The project has a number of special features which are
designed to meet the needs of the Aboriginal community and that highlight the
significance of The Block. The Block is made up of terrace houses, owned or
rented by Aboriginals. It was bought by the AHC after receiving a grant of
$530,000 in 1973 under the Whitlam government.
The project aims to provide more affordable housing for
Aboriginal low to middle income earners and to provide “a clean, healthy
and safe environment” for Aboriginal children, as stated in the Pemulwuy
project profile.
“We want to pave the way for the next generation. We
don’t want this generation now to be caught in this vicious cycle.
We want them to grow up in a good environment,” said
Mick Mundine, chief executive officer of the AHC.
With only 20 dwellings currently on The Block, five of which
are unoccupied, the AHC ‘s project includes 62 dwellings. “The reason we
picked 62 was because there were 62 Gadigal
families in Redfern who got wiped out by smallpox when the British arrived.
It’s sort of like a commemoration to them,” said Mr Mundine.
The Redfern Waterloo Authority (RWA), a statutory body which
was set up in 2004 with powers to override local councils, has a different
vision for The Block. In response to the AHC’s Pemulwuy project, the RWA
incorporated its vision to commercialise the Block in their 2006 Built
Environment Plan.
In August last year the RWA changed the zoning status of the
Block from a ‘Residential 2b’ zone to a ‘Business-Mixed Use 10’ zone. It also
reduced the residential floor space ratio from 1:1, which is still enjoyed in
other areas of Redfern, to 0.75:1, forcing the AHC to redesign parts of its
project and slow down its progress. Mick Mundine is outraged by such
requirements. He pointed out that in other developments they can go up to 15
storeys high but in The Block they can only go to three levels.
A spokesperson for Minister Sartor, however, denied The
Block has been treated differently to other parts of Redfern and Waterloo. “The
Department of Planning assesses all proposals it receives rigorously and on
their merits.”
The project now complies with all of the RWA requirements as
per the Built Environment Plan. Their floor space ratios have been adjusted and
50 per cent of the land will be used for commercial development.
Peter Valilis,
manager of the Pemulwuy Project, supports the idea of commercial development on
the AHC’s land. “I’ve always been of the notion that we need some
commercial development to generate income for the community but not at the
expense of the residential; as long as we get our 62 houses.”
The housing component of the Pemulwuy Project involves
having a fourth room as a ‘home clinic’ where ill family members can stay in
comfort. This was initiated in consideration of poor Aboriginal health
standards in the area.
Other features of the plan include a three-tiered rental
system to accommodate for families of different income levels, the consideration
of Aboriginal culture in the area by renaming the streets with traditional
Aboriginal names, use of solar light and rainwater tanks, opening up The Block
as opposed to keeping it a `no-go’ area to help community members integrate and
lower crime rates through design and development.
Despite the fact the project had won several awards, in 2004
the RWA minister Frank Sartor, said
he wanted to reduce further Aboriginal housing on The Block. His comment
followed a parliamentary inquiry, leaked from Cabinet in the same year, into
the value of land in Redfern. It found that the value of the land would
increase by 30 per cent if The Block were a commercial zone.
After Mr Mundine’s refusal of the Minister’s proposal, Mr
Sartor suggested merely renovating the 20 dwellings that exist on The Block and
placing other residents in public housing elsewhere in Redfern and Waterloo. Mick Mundine
also opposed that suggestion. “They can’t make us sell our land to
anybody, but they’re trying to pull the wool over our eyes to really undermine
us.”
It has been seven years since the Pemulwuy Project plan was
first drafted. The plan sits with the AHC’s lawyers who are perfecting it to
ensure its approval with the NSW Planning Department. Mr Valilis is confident
that the project can not be rejected for any planning reasons as it now
complies with all of the RWA’s requirements.
Mr Mundine is ready for action if the Pemulwuy Project is
not approved. “If Sartor knocks us back after the 40 day period, we’re
going straight to the Land Environment
Court. We’re going to fight him all the way.”
Photo: Concept plan of the Pemulwuy project as shown on the
Aboriginal Housing Company’s website November 2007.
Photomontage of mixed development in the Pemulwuy project as
shown on AHC website.
Source: University
of Technology Precinct
South Sydney Edition Issue 4/2007 page 7.
Publications from the UTS School of Journalism can be
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