The REDWatch Planning Framework for the Redfern-Waterloo Plan

As the Redfern Waterloo Plan is
being developed in stages over 10 years, we need a “Plan in Outline”
– a broader framework into which these stages will fit over this length of time.  Without this we can end up in a position
where the individual stages, when completed, create a different picture from
the one we had in mind at the outset.

REDWatch believes that the NSW
Government needs to take at least the following steps – which together create a
“Plan in Outline” – if it is going to be able to make a Redfern-Waterloo Plan
that can create the future the community
has in mind:

1.     NEGOTIATE THE GROUND RULES FOR THE REDFERN-WATERLOO
PLAN (RWP)

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The
Redfern-Waterloo Plan (RWP) will be a very broad Plan which integrates human
services, jobs, infrastructure and new development/redevelopment.

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The
usual development rules don’t cover this sort of Plan.

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REDWatch
thinks the NSW Government should negotiate with the local communities about the
best ground rules for making this sort of Plan.

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This
needs to be done as soon as possible, so that all stages of the RWP can be
developed according to these ground rules.

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For
REDWatch’s ideas on what these ground rules should deal with, see the following
pages which include:

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ideas
for community input into the RWP, including the negotiations on the ground
rules

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the
main things the ground rules should cover.

2.     START DEVELOPING THE STAGES OF THE RWP

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Ideally,
the ground rules would have been completed and had joint community and
Government approval before this stage began.

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However, the Government has already begun work on
developing Stage 1 of the RWP.

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To
overcome this problem, any stages of the RWP that are developed before the
community and the Government have agreed on the ground rules should be interim
only.

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As
soon as the ground rules are agreed, the interim stages of the RWP should be
checked against them, changed where necessary, and put back to the community
for final approval.

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After
that point, the RWP’s stages should be developed in the way the agreed ground
rules set out.

3.     IMPLEMENT THE RWP IN STAGES

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As
part of each stage, the community and the Government need to check the way the
current stage of the RWP will affect stages already planned or implemented.

4.     REVIEW THE RWP’S OUTCOMES

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The
community and the Government need to make regular checks on:

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How
well each of the stages already implemented is working

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How
well these stages are working together – as an integrated Redfern-Waterloo Plan
– to create the future the community wants. 

If all this is to be achieved,
REDWatch believes that the PRIMARY ground rule is:

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REDWatch believes
that “The Plan in Outline” needs to cover at least the following:

v

v

v

v

v

v

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The pages that follow give a list of what the ground rules for
developing “The Plan in Outline” could be, followed by a more detailed
explanation of why each of the ground rules is needed.

“THE PLAN IN OUTLINE”:

STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT:

VISION:

VALUES AND PRINCIPLES:

OBJECTIVES:

PRIORITY OUTCOMES:

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY:

REVIEW STRATEGY:

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The
NSW Government needs to put its commitments to Redfern-Waterloo in one place –
and stick to them.

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This
is needed because over the years it has given different messages at different
times about what it will do in Redfern-Waterloo, and this is still happening.

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For
example, even the nature of the Redfern-Waterloo Authority (RWA) itself has
changed in the last few months, as
the human services activities of the Redfern Waterloo Partnership Project have
been added to it.

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The
Government is also giving mixed messages about how it will act in
Redfern-Waterloo.

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For
example, the messages expressed in the RWA Act are:

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strong
on government control

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weak
on community participation.

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On
the other hand, Minister Sartor and the CEO of the RWA are trying to reassure
people that:

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they
will consult widely on what people want for
the area

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they
will strike an appropriate balance between the interests of the local
communities and those of other people with an interest in the area.

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Despite
that, the recent designation of key sites in Redfern-Waterloo as “state
significant development” leaves people wondering how much say they will really
have.

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The
local communities need more certainty than that.

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A
Statement of Commitment setting out in one place what the Government will – and
will not – do in Redfern-Waterloo would be a good first step in providing more
certainty.

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Preparing
the Statement is not a complicated task, as there is plenty of existing
material that could be used.

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The
main work will be in:

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sorting
out some of the contradictions among existing statements

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making
it clear what some of the existing statements mean in practice.

The ground rules for the STATEMENT
OF COMMITMENT could be:

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REDWatch
supports a Vision which acknowledges:

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the
Aboriginal heritage of Redfern-Waterloo

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the
diversity of the Redfern-Waterloo communities

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the
local, regional and state-wide roles of the area.

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One
version of this Vision is as follows:

LOCAL VISION:

Redfern-Waterloo is a place:

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Where local residents can continue
to live

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Where new residents are welcome

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Where there is a sense of
community

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Where jobs and training are
available for the local communities

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Where people can meet their daily
needs easily.

REGIONAL VISION:

Redfern-Waterloo is a place:

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That provides specialist
employment and services for local people and people from regional areas

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That is welcoming to Aboriginal
people from regional areas.

STATE WIDE VISION:

Redfern-Waterloo is a place:

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That provides specialist
employment and services for local people and people from across NSW

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That is welcoming to Aboriginal
people from across the state and beyond.

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The
ground rules for the Redfern-Waterloo Plan need to include a process for
allowing the local communities to reach agreement on a shared Vision for the
area.

The ground rules for the VISION
could be:

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The
local communities need the chance to tell the NSW Government about:

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the
values it thinks are important

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how
it thinks these values can be put into action in the Redfern-Waterloo Plan.

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From
REDWatch’s knowledge of the existing material, values supported by the local communities include:

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human
rights

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social
justice/social equity/a “fair go”

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respect for diversity

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respect for local knowledge, skills and experience

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respect for the environment

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respect for heritage.

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The
ground rules for the Redfern-Waterloo Plan need to include a process for
allowing the local communities to reach agreement on:

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the
values they share

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the
principles that would allow these
values to be put into action in the Redfern-Waterloo Plan.

The ground rules for the VALUES
AND PRINCIPLES could be:

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What
the NSW Government wants for Redfern-Waterloo is summarised in the RWA Act as:

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to
encourage the development of Redfern–Waterloo into an active, vibrant and
sustainable community, and

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to
promote, support and respect the Aboriginal community in Redfern–Waterloo
having regard to the importance of the area to the Aboriginal people, and

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to
promote the orderly development of Redfern–Waterloo taking into consideration
principles of social, economic, ecological and other sustainable development,
and

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to
enable the establishment of public areas in Redfern–Waterloo, and

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to
promote greater social cohesion and community safety in Redfern–Waterloo.

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These
general objectives need to be broken down into more specific objectives to be
aimed for in all stages of the Redfern-Waterloo Plan (RWP).

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Combined
with the Review Strategy outlined later in this document, this will allow
everyone to be able to tell:

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whether
the RWP is working along the way

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whether,
at the end of its 10 year life span,
it is still working.

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The
ground rules for the RWP need to include processes for allowing the local communities
to work with the NSW Government on deciding:

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what
these specific objectives should be

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how
trade-offs will be made when not all objectives can be met at the same time.

The ground rules for the OBJECTIVES
could be:

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The
local communities of Redfern-Waterloo are experts in this area.

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They
know the things that need to change if life is to be better in
Redfern-Waterloo, and the things that need to stay the same.

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They
also know:

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which
things are the ones that need tackling first

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what
things need to be pulled together to tackle them successfully.

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Initially,
the local communities need to work with the NSW Government to develop agreement
on:

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the
broad outcomes that can cover all proposed aspects of the Redfern-Waterloo Plan
(RWP): human services, jobs, infrastructure and new development/redevelopment

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how
these outcomes are linked to each other

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how
to ensure these outcomes and linkages are used to guide all stages of the RWP.

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As
specific stages of the RWP are developed, the outcomes and linkages will become
more specific, as will the strategies to address them.

(Outcomes relating to mental health
provide a good example of the type of linkages that are needed, as they would
need to be included in:

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the
Human Services stage of the RWP (preventive, early identification and
intervention, and support services; acute assistance; and reintegration back
into the community)

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the
Jobs stage of the RWP (suitable employment opportunities for people with either
ongoing or episodic mental health issues, which incorporate approaches to
minimising job loss following an episode, reinforcing self-confidence and
recommencing employment)

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the
Infrastructure and New Development/Redevelopment stage of the RWP (housing
choices ranging through acute care, hostel/supported accommodation and suitable
public housing options; transport options that enable people to access
hospitals, other health establishments and services, and other services.)

Some of these areas would overlap with
the outcomes needed for some of the other issues identified and mapped.  At the end of the process we would end up
with outcomes that were integrated across all the activities of the RWP.)

The ground rules for the PRIORITY OUTCOMES
could be:

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The
NSW Government has said that the Redfern-Waterloo Plan (RWP) will be
implemented in stages.

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This
means that we need an implementation strategy that deals with both:

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how
the specific stages are implemented

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how
their implementation remains linked to the RWP’s overall objectives and priority
outcomes

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The
implementation strategy also needs to deal with:

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mapping
the linkages between outcomes for specific stages of the RWP

(The broad level linkages will already
have been developed as part of the work on Priority Outcomes)

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identifying
any changes needed to other stages of the RWP to ensure a linked approach to
achieving outcomes

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identifying
any changes needed in areas beyond the control of the Redfern-Waterloo
Authority or the Redfern-Waterloo Minister to support the current stage’s
outcomes.

The ground rules for the IMPLEMENTATION
STRATEGY could be: