profile - Ben Spiers Butcher, Greens’ Heffron community-minded candidate [should be Ben Spies-Butcher -eds].
Northcott UN Award Gives Hope of Similar Community Development Workers in Public Housing Estates
The South Sydney Herald December 2006 in The World Health Organisation recognises Northcott reported that “The iconic Surry Hills landmark, Northcott Housing Estate, is the first in the world to be recognised by the World Health Organisation as a “Safe Community”. For the last 4 years, national arts organisation Big hART has used cultural activities to bring about change at Northcott, working with Police, Department of Housing, Tenants and a myriad of other community partners. These creative initiatives have included the well publicised and highly successful production of Stickybricks and portrait exhibition, tenant by tenant, for the 2006 Sydney Festival and the documentary 900 Neighbours which premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June. Using a whole of government approach, the partners have been successful in creating significant behavioural changes within the Northcott community. While crime and violence still occurs at Northcott, the tenants have become better equipped to respond to these issues together. It is this ability to deal with and address issues of safety that the World Health Organisation is acknowledging.”
On CLOVER'S eNEWS - Friday 15 December 2006 - No. 327 Northcott Declared Safe Clover Moore also covered the UN Award and also reported that: “I've been calling on the Government to provide a Community Development Worker on all Department of Housing estates, and was pleased that the Minister for Housing has now agreed to this strategy. At my recent meeting with her, she committed to replacing the recently resigned Northcott Community Development Worker with a skilled and experienced officer”. Hopefully one day soon Redfern and Waterloo public tenants will also have programmes like Northcott and will also receive a WHO “Safe Community” award. Hopefully the RWA is on the phone to try and ensure Redfern Waterloo is towards the top of the list for funding similar programmes similar to those at Northcott.
The Streetbeat Bus Service
We saw the advertisement in the South Sydney Herald and thought it should be shared in case some of our readers can help.
An opportunity to support your local community
Who we are
- A small transport and outreach service operating late at night in the South Sydney area
- Attempt to minimize harm for young people on the streets late at night
What we do
- Pick them up and take them to their home or to another safe place
If you are interested
- accompany the driver/outreach worker
- between 10 pm and 3.00 am
- engaging and assisting young people of our community
Contact Alex - South Sydney Aboriginal Resource Centre 9319 4195 to chat.
Seasons Greetings
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers Season’s Greetings. We hope that the Christmas and New Year period will be a safe and happy one for you. We look forward to working with everyone in the New Year to make 2007 a great year for our area, those that live and work here and those that support the Redfern Waterloo communities.
Hopefully all the pre-Christmas announcements from those we keep a watchful eye upon have been made and we can all take a break until well into the New Year! We will continue to add material as it becomes available to the REDWatch website so if you are looking for information over the festive season visit http://www.redwatch.org.au/recent or set up an RSS feed to that webpage so you are notified of any changes on the website as soon as they are posted.
Have your say – Summary of Current Consultations
Below we have listed consultations currently open for community input and provided a link for further information:
- CoS Proposed Alcohol Free Zones - Until Friday 22 December 2006.
- CoS DA - St Andrews Redfern Campus - Until Thursday 12th January 2007
- CoS Street Drinking Strategy - Until Friday 12 January 2007.
- CoS City South Local Action Plan – Until Monday 15 January 2007. (Alexandria and Rosebery)
- CoS Development Contributions Plan 2006 – Until Sunday 21 January 2007.
- CoS Councillors’ Expenses Policy - Until Monday 29 January 2007.
- CoS Draft Open Space & Recreation Needs Study – Until Friday 2 February 2007.