The latest news from REDWatch
REDWatch is a community group which covers the Sydney suburbs of Redfern Eveleigh Darlington and Waterloo. These suburbs make up what the NSW Government generally refers to as Redfern - Waterloo. The area has been subject to various NSW Government interventions since the early 2000s and had its own Government Minister from 2004 to 2011. Interventions have included removing planning responsibilities from City of Sydney Council and having place specific interventions on human services, infrastructure and employment. This history is captured on this website. Currently the focus is on UrbanGrowth Central to Eveleigh and the proposed redevelopment of the Waterloo Public Housing Estate. Below is the latest news from REDWatch about our area and its issues.
Elizabeth & Walker Streets Redfern Redevelopment
The plan for this redevelopment was announced in July 2002 as part of the DoH's decision to use privately funded redevelopment (see article in Redevelopment tab). In September 2003 the NSW Department of Housing wrote to residents formally informing them of what was planned in the development. The DoH could not get interest in the development as initially proposed and in May 2005 advised residents that they would try to gain interest by including the PCYC site in the development. Here we are collecting information about the Elizabeth Street development.
Waterloo DoH - George Street in the Urban Design Study
This is the extract covering the main Waterloo DoH estate generally boundered by Cope, Phillip, Pitt and McEvoy Streets. PDF 1.9 MB.
DoH Redevelopment Opportunity Example
The City of Sydney Urban Design Study takes the towers on Phillip Street Waterloo as an example of how the site could be redeveloped to provide higher density and eventually remove the towers. It proposes reopening George Street and turning current public open space into more housing and private open space for tenants. File is 837 Kb PDF.
Redfern DoH - Kettle Street in the Urban Design Study
This is the extract covering the Redfern DoH properties generally boundered by Elizabeth, Phillip, Young and Cooper Streets. PDF 1.7 MB.
Heritage Map from Waterloo & Redfern Urban Design Study
This is the Heritage map from the Waterloo & Redfern Urban Design Study. It show some of the issues facing DoH if it wished to consolidation its land holdings in the "Elizabeth Street" Urban Design Study area. PDF 360 Kb.
Actual Current Heighs and the proposed Height Controls from the Urban Design Study
The Urban Design Study showed the current Height controls for the area, as well as the actual Heights and made proposals about the Heights that should be in new City of Sydney controls. We have shown here the maps that show the actual Heights that currently exisit as well as what has been proposed by the City of Sydney. As some DoH land exceeds current council heigh controls there seeemed little point in including the current height zoning. In broad terms the City of Sydney proposed controls are to decrease height but increase land coverage. Map is PDF 863 KB.
Actual Current Floor Space Ratio's and those proposed by the Urban Design Study
The Urban Design Study showed the current Floor Space Ratio (FSR) controls for the area, as well as the actual FSR's and made proposals about the FSR's that should be in new City of Sydney controls. We have shown here the maps that show the actual FSR's that exisit as well as what has been proposed by the City of Sydney. As some DoH land exceeds current council controls there seeemed little point in including the current zoning. In broad outline FSR controls are proposed to go from 1.5:1 to a range of 1.75:1 to 3.5:1. Map is PDF 879 KB.
Waterloo Mixed DoH - Elizabeth Street in the Urban Design Study
This is the extract covering the DoH properties in Waterloo that are largely unconsolidated in the area generally boundered by Pitt, Phillip, Morehead and McEvoy Streets. This area has a number of heritage features which are shown on the heritage map. PDF 1.8 MB.
DoH Properties in Waterloo & Redfern Urban Design Area
This map was produced at the end of the consultation process as a result of requests from the community. The map shows the location of Department of Housing properties in Waterloo & Redfern Urban Design Area. PDF 278Kb.
Council Draft LEP Land Use Zoning Map for HNSW areas in Redfern & Waterloo
This Land Use Zoning Map for the HNSW Planning Master Plan area has been extracted from the Draft Local Environment Plan (LEP) that City of Sydney put to the Department of Planning for Approval and Exhibition in September 2010. This map is provided for easy comparison of the council's proposed controls with the alternative controls produced by the Redfern Waterloo Authority BEP2 and Housing NSW's Master Planning for the Redfern & Waterloo public housing estates. This map is based on the area used by HNSW in its consultations for the Master Plan. File is PDF 263Kb
Council Draft LEP Heritage Map proposed for HNSW areas in Redfern & Waterloo
This Heritage map for the HNSW Planning Master Plan area has been extracted from the Draft Local Environment Plan (LEP) that City of Sydney put to the Department of Planning for Approval and Exhibition in September 2010. This map is provided for easy comparison of the council's proposed controls with the alternative controls produced by the Redfern Waterloo Authority BEP2 and Housing NSW's Master Planning for the Redfern & Waterloo public housing estates. This map is based on the area used by HNSW in its consultations for the Master Plan. File is PDF 259Kb
Council Draft LEP Height Controls for HNSW areas of Redfern & Waterloo
This Height map for the HNSW Planning Master Plan area has been extracted from the Draft Local Environment Plan (LEP) that City of Sydney put to the Department of Planning for Approval and Exhibition in September 2010. This map is provided for easy comparison of the council's proposed controls with the alternative controls produced by the Redfern Waterloo Authority BEP2 and Housing NSW's Master Planning for the Redfern & Waterloo public housing estates. This map is based on the area used by HNSW in its consultations for the Master Plan. File is PDF 289Kb
Council Draft LEP Floor Space Ratio (FSR) for HNSW areas of Redfern & Waterloo
This FSR map for the HNSW Planning Master Plan area has been extracted from the Draft Local Environment Plan (LEP) that City of Sydney put to the Department of Planning for Approval and Exhibition in September 2010. This map is provided for easy comparison of the council's proposed controls with the alternative controls produced by the Redfern Waterloo Authority BEP2 and Housing NSW's Master Planning for the Redfern & Waterloo public housing estates. This map is based on the area used by HNSW in its consultations for the Master Plan. File is PDF 292Kb.
City of Sydney Council Submission on Draft BEP2
The City of Sydney Submission tested various aspects of the Draft BEP2 and made a number of recommendations for changes to the plan. The council also proposed lower densities for the Redfern public housing estate and increased density in Waterloo arround a proposed new railway station.
Building Type in Waterloo & Redfern Urban Design Study Area
This map shows building type in the Waterloo & Redfern Urban Design Study Area and hence helps to identify the range of buildings held by the Department of Housing in the Waterloo & Redfern area. PDF 379 Kb.
NSW LAHC sites within City of Sydney LGA
This is a map from May 2021 showing Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) properties in the City of Sydney. LAHC own the land on which public and some social housing is located. The map is produced from the City of Sydney property records. Earlier in 2021 the NSW made available the locations of publicly owned lands but it excluded all property owned by state own corporations such as LAHC. For those in Redfern and Waterloo this map can be compared with a similar Council map from 2006 of DoH Properties in Waterloo & Redfern Urban Design Area (http://www.redwatch.org.au/issues/public-housing/redevelopment/cosuds/dohmap/download). A comparison shows LAHC properties in Redfern and Waterloo that have been sold by LAHC between 2006 and 2021.
Council Draft LEP Consultation with RWA & HNSW
In preparing the Draft CoS LEP covering the public housing estate areas of Redfern and Waterloo the Council was required to have Consultation with Government departments, adjoining councils and other bodies under section 62 of EP&A Act. This report which was Appendix J in the documents that went to Council on 6 September 2010 says “After additional consultation with Housing NSW it has been clarified and accepted that Waterloo Redfern Urban Design Study has offered reasonable and appropriate LEP recommendations. Redfern Waterloo Authority Built Environment Plan – Stage 2, as advised by the Authority, will not be dissimilar to Council’s recommendations and strategy for this area.”(page 15 – also see p23) This raises the question of why didn’t the RWA & HNSW just accept the CoS draft controls or negotiate any small variations rather than go through a separate BEP2 process? The meeting referred to was in May 2008 there may have been changes made since this statement was made. This is a link to the report covering CoS consultations - just search the the 482 KB PDF for Redfern or Waterloo.
City of Sydney Draft LEP
The City of Sydney has prepared a Draft Local Environment Plan (LEP) which covers all of the Local Government Area not removed from its Contol by the NSW Government - this currently includes the Public Housing areas that are to be the focus of the RWA's proposed BEP2 planning controls. The Council having passed the draft LEP sends it to the Department of Planning for their approval before being placed on public exhibition. It is considered likely that the public housing estates will be removed from the control of the council and from the draft LEP so that the RWA can exhibit their proposed planning conrols for the area. Below are links to the Councils LEP Draft controls when they went to Council Committee on 6 September 2010.
City of Sydney and Public Housing
During 2006 the City of Sydney undertook an Urban Design Study of Redfern Waterloo. This study included land owned by the then NSW Department of Housing. The study found that some areas of Public Housing were of quite low density and that there were opportunities to increase density on Housing New South Wales (HNSW) lands and decrease heights. Here we have bought together the key aspects of this study as it relates to public housing. We have also some maps from the CoS Draft LEP in September 2010 which show what CoS proposed as their controls for the HNSW area prior to RWA BEP2 and HNSW's Preliminary Master Plan. While the Draft BEP2 proposed an increase of 35% in density over the Council study, the Council submission on BEP2 actually proposed increased density in Waterloo if a new railway station on the Airport line could be constructed.
REDWatch Information Required and Received for Consultation on Public Housing
This link is to a list of reports, information and activity that is been sort by REDWatch. This is information and reference material relevant to community discussion about BEP2 & the Housing NSW Affordability Fund Preliminary Master Plan. As documents are supplied we will indicate this on the list with a link to the information. As the need for new information or action is required it too will be added to the list. Over time it is hoped that this document will move from being a list of what is predominantly required to a list of where the information can be found. In cases where research is ongoing, such as baseline studies, the information should be released as it becomes available so the community can make use of the information in the consultations rather than the information being kept from the community until a final report is available.
Preliminary Master Plan Engagement Documents
Documents connected to the Monthly Engagement programme for the Preliminary master Plan can be found here
Re-development of public housing estates - How can public housing tenants be informed and consulted?
The following guide for public tenants in dealing with redevelopment on public housing estates has been produced by Shelter NSW in JUne 2010.
Consultation & Community Engagement
One of the major issues in any proposed re-development is how consultation is undertaken. Does it provide a genuine opportunity for people to understand what is being proposed? Does the process allow for considered input? Is community feedback encouraged and properly considered? These are just some of the issues that need to be considered.
Waterloo Concierge Trial
On 19 February 2010 the NSW Premier announced a $12 million three-year program – which includes "concierge" style front desk staff, on the ground maintenance teams, and extra security measures, especially at night - will be trialled at six Waterloo high-rise public housing buildings to improve safety for their 1,500 residents.
Chamber of Commerce meets with Housing Minister - 20 Nov 2007
On Tuesday 20th November the Redfern Waterloo Chamber of Commerce met with Matt Brown the NSW Minister for Housing. The following Briefing Note was released following the meeting. The Briefing Note details some of the Chamber's concerns about issues which need to be adressed by the Department in Redfern Waterloo. File is 32KB PDF.
Redevelopment
Redevelopment of Public Housing is on both the RWA and the Department of Housing agenda. Here we have bought together some material about redevelopment plans in Redfern Waterloo and the current Government thinking and experience.
Dallas Rogers explores 10 tensions between democratic expectations and realities in tenant organising
In his paper "The NSW State Plan, community participation and affordable housing: Tensions between democracy and market-centric development" delivered at the Annual Marg Barry Memorial Lecture 2012 on 6 December 2012, Dr Dallas Rogers from the Urban Research Centre at University of Western Sydney explores 10 tensions between democratic expectations and democratic realities in tenant organising. In the paper REDWatch is cited as an example of a monitory democracy organisation. The file is 2MB PDF.
QLD Tenant Participation Program Review 2011
In July 2010, the Queensland Department of Communities commenced a review of its Tenant Participation program. This review provided the department with an opportunity to consider the fundamental delivery of Tenant Participation for social housing tenants in Queensland. This is the summary report and recommendations. This report has disappeared from the Department's website since the change of Government and it looks unlikely to be implemented. It is potentially of interest to others outside Queensland with an interest in tenant participation. File is 4MB PDF.
A Tenent Response to Housing NSW - Future Directions Tenant Participation Program Discussion Paper
The future of Public Tenants Councils are in doubt as a result of the latest proposals from Housing NSW. Here Ross Smith reflects on a recent Housing NSW meeting to look at Future Directions Tenant Participation.
Housing NSW - Future Directions Tenant Participation Program Discussion Paper - March 2008
This consultation paper outlines a proposed new direction and implementation process for Housing NSW’s Tenant Participation Program (TPP), and specifically the future funding of Tenant Participation Resource Services (TPRS), currently delivered by Regional Tenant Resource Services (RTRS) and Public Tenants Councils (PTC). (94 KB PDF)
1986 Housing Officer's Training Course on Tenant Participation
Tenant Participation was a new policy introduced by the Department of Housing in August 1985 to enable public tenants of N.S.W. the opportunity to become involved, and have a greater say, in the planning and management of their homes. It was believed that tenants should be included in the decision making process which directly affects their everyday life. This document is a Housing Officers Training Course in November 1986 spelling out the policy. File is 229 KB PDF.
Tenant Participation
There are a number of formal mechanisms in which tenants meet with other tenants and HNSW to raise issues which are of concern to them. At the local level Redfern and Waterloo tenants have Neighbourhood Advisory Boards and Housing Standards Committees and other working groups.
Millers Point Social Impact Assessment
This is the Social Impact Assessment commissioned by Land and Housing Corporation which the community was told it would be shown before it was used by Government. It was released along with the Government response after the Minister announced public Housing in millers Point and Rocks would be sold off. The Government response rejected a number of recomendations in this Government commissioned report. File is 4.6Mb PDF
Government response to Millers Point SIA
This is the Government response to the the Government comissioned Social Impact Assessment undertaken for Millers Point. The Social Impact Assessment and the Government resposne were released after the Minister anounced that public housing in Millers Point and the Rocks would be sold.
Who Can we trust Now? - Poster from Sirius
The banner below has been produced by some of those in the Sirius Building. It came to REDWatch with the note that appears below the graphic.
Relocation Fact Sheet
This is the Relocation Fact sheet provided for tenants in government owned properties in Millers Point, the Sirius building and Gloucester Street in the Rocks by Housing NSW. File is 70KB PDF.
REDWatch Analysis on Millers Point
REDWatch has kept its members and supporters up to date through its email lists. Below we have drawn some of the material from these emails to provide an overview for a wider grouping of REDWatch's concerns.
Leaflet to Tenants from The Millers Point Community Defence Group
The following letter was issued by the three resident groups in the area under the banner of The Millers Point Community Defence Group following the the anouncement.
Millers Point Anouncement Media Pack
The NSW Government & Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) the owner of public housing also produced a media pack in addition to the widely available media release from Pru Goward last Wednesday. Unlike the media release the media pack is not available on line. This media pack is attached and provides a good insight into how the NSW Government & LAHC managed the media event at the same time as keeping this information from NGO’s who may have been able to provide alternative perspectives. In part this probably explains the slant of much of the media reporting about the issue. File is 4 MB PDF.
Millers Point "Moving to a New Home" Letter
This is the letter from Family and Community Services Housing NSW that Millers Point tenants received had delivered on Wednesday 19 March, or found shoved under their door. Imagine how you would react if you received such a letter in similar circumstances. It is no wonder people were wandering the streets in shock!
Millers Point - ridding expensive suburbs of Public Housing
Millers Point is not within Redfern Waterloo but aspects of the March 2014 Government decision to remove public housing from Millers Point has implications for all of Sydney's public housing that sits in areas that are in high demand by the private market and Redfern and Waterloo are rapidly becoming part of that club. While some of the Millers Point public housing was heritage others like the Sirius building does not have high maintenance costs and is ideally suited to older tenants. This housing's only problem was that it is public housing in one of the most desirable parts of the city. The logic of the Sirius sale pushes public housing from the desirable areas to the undesirable fringes of the city. With 4,500 public housing units in Redfern Waterloo the Sirius decision sends a shiver down the back of inner city public tenants. This is why REDWatch has set up this section of our website to explore these issues and to support public tenants in Millers Point in their struggle to stay in Millers Point.
RLC Housing NSW Repair Kit
The Housing NSW Repair Kit prepared by Redfern Legal Centre aims to help public housing tenants get their maintenance done. It deals with Responsibility For Repairs To Your Premises; Notice To Housing NSW Of The Need For A Repair; Urgent Repairs Applying To The Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT); What Else Can be done? This is an important resource for pubic tenants trying to get their maintenance done. File is 2.4 MB PDF updated Feb 2012.
Housing NSW Playgrounds
These are a series of photos to show the bad state of repair of Housing NSW playgrounds in the Redfern Waterloo area. More details can be found in the Redfern Waterloo Issues Update of 14th April 2008. File is 1 MB PDF.
HNSW Maintenance
Maintenance, or the lack of it, is an endemic problem across public housing. HNSW says it is as simple as ringing the 24 hour number but residents complain that the number goes unanswered, people wait extremely long periods for urgent maintenance even if they can get their maintenance logged, maintenance is often not appropriate, is checked by those contracted to deliver it and is sometimes signed off without being completed among other complains. Getting a journalist to write a specific problem up will often see a particular problem fixed but no systemic change.
Link to information on RWA BEP2
The information about the RWA's Built Environment Plan Phase 2 (BEP2) is found on the RWA section of this site. The section you are currently in contains information from Housing NSW, City of Sydney and other sources about Public Housing Issues including the redevelopment of public housing. For RWA BEP2 Information follow this link.
Matavai and Turanga - Housing Commission Booklet on the buildings when built
Did you know that every floor of Matavai and Turanga was fitted out differently in commemeration of Capain Cook. This 28 page booklet documents the themes and artifacts that were provided for each floor in this state of the art development.
Waterloo Walk
This is a copy of a one and a half hour walking tour of the historic suburb of Waterloo produced by the Department of Housing in 1988. While it includes some of the consolidated estate it primarily covers the Waterloo heritage housing.
Public Housing – what is it, where are we, how did we get here and where are we going?
This presentation was given to the REDWatch Forum on 6 July 2017 by Vivienne Milligan. It provides an overview of the origins and history of public housing in NSW and some indication of where it might be going.
Public Housing Heritage
Here are some details of the public housing heritage in the area including a booklet on Matavai and Turanga when they were built and a self guided heritage walk.
DCJ Housing / Homes NSW response to 2025 Performance Audit of Social Housing
This is a copy of the DCJ response to Audit found in Appendix A of the June 2025 Performance Audit of DCJ Housing now Homes NSW. The letter provides the DCJ acceptance of the Audit recommendations and makes comments on each recommendation. This PDF includes the image of the DCJ Letter appearing in the Audit Report with an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) overlay so it can be more easily copies and searched. The version in the Audit report PDF is not searchable and the web version of the report did not link to the Appendices at the time of posting. Please check any text taken from this file against the underlying image as errors often occur when OCR processing documents.
REDWatch Submission on Homes NSW Discussion Paper - January 2025
This is a copy of the REDWatch submission in January 2025 in response to the Homes NSW Discussion Paper to inform the Homes for NSW Plan. With input cutting off in February for both a Homes NSW Homelessness Strategy paper and an Audit Office enquiry into Homelessness and Social Housing, this submission may assist some people interested in making submissions on this topic. It was not possible for REDWatch to hold a public meeting for this submission as a result of Homes calling for feedback in December and then requiring feedback by mid-January.
Homes for NSW discussion paper – Have your extended until 17 January 2024
Homes NSW released on 3 December 2024 its much awaited discussion paper on its future operations. Tenants and agencies now have until 17 January 2025 to comment on a range of important questions. The close off date has been extended from 20 December which was a very short period in normal circumstances, but ridiculous during the silly season. This timeframe over Christmas and new year still makes it difficult for many agencies to consult and prepare submissions on the important questions raised and an extension of the time will likely be requested.
Homes NSW Short Discussion Paper December 2024
This is the Short Discussion Paper released by Homes NSW on 3 December 2024 for feedback until 20 December 2024. Homes NSW say this 2 page document is most relevant to community and consumers and contains 5 questions Homes NSW wanted feedback on.
Homes NSW Long Discussion Paper December 2024
This is the Long Discussion Paper released by Homes NSW on 3 December 2024 for feedback until 20 December 2024. Homes NSW say this 28 page document is most relevant to to partners and housing or homelessness providers and contains 10 questions Homes NSW wanted feedback on.
ALP 2022 State Conference Resolution on Public Housing
The resolution below was considered by NSW ALP Conference on Sunday 16 October 2022. The motion was strengthened by an amendment from the floor to remove the Words "in principle" from the motion so the final wording was that the motion was supported by the Conference.
2006 Census Data Comparison of Public and Private Tenants in Redfern and Waterloo
These figures compare various key indicators between public and private tenants. These figures were extracted from the 2006 Census and show the contrast between public housing tenants and private housing tenants in a number of areas. This compares to the usual suburban views of the data that spread certain differences accross the entire population mix of the area.
Making the future of social housing fairer and better
The NSW Government has released a major discussion paper to examine options to deliver improvements to the social housing system on 18 November 2014. Links to the report, media release and other details are provided below. Feedback on the report closes on 20 February 2015
HNSW to Introduce Customer Service Standards
Housing NSW's benchmark survey for Redfern & Waterloo showed high levels of dissatisfaction in public tenants dealings with Housing NSW - only half were happy with their dealings in the previous year. This is a state wide issue. On November 22 Housing NSW presented the "Customer Service Benchmarking – Service Delivery Solutions" excerpt below to a Social Housing Tenant Forum with tenants from the Public and Community Housing sectors drawn from across NSW. This is the first time that benchmarks have been publicly released for the Customer Service Standards that tenants should expect in their dealings with Housing NSW.
MOU between City of Sydney and Housing NSW
The City of Sydney Council and Housing NSW entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on 14 July 2009 to “work collaboratively with residents and the community to significantly improve the amenity, safety, health and well-being of residents living in and around public housing areas.” Below is the text of that agreement extracted by Optical Character Recognition (OCR) from a copy of that agreement. While all care has been taken to provide an accurate copy REDWatch makes no guarantee that the copy is error free and it is provided here as a community service so residents are aware of the agreement and the areas covered by it.
A Few Basic Figures on Redfern-Waterloo Public Housing
This information was provided by Housing NSW in January 2006 and is based a Redfern-Waterloo sub-set of Housing NSW figures similar to those used state wide for their annual report. It provides an overview of the people and the properties that make up Redfern Waterloo Public Housing. It also indicates some of the strategies being pursued in early 2006 by the Department of Housing. It was originally from a PowerPoint presentation and the information has been edited to make it suitable for display on the web.
Public Housing
Redfern Waterloo is home to many public housing tenants. Changes in both Federal and NSW Government funding and policy over the years is seeing increased pressure on public tenants and on the suburbs in which they live. Changes to occupancy and behaviour rules, water charges and the need for improved delivery of human services to public tenants are all important issues for the area. The RWA has also indicated that in Stage One of the Redfern Waterloo Plan that they will be starting to plan for redevelopment of some public housing estates in Redfern Waterloo. Some redevelopment is already planned for Elizabeth Street Redfern by NSW Department of Housing which will provide a litmus test for how the government will handle such developments in the future.
Introduction
Discussions about consultation within Redfern Waterloo need to be made against the background of Premier's Departments Redfern Waterloo Partnership Project (RWPP) and the comments about the way the RWPP conducted government consultation in Redfern Waterloo. Here we outline that background.
Conclusion
One year after the RWA was announced the concerns of the comunities that make up Redfern Waterloo about the lack of genuine consultation and the lack of any real partnership with the NSW Government and the RWA remain.
Case Study 3 – Consultation with the Aboriginal Housing Company (AHC)
For this case study we have looked at the 'consultation' surrounding the future of The Block. Lobbying by the AHC during the passage of the Bill sort to ensure that the RWA consulted with the AHC regarding the future of The Block. Their wish was to build on the work already undertaken with government for the Pemulwuy Housing project. How the RWA has handled this matter further illustrates their approach so far to 'consultation'.
Case Study 2 – The Three Ministerial Advisory Committees
During the lobbying over changes to the RWA Bill there were numerous statements about how the new RWA would consult. The first experience of RWA 'consultation' came over the question of how the RWA would consult with the community.
Case Study 1 – The Legislation ‘Consultation’
The first opportunity for the community to assess the NSW Governments response to the "Inquiry into issues relating to Redfern and Waterloo" recomendations for improvements in the way the government related to the community came with the announcement to establish the RWA.
Landcom's Stakeholder Consultation Workbook 0905
You will see references to this report online but the report itself disappeared in late 2015 so we have put it up for easy access. In the Inner Sydney Voice of Summer 2015/16, Wendy Sarkissian, an experienced engagement practitioner and Life Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), said “For practitioners like me, that Workbook provided direction and reassurance and it is definitely a good starting point.” She suggested the workbook be updated and went on to make some suggestions on how UrbanGrowth NSW could improve their community consultation. UrbanGrowth NSW, who controlled Landcom at the time, did not take kindly to advice and the workbook was removed within days from their website, last being mentioned in the 2016 UrbanGrowth NSW Annual Report.
Consultation
One of the major issues for any community is having a say in what happens within their community. Under local government you elect representatives and have guaranteed opportunities for involvement in the decision making process. With the RWA taking control away from local government these guaranteed opportunities for involvement are also lost and we have promises of consultation in their place. Trying to make real the language of consultation and turn it into partnership with the community has been one of the major challenges facing people living in the REDW area. Here we explores some of the history and some of the issues.
Housing 2041 Policy Media Release from Minister for Water, Property and Housing
This is the text of the media release issued by Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey on 5 May 2021 on the release of the Housing 2041 strategy and an initial two-year action plan to deliver improved outcomes immediately and into the future by focusing on housing supply, diversity, affordability and resilience.
NSW Housing Policy
This section of the site holds information on NSW housing policy that is relevant to the Redfern-Waterloo area.
People Power in Cities - Presentation to REDWatch by Kurt Iveson 5 Oct 2023
This is a recording of a presentation to REDWatch in October 2023 on YouTube. This session was well received by attendees and should be of value for tenants, activists, NGOs and political party members - basically anyone interested in change. Around Australian public housing estates and in the wider civic society there are a range of different approaches to how people bring about change. Kurt Iveson from Sydney University started with asking attendees to explore strategies to get a pedestrian crossing at his local school and then relates this to the ways different communities around the world bring about change. What can we learn from what is happening elsewhere? And how can our communities have a greater say over what happens to them? Kurt’s around the world research with Amanda Tattersall identifies five models people are using to bring about people power and change. They call these 5 approaches playing the game, mobilising, organising, prefigurating and parties and Kurt unpacks the strengths and weaknesses of these different approaches.
People Power in Cities - Kurt Iveson Presentation Slides 5 Oct 2023
This is the presentation slides from a presentation to REDWatch in October 2023. A video with audio is also on YouTube at https://youtu.be/QWmT76xCYzA. This session was well received by attendees and should be of value for tenants, activists, NGOs and political party members - basically anyone interested in change.
Making Change
Here are materials that might be if use to those looking at change and how to bring it about
Community Land Trusts - A presentation by Louise Crabtree
Dr Louise Crabtree is from Western Sydney University. She has has expertise in community-driven housing and Community Land Trusts. This presentation was delivered to a REDWatch Affordable Housing meeting on December 1 2016. It Provides an overview of Community Land trusts in the USA and the UK which are currently being modified to work in Australian contexts. The presentation is 4.2MB PDF.
International Approaches to Affordable Housing - Catherine Gilbert
Catherine Gilbert is a research associate from Sydney University’s Urban Housing Lab. She is from Canada and has experience in the UK. This presentation was delivered to a REDWatch Affordable Housing meeting on December 1 2016. It Provides an overview and some examples of different planning mechanisms used to deliver affordable housing internationally. The presentation is a 2.25MB PDF.
Peter Phibbs on New York Affordable Housing and Inclusionary Zoning
This short video features Sydney University's Prof Peter Phibbs talking about Affordable Housing and Inclusionary Zoning in New York and Australia. The Video includes and comments from American experts about the New York approach and the response to it. This video was used to introduce the topic to a REDWatch Affordable Housing meeting on December 1 2016. The video runs for 4'20".
REDWatch UrbanGrowth Central to Eveleigh and Housing Diversity Policy Statement - May 2016
The REDWatch UrbanGrowth Central to Eveleigh and Housing Diversity Policy was finalised on May 2 2016 following indications that UrbanGrowth's Central to Eveleigh Urban Transformation Strategy would not propose a significant response to the areas affordable housing needs. These concerns were borne out in late November 2016 when UrbanGrowth unveiled their strategy which showed only a target of 5-10% on the government owned Central to Eveleigh land.
Affordable Housing
With sky rocketing Sydney property prices Housing Affordability is a big problem. Both the NSW and the Australian Governments have been slow to consider anything other than a build more housing solution under the misapprehension that the Sydney property market works like the banana market. Here we have collected together some material on Affordable Housing Issues including on what models have been used overseas to address the problem that could be considered in Australia.
Other RW Issues
The Redfern Eveleigh Darlington Waterloo (REDW) area is very diverse as are the issues faced by the area. To help people navigate throught the information on the site we will over time try to bring the information together around some of the major issues facing the communities that live here. Material on many issues is already covered in the Updates section, media or other parts of this site. We suggest that you use the search bar at the top right hand side of the screen to search for keywords connected to issues of interest.