IT IS time for some straight talking about the Block in
Redfern. In 1985, when I was the ward alderman for Eveleigh Street, the Block was a no-go
zone. Twenty years later, most of the houses that once stood at the symbolic
heart of black Redfern have been demolished, after falling victim to vandalism
and drug dealers. Just 19 homes remain.
Over the years, the Aboriginal Housing Company – which owns
the Block – has prepared a number of proposals to rebuild these dwellings. In
the meantime, it has received a sizeable slice of public funding: up to $30
million from the Commonwealth since 1973, and $8 million in state and federal
funding for repairs and insurance over the past eight years alone.
But the same problems remain. There is no evidence to
suggest reconcentrating high-dependency housing on the Block will miraculously
solve its social problems. There is also little evidence to suggest that the
housing company has improved its governance arrangements in order to manage
such a development, for which it initially sought $27 million in taxpayer
funding.
Its latest proposal for the Block – the Pemulwuy project –
is essentially a residential development of up to four storeys. It centres on
62 new homes, symbolising the number of local Gadigal
families wiped out by smallpox. Symbolism is laudable, but it can never be a
substitute for sustainable planning. The only long-term solution for these
problems is to provide jobs and opportunities for local families, supported by
improved human services.
The housing company’s
Pemulwuy proposal was presented to me a year ago, though I have never received
any detailed plans.
Regrettably, a development application for the project is
yet to materialise, despite repeated promises. The housing company has also
boycotted formal talks on the future of the Block for the past year.
In the meantime, the Government has exhibited and adopted
plans to improve human services in Redfern and Waterloo and provide more jobs and training
for locals, especially indigenous residents.
The new Redfern-Waterloo Authority has turned its attention
to land use, and a draft built environment plan is on exhibition for public
comment until April 14. It anticipates the creation of 18,000 jobs and 2000
dwellings over the next decade.
Changes are proposed for all sites of state significance in
Redfern, including railway land and the Australian Technology
Park. Essential heritage
features will be preserved, as they have been at the Australian Technology
Park and the former North
Eveleigh Carriage Works, which is being transformed into a $40 million
contemporary arts centre.
Work and training opportunities on these projects are also
earmarked for indigenous job seekers. Nineteen are being employed at the
carriage works and another 26 are due to commence at a Redfern-Waterloo
Authority construction project at the Australian Technology
Park, with more
employment deals to come.
The overarching aim of the draft built environment plan is
to favour uses which create jobs. This same approach has been applied to the
Block and other parts of Eveleigh
Street. The proposed changes increase its total
development potential by 50 per cent, but reduce the number of dwellings which
could be permitted to about 30. However, the Government has committed itself to
provide a total of 62 dwellings in the area.
It should be noted that the Pemulwuy proposal contravenes
existing height controls for the Block, which are set at six metres, or two
storeys.
The new controls, if adopted, favour mixed-use development,
including residential, cultural, educational and even some retail. It has not
been rezoned commercial – as reported recently – although commercial uses will
be permitted. The aim is to reinvigorate the area and make it more sustainable,
while preserving its Aboriginal identity and ownership.
I am sure that pathways can be found to address the future
of the Block.
In 1985 I gave the housing company my support and agreed to
chair its residents’ advisory
committee.
I also resisted calls for the Block to be levelled.
But now it is the Block’s
indigenous owners who have torn down most of its houses, and want to redevelop
the rest.
It is a landmark place for indigenous people, and indeed for
Sydney. But
residential gentrification or reconcentrating high-dependency housing is not
the answer to the area’s entrenched
problems. Unemployment and social misery cannot be solved by symbolism.
Redfern and Waterloo
are bigger than just one block, and the views of locals more diverse than those
promoted by the housing company.
Only jobs and opportunity can make a lasting difference to
all the residents and allow true self-reliance and self-determination.
Frank Sartor is NSW Minister for Planning and the
Minister for Redfern Waterloo.