In this Update:

Inquiry into Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage (including in Redfern Waterloo) – Submissions Extended to 31^st January 2008

NSW Minister for Housing visits Redfern Waterloo

DoH Funding for RedWater News at an End?

REDWatch Meeting on RWA / DoH Public Housing Redevelopment Plans – 5.30 Wednesday 5^th December 2007

Redfern Waterloo Eveleigh CoS Community Forum - Wednesday 5^th December 2007

Changes Proposed to Tenancy Law

More Information on Housing – City Futures and AHURI

New Light on the Redfern Waterloo Street Team Evaluation

Pemulwuy Project waiting on Department of Planning

Jane Bennett exhibition of Trains, Cranes & Ships - National Trust Centre from 1-14 December, 2007

Can there be a place for Rail Artists in Eveleigh?

Gawura Campus of St Andrew’s Cathedral School Opens

Erskineville 2 Storey Supermarket Opposed – Meeting 6^th December - Exhibition Closes 17^th December 2007

Frasers Broadway November Consultation and Demolition Plans on Exhibition until 14^th December 2007

Waterloo’s Summer on the Green – Friday 7th December 2007

International Human Rights Day Welcome for African Refugees – Monday 10^th December 2007

Carers Fact sheets now in 15 Languages

In the Media –

UTS Publications Precinct Issue 4/2007 (November) Articles of Interest

What we Missed in the South Sydney Herald

Crime Hotspots: is Redfern like Dover Heights?

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)

Inquiry into Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage (including in Redfern Waterloo) – Submissions Extended to 31^st January 2008

The NSW Legislative Council inquiry into Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage has extended its deadline for submissions until 31^st January 2008. Submissions were due to close at the end of November and with the federal election campaign over there is extra time to make a submission. As we have previously pointed out this Inquiry allows issues relating to the NSW government intervention into Redfern Waterloo, including the RWA’s activities in relation to the Aboriginal community, to be considered by the committee - see explanation here.

NSW Minister for Housing visits Redfern Waterloo

The NSW Minister for Housing, Matt Brown, visited Redfern Waterloo at the invitation of the Redfern Waterloo Chamber of Commerce (RWCC) on Tuesday 20th November 2007. The Minister met with the Chamber Executive Committee and walked through some of the Waterloo housing estate with them. The RWCC produced a briefing note which states that the “RWCC members have identified some major areas of concerns that must be addressed now or in conjunction with any future development plans for the area.” Areas identified included DoH Administration of the Estates, Plans for Redevelopment of Estates and the Process for any redevelopment. The statement also says “Overall the RWCC seeks to work with local tenants and DoH to build a harmonious community in which local services can be provided to DoH tenants as well as those for non-public housing tenants and private home owners who live in Redfern Waterloo”. The statement was released to local media and can be downloaded from the following link Chamber of Commerce meets with Housing Minister - 20 Nov 2007 (PDF 32Kb).

The RWCC Executive members are Tony Larkins - Innovative Solutions (President), Richard Pembroke - Redfern Development Group (Secretary), Betty Colquohon - Retro on Regent (Treasurer) Chris Curtis – Mr Mary’s (Redfern Vice President), Matt Lee – Lee Photography (Waterloo Vice President) and Geoff Turnbull – Stassen Australasia, (Darlington Vice President). The chamber website is www.rwchamber.com.au .

DoH Funding for RedWater News at an End?

At a time of potential uneasiness about the future shape of public housing in Redfern Waterloo you might expect that the Redfern and Waterloo Neighbourhood Advisory Boards’ printed Newsletter RedWater News, should be assured of funding as a community information source. It is currently funded primarily by the Department of Housing, however the latest edition December 2007 (856 KB PDF) tells readers that it will be the last printed edition of Redwater News until further funding can be secured. The Editorial Committee has requested a meeting with DoH to discuss the future of RedWater News and ongoing funding, but we understand no date has been set by the DoH. It is crucial with so many older tenants who do not have access to computers that a printed newsletter is available for DoH tenants..

The December edition of Redwater News includes articles on the National Indigenous Development Centre and more broadly The changing face of Redfern and Waterloo. It also looks at reorganisation of the property based functions of the DoH client services team in DOH Pottery Team Goes Functional. Other articles include information about Waterloo’s Summer on the Green – Friday 7th December 2007 as well as news that the Waterloo Green Action Plan has arrived ! In other articles they advise that Volunteer Formal Recognition is Coming, that  The Factory helps “Let the Dog Out” and supplies information about The Redfern & Inner City Home Support Service.

REDWatch Meeting on RWA / DoH Public Housing Redevelopment Plans – 5.30 Wednesday 5^th December 2007

REDWatch has decided to focus its December meeting on the planning being undertaken for the redevelopment of the Redfern Waterloo public housing estates. With the RWA undertaking another round of meetings with selected public housing tenants and workers as part of their work on draft plans and with the Housing Minister visiting the estate as a guest of the Chamber of Commerce now is the time for people to raise their concerns and suggestions with DoH and the RWA.

REDWatch has written to RWA CEO Robert Domm trying to clarify if public housing land will be sold as part of the public housing redevelopment. This question was also asked of Minister Sartor in recent Estimates hearings. Mr Domm’s response is provided below. In our view the emphasis should be placed on the words “current plans” as it is difficult to see how the RWA will be able to fund its publicly stated goals to revitalise public housing stock, reduce the concentration of public housing while increasing the local population and maintaining the amount of public housing without disposing of current public housing land. My Domm said:

“I am not aware of any current plans to sell or lease Department of Housing land in Redfern-Waterloo, with the exception of land adjacent to the proposed redevelopment of public housing in Elizabeth Street (which is already a matter of public record).  I note that the Department of Housing's intention to sell this land to partly fund the replacement of 106 old dwellings with the same number of modern, eco-friendly public dwellings has received community support, including from the City of Sydney”.

“While the development of Stage 2 of the Built Environment Plan is a work in progress, the Government has repeatedly made clear that there will be no reduction in the amount of public housing in the area. The RWA anticipates that a draft of Stage 2 could be available for public exhibition by March 2008”.

The December REDWatch meeting has been bought forward by half an hour to 5.30pm as a result of council scheduling a Community Forum on the same night. It is hoped that this will enable people to also attend the latter part of the CoS meeting or to go to a nearby establishment for an end of year drink. REDWatch meets downstairs at The Factory, 67 Raglan Street Waterloo on the first Wednesday of each month and everyone is welcome.

Redfern Waterloo Eveleigh CoS Community Forum - Wednesday 5^th December 2007

The City of Sydney is holding its last Community Forum for the year on Wednesday 5^th December at Redfern Town Hall, 73 Pitt Street Redfern. This is an opportunity to talk to Councillors and senior staff about issues in your area from 6.00pm to 6.45pm, receive updates on local projects, the grants program presentation and development applications from 6.45pm to 7.30pm and to hear a presentation on the City’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 Project from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. This is supposed to be your chance to help shape the future of Sydney so come along.

Changes Proposed to Tenancy Law

There are over 100 proposed changes to tenancy laws being considered by NSW Office of Fair Trading. Some of the main ones that will affect public housing tenants’ deal with: rent arrears, evictions, alterations by tenants, notices and uncollected goods (that are left behind when you move out). To find out more and have your say go to: http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/corporate/legislation/residentialtenancylawreform.html or call 9338 8925 to order a copy of the report with the proposed reforms.

More Information on Housing – City Futures and AHURI

Since out last RWIU REDWatch hosted a successful federal election candidates forum on housing which was attended by the now Federal Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek. Everyone present seemed impressed with Tanya’s understanding of housing issues and we look forward to seeing some of the country’s housing issues being seriously considered by the new Federal Government.

With the renewal of public housing in Redfern Waterloo being a major focus in the lead up to the RWA’s Built Environment Plan Phase 2 in March 2008 we thought it might be useful to focus this time on some of the wider work being done into housing. City Futures is a centre for research into Australian cities within the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of NSW. City Futures has recently put out an analysis of social changes in Sydney between 2001 and 2006 based on the 2006 census data the report is PDF 6 MB and you can click here to download report. City Futures is also conducting two on line surveys - Seniors Housing Survey and Apartment Living Survey. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), also associated with the Faculty of the Built Environment, is a national research organisation established in 2000 that specialises in housing and urban research and policy which puts out many very well researched papers on housing issues. If you want to know more about any of these initiatives visit www.fbe.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures or register to receive the City Futures Update by email.

New Light on the Redfern Waterloo Street Team Evaluation

In the last RWIU we reported on the Sydney Morning Herald article Redfern plan backfires: report which revealed some of the information that the government was trying to keep out of the public eye about the Redfern Waterloo Street Team Evaluation. One of the UTS School of Journalism publications, Precinct South Sydney Edition, has published an article FOI controversy over street team which documents REDWatch’s FOI request and the Legislative Council’s call for the Street Team papers. Precinct has seen the Draft Street Team Evaluation Report so have been able to discuss the FOI request with reference to the draft report. One of the article’s revelations is that the report contains few personal details. The inclusion personal information in the report was an oft repeated reason for not releasing it. The FOI Street Team article was a companion piece for another article Secret makeover plans for Redfern leave locals far from happy which dealt with the broader issue of secrecy within the RWA.

We have reproduced below the text of article FOI controversy over street team from Precinct South Sydney Issue 4/2007 in November 2007. This article can be downloaded as part of the PDF of this issue of Precinct Pages 1-11 (PDF 1.2 MB)

“A street team that provide youth services in the Redfern and Waterloo areas between 2003 and 2005 failed partly because the model imposed on it by senior NSW government public servants was "flawed", confused and needed more community consultation and involvement.

These were findings of the Review of the Redfern Waterloo Street Team (RWST) draft report, a copy of which has been obtained by Precinct southside.

An urgent Cabinet directive established the street team project in 2001 after negative media coverage about problems with young people in Waterloo. The plan was for community education, crisis services, early intervention and youth activities to be delivered by a single team representing a number of Government departments and non-government organisations.

The scathing report found as a result of the flawed plan, experienced staff left, very few children were helped and that 30 per cent of requests for help were for a "lift home" -- a service which staff suspected encouraged young people to stay out at night.

In 2004, the NSW government told a state parliamentary committee into Redfern Waterloo that it regarded the street team as one its greatest achievements.

In mid 2005, independent consultant Penny Ryan from RPR was paid $41,000 by the NSW Department of Community Services to prepare the evaluation report. She found the original plan was not "properly thought through". Many people interviewed for the report identified the imposition of the model from above as a key factor in the difficulties the RWST later faced.

Ms Ryan found that if future services were to be more successful there would need to be a "greater level of collaboration and ownership by community members, parents, young people and service providers."

The findings were provided to the Operational Management Group of senior public servants who planned and oversaw the project. Precinct cannot report if Ms Ryan's views about the flawed management of the project were included in her final report because the NSW Premier's Department and the Redfern-Waterloo Authority (RWA) refused to release the report.

Ms Ryan said she was unable to comment.

After the government received the report, the street team project was closed down. Late in 2005, members of the community organisation REDwatch asked for copies of the draft and final report. The RWA told REDwatch to make an application under the Freedom of Information Act. At the outset, REDwatch applicant Geoff Turnbull agreed that any names revealing personal information could be deleted. In fact, the draft report contains almost no names of any kind.

In an email tabled in NSW parliament last year, senior FOI officer in the NSW Premier's Department Ken Cull advised the RWA that the document "may be Cabinet document in confidence" because Cabinet had made a decision that there should be an evaluation of the street team project.

Cabinet documents are exempt under the FOI act. The RWA refused to supply the document on this basis. In February 2006, REDwatch asked the RWA to review its decision pointing out that the FOI officer had the discretion to release a document if it was in the public interest even if it could be regarded as a Cabinet document.

Mr Turnbull said he reminded the authority that the object of the FOI Act was to "extend, as far as possible, the rights of the public to obtain access to information held by the government."

The Redfern-Waterloo Authority's, CEO Robert Domm was unavailable for comment.

A source inside the RWA said that the authority did not release the report because it "didn't want to put the young people included in the report in that position at the start of their careers." There are no names in the report and REDwatch had already agreed to delete any personal information.

Two years on, REDwatch still wants the report.

"Without Government making available evaluation reports it is impossible to objectively assess what has happened and what has not. All you have is the RWA spin about what a great job they are doing, and the services experience that little has changed and scarce human services resources have been wasted," said spokesperson Geoff Turnbull.”

At its November 2007 meeting REDWatch resolved to continue to seek the public release of the Redfern Waterloo Street Team Evaluation.

Pemulwuy Project waiting on Department of Planning

The Aboriginal Housing Company has met with Department of Planning officers to clarify aspects of their concept plan. They are currently waiting on the Department of Planning to formally advise them in writing of any additional areas that Concept Plan needs to address before it can go on formal public exhibition. Given the Minister’s current emphasis on shortening the processing times of development applications it is hoped that the Department will respond to the AHC in the near future.

Jane Bennett exhibition of Trains, Cranes & Ships - National Trust Centre from 1-14 December, 2007

Well-known Sydney artist Jane Bennett will be exhibiting her latest show Trains, Cranes & Ships: Eveleigh Railway Workshops and the Hungry Mile at the National Trust Centre from 1-14 December, 2007. Jane’s most recent paintings focus on the Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Redfern, the Hammerhead Crane at Garden Island and the Hungry Mile at East Darling Harbour. “This exhibition is about the end of an era – the transformation of neglected industrial heritage in Sydney. It explores areas that share a fascinating past and an uncertain future,” she said. Further information can be found on the National Trust of Australia (NSW) website www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/events/janebennett/default.asp.

If you are concerned about the possible loss of the Eveleigh heritage and want to support the Large Erecting Shop being retained in active rail heritage use you can write to the Office of Rail Heritage and the Ministers involved. Further details can be found in the last RWIU at Eveleigh Railyards on National Trust Top Ten List of Australia’s Heritage at Risk.

Can there be a place for Rail Artists in Eveleigh?

Brian Dunnett from the Trains of Treasure Exhibition Committee has been writing to many people since the announcement that the Anna Schwartz Gallery will be coming to the CarriageWorks. Brian is particularly interested in seeing a place for the display of railway art somewhere in Eveleigh. At the moment Brian says that there is a collection of paintings and photographs that were once a feature of all NSW Country railway carriages that currently needs a home and he thinks it would be good if a home could be found for them around the old workshop complex. He would also like to see this as part of a commercial gallery which sells work from contemporary railway artists such as UK’s Guild of Railway Artists www.railart.co.uk/gallery.html. Brian has earlier proposed a Heritage Walk be built into the Eveleigh Railyards Development in his article The Fate of Eveleigh: More of ‘Ugly Sydney’ or an Enhancement of the Greatest Rail Heritage Site in the World? (PDF 700Kb).

Brian has passed on the following information he received from Sue Hunt the CEO at CarriageWorks concerning the Anna Schwartz Gallery: “we have entered into a heads of agreement with the Anna Schwartz Gallery. Planning is taking place and we hope that all permits will soon be place that will allow the gallery to proceed. The Schwartz Gallery will be a commercial gallery, showing the best of Australian and international contemporary art. While it will be an important addition to the cultural life of Sydney, its focus is the development of the careers of the artists in its stable and the selling of their works. The gallery design itself, as with the rest of the design of the building, will retain heritage elements the important connection with the past through the architecture rather than the exhibitions that it presents.”

Gawura Campus of St Andrew’s Cathedral School Opens

On Thursday 22^nd December 2007 St Andrews opened their Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Campus within the main St Andrews school campus. The opening was reported by Joel Gibson the Indigenous Affairs Reporter, in the Sydney Morning Herald of November 23, 2007 in his article School happens on model for indigenous learning. St Andrews’ principal is quoted as saying "But we have stumbled, by accident, upon a very powerful model. The school within a school really works … the kids are highly engaged, they feel buoyant and their morale is good, so they don't miss school. And the size has a lot to do with it. The journalist George Negus is reported in the article as saying “Gawura had taught the mainstream students about indigenous Australia and vice versa”.

We are unable to comment on the how St Andrews version of a “school within a school” aspects compares with other educational models used within private schools, but during the initial consultations to put their campus on the Block we did encourage St Andrews to locate the Gawura campus at the main St Andrews school. In large part this was based on the experience of our own children at Darlington Public School and the benefits for both Aboriginal and non Aboriginal children attending a school with a positive and prominent focus on Aboriginal history and contemporary culture.

While it is encouraging to read that other private schools are considering the advantages to their own schools of including Aboriginal children by replicating the St Andrews model, we are compelled to point out that public schools like Darlington have been successfully working with a range of different educational models for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal kids in the same school, long before St Andrews happened upon it as a result of not being able to create a separate Aboriginal campus in Redfern.

Erskineville 2 Storey Supermarket Opposed – Meeting 6^th December - Exhibition Closes 17^th December 2007

A Development Application has been lodged for a big 2 storey supermarket on the corner of Erskineville Road and Gowrie Street and a new group, Village Friends in Erskineville have set up a website at www.erskinevillevillage.org and are campaigning to stop the proposed development. In their recent media release they say “Big business is coming to town. Which do you prefer? Coles? Woolworths? McDonalds?” “There are more appropriate, commercially viable, development solutions which would retain and enhance the Village experience for residents, business owners and visitors alike but we must act now.” There is a lot of information on the website so if you share the concerns of Village Friends in Erskineville then please contact them by email at friends@erskinevillevillage.org and lend your support.

If you share these concerns then come and learn how you can make a difference at a Community Meeting is being called for 6th December 2007 at 6pm at Holy Trinity Church Cnr Erskineville Road & Rochford Street Erskineville. Councillor Marcelle Hoff has accepted an invitation from Village Friends in Erskineville to chair the meeting.

The details of the Supermarket DA can be found on the CoS website as DA Number D/2007/1932 and at Neighbour Service Centres. The DA Exhibition closes on 17^th December 2007.

Frasers Broadway November Consultation and Demolition Plans on Exhibition until 14^th December 2007

Frasers have been doing a lot of work in preparation for proposals for the old Fosters site that their architect and design teams are putting together. Some Chippendale residents were asked to take Frasers head Dr Stanley Quek on a walk around on 15^th November and found they were doing a residents guided tour for not only Dr Quek but also most of the Frasers Broadway consultants as well. This was followed by a couple of drinks and discussion about the concerns of residents groups. On Friday 16^th Frasers met with City of Sydney Council, state government departments and other interested groups before holding a feedback session for local residents about those discussions on Saturday 17^th. Saturday also provided the opportunity for people to raise their concerns with specialists working on different aspects of the Frasers Broadway Plans. It was refreshing to see this kind of engagement with the local community but we feel there could have been a greater involvement had Frasers spelt out the process in its invitation to the community. For example it was not plain to residents groups that they would be also showing Frasers consultants around on Thursday evening or that there was a Saturday feedback session on discussions with government departments, educational institutions and council which was separate from the opportunity to drop in and talk to those involved in the project.

Frasers have now reported on these meetings on their website at November 2007 . The report back provides some details of the companies that Frasers have invited to undertake work on the site. The Frasers website says: “Representatives from international architect firms Foster + Partners, Ateliers Jean Nouvel and landscape architect Jeppe Aagaard Andersen joined with Australian architects from Johnson Pilton Walker, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, Tzannes and landscape architect Turf Design over the three days to gain a better understanding of the key issues and significance of the Frasers Broadway site. Frasers has approached these firms to be involved in an intensive design excellence process over the coming year and is currently finalising the firms’ appointments.”

The walk with local residents came on the same day that the Department of Planning placed the Frasers Broadway (Formerly CUB Site) - Demolition Works (MP 07_0120) proposals on exhibition. The proposal is for the: “Demolition of structures and buildings within the site, except for heritage buildings to be retained. The purpose is to prepare the site for remediation and further archaeological testing prior to future development. The demolition is proposed to be undertaken in several stages, including recycling of material generated from the demolition.” The exhibition notice can be found on the Department of Planning website at Major projects part 3A – on exhibition which has the link to View project documentation. Exhibition is until 14^th December 2007.

Close neighbours of the former brewery may be particularly interested in Appendix L - Indicative Staging Program (PDF 133Kb) which sets out a preliminary view of what is expected to be happening on the site between now and 2012. Frasers have now got all the documents available through their own website Documents page and pleasingly the exhibition documents went up on the Frasers website within a day of them being formally posted by the Department of Planning. During the consultation period the Combined Chippendale Community Groups made Comments on Chippendale Social Context Report v1 - 16 Nov 2007 (PDF 351KB) issued by Elton Consulting for Frasers.

While we will keep a watching brief on the Frasers site we will not be running an ongoing commentary on all that happens. If you have an ongoing interest in the Frasers Broadway (CUB site) development in Chippendale we suggest you keep up to date in the following ways:

• Register your contact details with Elton Consulting who are handling community engagement for Frasers and they will notify you of forthcoming consultation opportunities and updates to the Frasers website. This can be done by sending an email to broadway@elton.com.au with your name, contact details and email address. 
• Register your contact details with the Coalition Chippendale Community Groups (includes Chippendale Residents Interest Group and East Chippendale Community Group) and get their Chippendale News email updates – contact communityworkingparty@yahoo.com.au .
• Visit the Frasers Broadway website at www.frasersbroadway.com.au . This is the developer’s official website and it contains newsletters, detail about the location, the project, latest news, important documents, contact details  and a mechanism for providing feedback.

Waterloo’s Summer on the Green – Friday 7th December 2007

Waterloo’s “Summer on the Green” will take place on Friday 7th December 2007 within the Green Area beside the Marton Gardens. The event will be presented in four stages including 11am – 2pm for the older residents’ picnic themed event; 3 – 5pm for the young people’s Christmas party and 5-8pm for The Factory Community Centre pearl anniversary family entertainment party. It is proposed to have appropriate activities such as light music, stage performances, bouncing castles, BBQ, information stalls, face painting, sports activities and guest appearances. It is hoped to also mark International Disability Day, and celebrate the success of local community projects such as the Marton Gardens mosaic. The event will provide great opportunity for people to consult local organisations, which will promote their services and groups. If you would like to host a stall or a family fun activity at any of the events (space is expected to be limited) or would like more information please contact HCAP at The Factory Community Centre on Ph: 8399 1011.

International Human Rights Day Welcome for African Refugees – Monday 10^th December 2007

Redfern Legal Centre and South Sydney Community Aid Coop Ltd Multicultural Neighbourhood Centre are hosting a multicultural morning tea for International Human Rights Day for African refugees as one of the new and emerging communities. Guest speakers include Tanya Plibersek MP Federal Member for Sydney, Andrew Sankoh PhD Student Integration of African Refugees, Paul Power CEO Refugee Council of Australia and Simon Rice Human Rights Lawyer. There will be a performance by PAPE MBAYE and NGUEWEEL Percussion Group. Upstairs at Alexandria Town Hall, 73 Garden St Alexandria, Monday 10th of December: 10am-11.30am. For more information contact South Sydney Community Aid on 9319 4073.

Carers Fact sheets now in 15 Languages

Thanks to funding from the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, Carers NSW has been able to translate four popular carer fact sheets in to 15 community languages plus English. The fact sheets can be downloaded Carers NSW translated carer fact sheets. The fact sheets are: Carers NSW; The seven habits of highly effective carers; Carer support groups and The impacts of a residential placement.

In the Media –

UTS Publications Precinct Issue 4/2007 (November) Articles of Interest

Earlier in this RWIU we made mention of two articles in Precinct South Sydney Edition, one of the UTS School of Journalism publications. As well as those two articles there are a number of other articles we are sure which will be of interest to many in Redfern Waterloo. Precinct carries stories about the AHC’s Pemulwuy Project Crunch time for The Block, Art wall one way to mend fences with community covers Bronwyn Bancroft’s public artwork as part of the Block park upgrades (with a companion piece Why Bancroft feels right at home with nature) and there is also another Block article Needle bus must go - Mundine. In other local stories Not all hard work at this factory covers the Factory Community Centre’s 30 year celebrations, Language and skills prepare students for brighter future looks at the Cleveland Street Intensive English High School, Multi-million dollar upgrade for ILC site covers development of the old Redfern school site, Souths back but are the fans? looks at reactions to the changing face of the Rabbitohs and Carlton site brews green concerns looks at community concerns about Frasers Broadway redevelopment.

The separate publication Precinct Sydney Edition also caries an interesting article on A celebration of diverse Lebanese history in Redfern and also picks up on the National Trust Our heritage at risk listings on important NSW sites including the Eveleigh Railyards.

What we Missed in the South Sydney Herald

Last RWIU we did not have a full copy of the November South Sydney Herald and we missed a couple of items which might have been of interest on Redfern Waterloo issues. The Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) was seeking expressions of interest from Indigenous incorporated bodies and businesses in leasing office and retail space in the a new building situated on the historic site of the Old ‘Black Theatre’ Site. The ILC’s school site was also covered in the article $30,000,000 Indigenous sports centre gets the nod. Also of interest is an article Artist-activist documents change in Redfern about Zanny Begg and the article On guard against racism which looks at two police incidents creating concern about police Aboriginal relations.

Crime Hotspots: is Redfern like Dover Heights?

You may have noticed recently (Sydney’s crime hotspots revealed) that media reports of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research LGA crime hot spot figures did not show up Redfern Waterloo as the crime hot spot of the City of Sydney. While the media article did not mention Redfern Waterloo at all, Redfern Waterloo did rate a mention in the BOCSAR media release in relation to three crime areas: domestic violence, robbery and malicious damage.

A recent Daily Telegraph story Dover Heights mansion targeted in drive-by shooting reported the following comment from a neighbour who did not want to be identified: "Normally you hear of these sorts of things happening in Redfern or the western suburbs,". Lyn Turnbull penned the following response (unpublished) to the article which we thought might be of interest on suburb comparisons.

“As a former resident of Vaucluse, whose parents nearly bought a duplex In Eastern Ave Dover Heights back in 1971 when we were looking to move from Bondi to a larger house, I don't find it at all strange that there would be a drive by shooting in that vicinity. As a teenager living in Vaucluse I well remember my parent's horror when they discovered that the little boy who lived around the corner, that my younger brother was playing with, was the son of the owner of a number of night clubs. Fortunately for my parents’ health It was not until many years later that it was revealed that the boy's father was also one of Sydney's major crime bosses. I doubt that much has changed. I have learnt that irrespective of whether you live in Bondi, Vaucluse or Redfern suburbs are seldom as they are seen from outside.”

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 - Draft Late Night Trading Premises - Before Planning Committee Monday 3rd December
• CoS - Redfern Waterloo Eveleigh Community Forum - 6pm 5th December 2007
• CoS -Balfour Street, Chippendale - Proposed Partial Road Closure for New Pocket Park. Until Wednesday 12 December.
• CoS - Local Action Plan Matching Grants Program - expressions of interest close 14 December 2007
• CoS - Erskineville Supermarket DA - Until 17th December 2007
• CoS - Draft Local Approvals Policy for the Distribution of Handbills 2007 - Until Monday 24 December.
• CoS - Draft Inclusion Action Plan 2007-2011 - Until Friday 11 January 2008.
• NSW LC SCSI - Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage – Submissions close 31 January 2007
• OFT - Residential Tenancy Law Reform Consultation
• CoS - Chippendale, Camperdown, Darlington, West Redfern and North Newtown Urban Design Study – Draft recommendations and feedback form.
• CoS - Sustainable Sydney 2030 - What kind of city do you want Sydney to be in 2030?
• UWS - Backpacker Research – Online survey for residents and tourists.