Isabell Coe, organiser of the Tent Embassy,
said, “We’ve set up here on the Block to support the Aboriginal community.
We’re here to remind Frank Sartor that The Block was created to provide proper homes
for Aboriginal people.
“This is something that the community requested
and we will be here until the problem is sorted out. The Block is Aboriginal
land and we’re claiming it back.”
The Aboriginal Housing Company, which owns
properties on The Block, alleges that the Redfern Waterloo Authority re-zoned
land on The Block to prevent the development of the Pemulwuy Project. The AHC,
through the Pemulwuy Project, plans to build 62 new residencies on The Block
and is not asking for funding from the NSW Government.
Peter Valilis of the AHC said, “The Pemulwuy
Project is an amazing opportunity to demonstrate that Aboriginal people can do
it on their own without government money. However, the NSW Government has gone
to the extreme of changing zoning requirements on The Block, with the aim of
preventing Aboriginal people from determining their own future in Redfern.
“The Tent Embassy is there to support the
community against Frank Sartor. We thank Isabell Coe and the Tent Embassy for
their support,” Valilis said.
Residents from The Block that the South
Sydney Herald spoke to were supportive of the Tent Embassy. Waterloo resident Aunty Bowie was at the Tent
Embassy also. She says Aboriginal people looked after land for 40,000 years and
are able to manage the land they own in Redfern.
Organisers of the Tent Embassy have lit a
ceremonial fire to signify the cultural importance of The Block to Aboriginal
people. Coe has asked for supporters of Tent Embassy to donate native wood for the
fire.
[South Sydney Herald July 2006]