In this Update:

Minister Approves Concept Plan for Channel 7 Building at ATP

Minister Approved Foster’s Concept Plan for CUB Site

Calls for Planning Changes

RWA’s Inadequate Draft Affordable Housing Plan

Sam Mostyn Joins Board of Reconciliation Australia

St Andrews withdraws DA for Redfern Campus at Redfern Community Centre

ILC National Indigenous Development Centre Open House – 1st March 2007

REDWatch Meeting Changed to 14^th February 2007

REDWatch Election Website

A Community and Business Leaders meeting without the Community?

Eveleigh Rail Yards

Shuttle Bus Launched

HCAP Badges Mosaic Project and Photo Voice under “time 2 act”

Connect Redfern – Children and Family Services Lists Updated for Term 1 2007

South Sydney Herald February 2007

PCYC- FC – Setting up a local Football (soccer) Club – Registrations 13^th February 2007

Redfern - Palm Island What Next? - Rally 14^th February 2007 10.30am

East Redfern Pocket Parks Opening – Saturday 17^th February 2007

Redfern Residents for Reconciliation Oral History Project – Launch 23^rd February 2007

City of Sydney Draft Homelessness Strategy – Until 26^th February 2007

Performance Space to hold CarriageWorks Open Day

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)

Minister Approves Concept Plan for Channel 7 Building at ATP

On February 6^th 2007 Minister Sartor announced that planning approval had been given for the Channel 7 / Pacific Magazines development at the ATP. The Minister’s media release can be downloaded from the RWA website $123M Investment in Redfern Given Planning Go-Ahead (pdf~14kb). The original announcement was made on 28^th June 2006 $120 M Deal to make Redfern a Media and Employment Hub (pdf ~85kb) and the concept plans can be found at http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/asp/06_0149.asp. In part the Minister’s Media release reads:

“This project marks the next stage in the ATP’s transformation from 14 hectares of disused railway workshops into a world class technology and business centre.” The new 43,500m2 media complex will be built on vacant land and includes four television studios and a 12-storey office building. A new public plaza will be created as part of the project, along with ground floor retail shops and cafes.

A concept plan for the project was publicly exhibited in September and October 2006 and issues raised in submissions led to a number of changes and conditions:

• A proposed Communications Tower has been reduced in height from approximately 15 metres above the roof of the plant room to 5 metres;
• A proposed landscaped open roof was not clearly defined and any future use of the roof area as an outdoor terrace will require further planning approval;
• A noise management plan will be put in place during construction and operation of the facility to minimise any impacts.

Mr Sartor said he had also approved an Early Works Project Application allowing the site to be excavated and archaeological investigations to take place. “This is a landmark project for Redfern that will provide a major boost to the local economy and employment opportunities.”

We must admit that while we ran a piece on the 15^th September 2006 letting people know about that the Chanel 7 concept plan material was up on the Department of Planning’s website this was before we discovered that this part of the Department of Planning website did not also contain notices about public exhibitions of the plans. As a result we did not know that this consultation was happening and as a result we missed alerting people to the consultation. This highlights one of the problems with projects being treated under part 3A of the EPA act that allow planning control of state significant sites to be taken from local councils. Notice of 3A consultations do not appear on the RWA website or the City of Sydney website only at http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/assessingdev/onexhibition.asp and as most people will not even know that the Minister has called in a project, it is possible for a project to go through “public” consultation with people living close to it not even being aware of the project or the consultation! It reminds us of the earth being destroyed by the Vogon Constructor fleet in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy because no one lodged an objection at the local planning department in Alpha Centauri!

Minister Approved Foster’s Concept Plan for CUB Site

On Saturday 10^th February the Minister announced his approval of the CUB Concept Plans. The details of the CUB site have been moved to the notices of Determination section of the DoP site at http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/asp/ndetermination.asp. The CUB announcement followed immediately upon the announcement of the Minister’s approval for the development of East Darling Harbour and consequently received little coverage. Chippendale residents are still trying to find out what has been approved as no documents were released with the announcement on either the Department of Planning or Foster’s CUB websites. The Fosters site shows that they have posted responses to submissions from council, government departments and the community at http://www.cubproject.com.au/ResponseToSubmissions.html but the documents will not open. As a result no one knows how Foster’s have responded to any of the community concerns raised during the public exhibition. We brought this to the attention of the Department of Planning a week ago but the files have still not been fixed.

It is known that there have been some changes made since exhibition as before Christmas Foster’s responded to concerns from the Department of Planning’s Strategic Assessments branch about a number of issues. Documents posted on http://www.cubproject.com.au/PreferredProjectPlans.html show the department’s concerns only seem to be with the proposed Public Car Park - Block 5, the gross floor area of Blocks 9 and 11 and building envelopes along Old Kent Rd. Foster’s have now responded to theses concerns. Council has approval the use of council land in the development as reported in Clover’s eNews CUB Deed secures Public Benefit where she states that the City had “secured commitment to vital public benefits from Carlton and United Breweries (CUB) site owners through our negotiations with them on including some Council roads in their plans”.

In other Chippendale news the city has also placed a draft Chippendale Improvement Plan “to improve local area traffic management, public domain, open spaces and community facilities” on exhibition until Tuesday 13^th February. There have also been some victories for Chippendale residents who have been fighting premises operating without Council approval and issues connected to the operation of brothels. For further details see Oasis and the duty-free store in the Citygold building.

Calls for Planning Changes

It is not just the 1000 plus representatives from 50 groups from around the state that attended the Day of Protest about planning decisions on 11^th February 2007 (Libs urge 'open' development planning and Despite Frank objections, Debnam stays silent on ban) that are upset about government planning decisions. The Local Government and Shires Association (LGSA), like many peak organisations, have taken the opportunity in the lead up to the state election to highlight some of the changes they would like to see in NSW planning law. Concerned about the new 3A provisions, the LGSA has called for “the establishment of an independent planning commission to undertake the assessment of major development projects, engage with councils and the community, and make recommendations to the Minister for Planning. The legislation also should be changed to provide objective criteria for determining when developments or sites are of state or regional significance”. Further details see - Independent Planning Commission Called for by Local Government. The LGSA has also called on candidates standing for the 2007 State election to support a number of reforms to significantly improve the transparency and accountability of the current planning system in NSW. The changes would also streamline working arrangements between state and local government. For further information see - Local Government Seeks Election Commitments on Planning

RWA’s Inadequate Draft Affordable Housing Plan

The Draft RWA Affordable Housing Contributions Plan 2006 (pdf ~360kb) was put on exhibition just before Christmas and we and many others did not have a change to have a good look at it at the time. This draft document is about the value of the levy to be charged to developers who develop within the state significant area and not about what the RWA plans to create affordable housing. Of major concern is that the RWA is only proposing a levy of 1.25% of the gross cost of development. Yet the RWA has insisted on taking around 3% for affordable housing out of the CUB site. A similar 3% figure is applicable for affordable housing contributions on residential sites in Green Square. So the RWA, who have often insisted that part of their role is to create affordable housing, is proposing less than half the affordable housing levy from developments on land they predominantly own than they have already negotiated to take from the CUB site!

By comparison in Pyrmont Ultimo 7% of the final total dwelling stock is to be affordable housing and levies are supplemented by funds from the Federal Government and a levy on the sale of government owned land. NCOSS have pushed for many years for 10% affordable housing in new estates and we understand this has been adopted as the level in South Australia. In many redevelopments overseas where there is a high need for affordable housing, it can account for 10% to 35% of some re-developments.

One of the major problems is that the RWA have not released their Affordable Housing Programme at the same time as their Draft Contributions Plan. As a result the proposed 1.25% figure, which the RWA document admits is low, is not supported by any evidence or by any details of what the RWA plans to do to address the affordable housing needs of the area. REDWatch’s submission on the Plan contends that, if the $15 million earmarked in the RWA Contributions Plan to mitigate the problems caused by state main roads was paid for by the NSW government, then the contribution towards affordable housing could be significantly increased. Similarly, if the NSW Treasury paid for the upgrade of Redfern Station rather than funds from the sale of government land, more funds could be made available for affordable housing. Instead of a proper discussion about affordable housing in Redfern Waterloo, a measly pre-emptive figure of 1.25% is being proposed as the affordable housing development contribution, presumably so the state government gets top dollar for its land from developers and is able to minimise budget allocations from treasury to build Redfern railway station.

You can see submissions from NCOSS, City of Sydney Council, REDWatch and other organisations as they are received at http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/statesignificant/dcplans/ .

Sam Mostyn Joins Board of Reconciliation Australia

RWA watchers may be interested to know that Sam Mostyn, who is an RWA Board Member and Group Executive, Culture & Reputation at IAG, has recently been appointed to the Board of Reconciliation Australia. The details of the appointment can be found in the following Reconciliation Australia Media Statement -  Sam Mostyn Joins Board of Reconciliation Australia

St Andrews withdraws DA for Redfern Campus at Redfern Community Centre

We have been advised that St Andrews has officially withdrawn their application to use of part of the Redfern Community Centre. The St Andrew’s proposal certainly produced a lively debate at the community meetings St Andrew’s arranged to gauge reaction to their proposed Redfern campus. St Andrew’s are to be congratulated for acting in accordance with the concerns raised about their campus being located in the Council’s Redfern Community Centre.

Unfortunately the Sun-Herald of 4^th February 2007 saw local opposition as “a sad indictment on our community” and blamed the people of Redfern for questioning the benefit of St Andrew’s Redfern Campus to the local Aboriginal community, most of whom have directly suffered as a result of past well-intentioned plans of churches, schools and government. The Sun Herald Editorial - Why our education system is fraying at edges linked together a number of education stories that it ran that day. Among the stories about which comment was made were some that might be of particular interest to Redfern Waterloo: Schools tell kids: sorry, we're full about public schools turning away children due to lack of space; Police presence in classrooms concerning the new police in schools programme which includes Alexandria Park; and Private school for Aborigines suffers Redfern setback about community opposition to the St Andrew’s use of the Redfern Community Centre. The editorial concluded as follows:

”One of the few moves to reach out to strugglers in any meaningful way has come from the private sector. The Sun-Herald reported last year that Sydney's St Andrew's Cathedral School planned to set up an Aboriginal only campus in Redfern. Now, sadly, those plans are in jeopardy due to opposition from the Redfern community. The private school had hoped to open the campus for the new school year, with individual children sponsored World Vision-style. But after fiery community meetings, City of Sydney council has extended the development consultation period, delaying the school's opening. Already 10 of the 13 submissions received have opposed the plan. What a sad indictment on our community when even the most well-intentioned are thwarted in their attempt to give everyone what they deserve - a decent education that will allow them to grow into valued members of society. Perhaps it's time we all went back to school. We might just learn some valuable lessons about mixing well with others.”

ILC National Indigenous Development Centre Open House – 1st March 2007

The Indigenous Land Corporation will be holding an informal ‘Open House’ to provide information on the proposed development of the National Indigenous Development Centre at Redfern on Thursday March 1. Turn up any time between 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm at the old Redfern Public School, George Street, Redfern to:

• find out more about what is being proposed;
• review the concept plan for the Centre;
• have a look at the site;
• learn about the proposed activities and facilities;
• make comments, ask questions, provide information;
• find out what other community consultation activities are planned, and how you can be involved;
• learn about the proposed timing for the design and construction of the centre.
  

If you have any questions about the Open House event please contact Stuart Waters at Twyford Consulting on Twyford@twyford.com.au or Phone: 1800 11 00 55. We will try and get more information about the current plans in our next update.

REDWatch Meeting Changed to 14^th February 2007

REDWatch had to postpone its meeting last week to 14^th February 2007 at 6pm at the Factory Community Centre. The meeting will consider draft questions for candidates and the paper on the changes REDWatch would like to see as a result of the election debates and the possible change of Minister.

REDWatch Election Website

REDWatch has now set up a section on its website at http://www.redwatch.org.au/redw/elections/state2007/ for the State electorates of Marrickville and Heffron which cover the RWA area. The website also has links to the electoral commission sites for Marrickville and Heffron where you can obtain information about the electorates and details of voting patterns at the last election. The REDWatch sites currently cover some background information as well as links to candidates and party’s websites. The sites will also carry media release from candidates about issues that directly relate to Redfern Waterloo. Following the REDWatch meeting on Wednesday 14^th February the site will also carry a background paper about the changes REDWatch would like to see discussed during the election and taken up in future by the Minister for Redfern Waterloo. The questions REDWatch is providing to candidates will also be posted on the website following the 14^th February Meeting.

A Community and Business Leaders meeting without the Community?

We were intrigued by a small article in the Sun-Herald of 31^st December 2006 Shot in the arm for inner south that reported that Peter Holmes a Court had set up “forum of community and business leaders to re-invigorate the inner southern suburbs”. The article reports that a recent “invitation only” meeting included “local business owners, developers as well as representatives of the Hillsong church and the NSW Police”. We are still to identify any community representatives other than local politicians who attended the meeting. The article said that the forums will be held on a quarterly basis, the next one scheduled for March. We have been trying to get information about the forum to share with our readers, but so far without success. We are keen to hear from anyone who was invited to attend the meeting and to learn of how the Redfern Waterloo non business community was represented. REDWatch has been pushing for the last few years for a broad based Community Council to provide a community reference point and to ensure community input into the RWA. Such a council existed during the days of the Redfern Waterloo Partnership project and was made up of service, business and community representatives as well as local elected politicians. It was suspended when the RWA was established.

Eveleigh Rail Yards

It was good to see a strong turnout for the CarriageWorks open day and in particular to see a large number of Eveleigh workers return to see the changes and to reminisce about their days at Eveleigh. There appears to be a strong desire for the Eveleigh Railway Heritage to be preserved in an active way.

Geoff took the opportunity provided on the day to go through the Eveleigh Paint Shop. This is one of two sites in the RWA Built Environment Plan where recognised heritage structures do not have an existing height restriction in the RWA Plan. In the case of the Paint Shop the existing single storey brick building is zoned to be replaced by an up to 5 storey building. The tin building to the north of the Brick Paint Shop is not listed by the RWA as being significant and is zoned to be replaced with an up to 4 storey building. These building currently house part of the Railcorp heritage carriage collection and Historical Electric Traction ( www.het.org.au ) work out of here on restoring Railcorp owned carriages.

During the tour Geoff learnt that, like the occupants of the Large Erecting Shop, the HET people have been told they can stay at Eveleigh until 2008. He was assured that the building was in excellent repair and that there was no reason that the building could not form part of an active heritage rail centre if the government chose. Given the proximity to the main rail line Geoff was surprised at the lack of noise from passing trains.

The other change we noticed at the CarriageWorks open day was that the area to the east of the CarriageWorks has now been gated off to stop access to the fan of tracks and the heritage items to the east of the Paint Shop. Obviously before anything can be done with the Paint Shop the carriages stored there will need to find a new home. The Rail Transport Museum at Thirlmere is not electrified so many of the carriages at the Paint Shop will need to go elsewhere if they are to be run rather than just looked at.

The Friends of Eveleigh made a visit to Thirlmere to see how the heritage carriages from the Large were being looked after and the results can be seen on the REDWatch Website at FOE photos on Storage of Heritage Items. FOE’s concerns about the storage of movable heritage rail items have again been taken up with the Government by Clover Moore Letter from Clover Moore to John Watkins - 12 January 2007.

Shuttle Bus Launched

In the last update we made mention of the new shuttle bus being run by South Sydney Community Transport with support from the City of Sydney. The service was successfully launched on Thursday 1^st February 2007 and now runs 3 trips on Thursdays and Fridays linking Redfern, Waterloo and Glebe public housing with Redfern Railway Station, RPA Hospital, Broadway Shopping Centre and Glebe Library. Those attending the BBQ and launch agreed that the service will provide a vital cross connection for those needing to move across the suburbs rather than into the city. The Central magazine of 31 January picked up on the launch in The shuttle to keep Redfern locals on the move. Details of the route and the timetable for the new service can be found on the City of Sydney’s website at Village to Village shuttle bus service - FREE every Thursday and Friday. 

HCAP Badges Mosaic Project and Photo Voice under “time 2 act”

Mike Shreenan the Housing Communities Assistance Programme (HCAP) is working to link together a number of different events under a common community branding of “time 2 act”. The first two events that HCAP are organising are the Matron Gardens Mosaic Project which aims to encourage young people to participate in the care of the Waterloo Green area and surrounding areas through the creation of an artist-led community mural and this year’s Photo Voice Project which is an opportunity for residents of Waterloo and Redfern a chance to raise their concerns and ideas about living and improving community life through the use of photography.

Mike Shreenan argues that “Time 2 Act is a proposed “umbrella” initiative that will be used to market or brand projects which result from interagency work within Redfern and Waterloo. It will also be used to market HCAP initiatives, and local residents “owned” initiatives. The key aim of this program will be to inspire people in the community to change the way we do small everyday things. “If everyone made small changes to the way we do things, it could make a big difference to quality of life for the collective community”. The program will bring local residents together with frontline workers, policy makers, volunteer groups, and government and non-community sector services together. We then, through joint forces, will reach effective problem-solving ideas. We shall do this in the interest of the local community and will be “user” led. We believe in partnership working, and turning visions into action.” If you would like more information on the proposal please contact Michael M Shreenan at Housing Communities Assistance Program (HCAP) The Factory Community Centre 67 Raglan St Waterloo 2017 Ph: 8399 1011.

While on HCAP the latest edition of Redwater News, the newsletter of public tenants in redfern Waterloo can be downloaded from Redwater News February 2007 (PDF 813Kb)

Connect Redfern – Children and Family Services Lists Updated for Term 1 2007

Connect Redfern has produced their Term 1 2007 directories. These can be downloaded from the REDWatch site on the following links Events Courses and Workshops (Word 2.2 MB) Making Connections (Word  438 KB) Information for Parents (Word 115 Kb) Community Service Contacts (Word 408 Kb).

South Sydney Herald February 2007

The first South Sydney Herald for 2007 is out and has been posted on the REDWatch website at SSH February 2007 (PDF 2.7 MB). Again there are a range of articles which will be of interest to readers who may not see the hard copy delivered to their door by the SHH volunteers. The paper this month has covered stories such as Residents speak out against proposed changes to Community Development Employment Program , Redfern lock-down about the Saturday 20^th police lock down of the Block, Former Police Commander for Woman of the Year, Block proposal divides community on the St Andrews Redfern Campus proposal, Yaama Dhinawan finally open for business, Political Profile: Incumbent Keneally batting for Heffron, Now showing in Darlington about the CarriageWorks, and Supporting the Redfern Gym - Sponsorships for young people. Trevor Davies in his “Have you heard” column again covers a number of local issues with news on the new Redfern to Glebe bus service Great move by the City Council, the RWA knock back of the Railz DA in Good news from the RWA, the Greens at the CarriageWorks open day The Eveleigh Rail-yards: Community, not business!, Trevor also asks Has Sartor saved Redfern’s heritage? and reports on Aboriginal troops recognised. We have also included reference to two stories which, while out of area, will be of great interest to many who live in Redfern Waterloo they are Accommodation for aged reopens in Alexandria and Newtown’s Bike Club, a two-wheeled success story. The South Sydney Herald hopes to have its own website set up by March and we will let you know how to access it when it is launched.

PCYC- FC – Setting up a local Football (soccer) Club – Registrations 13^th February 2007

Police and Community Youth Clubs NSW will establish for the first time a new PCYC Football Club based at Redfern. With the aim of re-establishing pathways for children and young people in through sports, PCYC has in the last two years built the largest network of futsal (indoor soccer) competitions across New South Wales. In 2007, PCYC is trying its hand at outdoor football reports the Central of 31st January 2007. The PCYC FC-South Sydney will be based at the Alexandria Park School on Park Road, Alexandria, and will be operated in conjunction with the South Sydney PCYC, with all players receiving membership to the club as part of their registration. Further information can be found in the Central of 31^st January article Football lands in Redfern.

Redfern - Palm Island What Next? - Rally 14^th February 2007 10.30am

“On the 3^rd anniversary of the murder of TJ Hickey and just over 2 years of the Mulrunji Doomadgee murder on Palm Island ISJA and the Socialist Alliance are holding a public meeting to allow your voice to be joined with others across Australia” reads the leaflet put out for the Rally. The Rally is to be held on Wednesday 14^th February 2007. Gather at the fence line at 10:30 am corner George and Philips St Waterloo. For more information contact Ray Jackson on 93180947 or Raul Bassi on 0403037376.

East Redfern Pocket Parks Opening – Saturday 17^th February 2007

The Lord Mayor is opening the three new pocket parks in East Redfern at Marriott Street Reserve, James Street Reserve and Hansom Cab Place. The celebrations have a heritage theme, with an historic hansom cab leading those attending from park to park and traditional ice-cream and home-made lemonade being served. The celebration will take the form of a progressive party, the celebrations will begin in Marriott Street Reserve at 11am, and continue in James Street Reserve and Hansom Cab Place, before concluding in Young Lane with a free barbecue. For more information visit East Redfern Parks Community Celebration.

Redfern Residents for Reconciliation Oral History Project – Launch 23^rd February 2007

The Redfern Oral History, a website project of Redfern Residents for Reconciliation will be officially launched on Friday, 23 February 2007 from 5.30-7.00 pm at the Redfern Community Centre. For catering purposes it is essential to RSVP to Deborah Wall by 16 February at deborahwll@yahoo.com.au

The RRR Oral History Project website which features transcribed interviews of people including the late Fr Ted Kennedy, Aunty Joyce Ingram, Aunty Ali Golding, Uncle Max, Col James, Mick Mundine and Roberta Sykes can be found at www.redfernoralhistory.org .

City of Sydney Draft Homelessness Strategy – Until 26^th February 2007

In the last update we drew people’s attention to the Draft Homelessness Strategy. On the City of Sydney Home page it had the exhibition extending only to 26^th January 2007. This was an error and submissions are open until 26^th February. Some information on the proposed strategy can be found in Clover’s eNews of 19 January City’s Draft Homelessness Strategy or by visiting the Council website at Draft Homelessness Strategy and downloading the draft document.

Performance Space to hold CarriageWorks Open Day

Performance Space is one of the companies that will occupy the new CarriageWorks theatre after 25 years in Cleveland Street Redfern. Their new home and 2007 program will be launched by Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir on the weekend of February 24 & 25 with two free events. All community members are welcome.

PRIMARY PRODUCERS: Oyster Shucking Picnic Sat 24 Feb 2 – 4PM
You’re invited to join artists Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy in the making of their new sculptural work Primary Producers by attending a picnic to shuck and eat oysters. The discarded oyster shells will be collected and transformed into a sculptural installation to be exhibited at CarriageWorks from 8 – 31 March.  It references Aboriginal middens that were pilfered for their high lime content and used in the mortar of colonial Australia. Primary Producers is part installation, part site-specific action, drawing attention to the foundations of contemporary Sydney.
SINGING THE SPACE: A Housewarming Sun 25 Feb 6PM
A welcome to country... a sonic painting of our new home... a choral housewarming.. Performance Space launches its home at CarriageWorks with a free community event. A melodic feast to usher in new ways of seeing and being.Featured performers will include Vic Simms, Marlene Cummins, The Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, Annette Tesoriero, Amanda Stewart, Timothy Chung, The NSW Railway Band and Brothablack, Singing the Space is a family event to call in a new era. We hope you can join us. The website for the Performance Space is www.performancespace.com.au .

Have your say – Summary of Current Consultations

Below we have listed consultations currently open for community input and provided a link for further information: 

• RWA Draft Affordable Housing Contributions Plan 2006 - Until Monday 12 February 2007
• CoS Chippendale Improvement Plan - Until Tuesday 13 February 2007.
• CoS Sydney University Planning Agreement - Until Wednesday 14 February 2007.
• CoS Draft Homelessness Strategy – Until Monday 26 February 2007
• CoS Draft Safe City Strategy – Until Monday 26 February 2007.
• CoS Draft Oxford Street Safety Strategy – Until Monday 26 February 2007.