[North Eveleigh] People Power: Models for change / AGM / Membership / RCC & The Block consultation / DCJ Housing / LAHC & the budget

[Geoff Turnbull (REDWatch Spokesperson)]

Dear REDWatch members, supporters and agencies,


REDWatch Meeting 5 October - People Power: Models that are changing communities and cities

REDWatch AGM 2nd Nov and Membership

Council Redfern/Darlington community meeting and update - 12 October

DCJ Housing Customer Service Commitments now front of house

Social Housing and the 2023 Budget
Please note - this email contains hyperlinks. This means that if you see a blue underlined word or phrase that you can click on it and go directly to a document or to get more information.
REDWatch Meeting 5 October - People Power: Models that are changing communities and cities
This session should be of value for tenants as well as activists, NGOs and political party members - basically anyone interested in change. Around public housing estates and in the wider civic society there are a range of different approaches to how people bring about change.
At this REDWatch meeting Kurt Iveson from Sydney University will explore examples of different ways in which 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.
You can see an early paper about these at - https://www.sydney.edu.au/.../organising-the-21st-century...<https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/henry-halloran-trust/organising-the-21st-century-city.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3xSSxdbjNoAUC1ceoCkBRYSh1ZaEfspNWceyerIEJiJQz_4JaxAB4tf2E>. They are currently preparing a book based on their research. The REDWatch presentation will look at the usefulness of each model within our local context and there will be lots of opportunities for questions.
So join us to hear about how others are going about making change and what we can learn from them at the Factory Community Centre, 67 Raglan St, Waterloo or online via Zoom - https://tinyurl.com/RedwatchZoom. The meeting starts at 6pm and runs until about 7:30.
You can let others who might be interested know about this meeting by passing on this email, sharing the People Power: Models that are changing communities and cities - Flyer<http://www.redwatch.org.au/eventnotice/231005redwp/view> or sharing the People Power: Models that are changing communities and cities Facebook event<https://www.facebook.com/events/276371038541906/?ref=newsfeed> .
REDWatch AGM 2nd Nov and Membership
REDWatch is an incorporated body which means it has an Annual General Meeting and elects office holders and members to its Coordination Group. The REDWatch AGM will be held at the REDWatch meeting on November 2nd 2023. REDWatch members are advised that their annual membership fee of $2 is now due and needs to be paid before the start of the AGM.
If you are not a member, or have let it lapse, you can become a member by filling in the membership form from the REDWatch Incorporated & Membership<http://www.redwatch.org.au/redwatch/incorporation> section of our website and paying us $2.
REDWatch relies on membership fees and donations to cover our costs. REDWatch is an unfunded volunteer organisation and no one is paid to do REDWatch work. Donations to fund things we have to pay for, like our website, are always welcome. Our website tells you how you can make a donation<http://www.redwatch.org.au/redwatch/support> or pay membership fees directly into our bank account.
Because we are a volunteer group there are always opportunities to become involved in doing some of the jobs that need to be done. There are opportunities for people to help organising our activities by joining our Coord Group. So if you think you can help then please reach out and let us know how you would like to contribute.  Please email me, or talk to another REDWatch Coord Group member if you would like to discuss volunteering or joining the Coord Group.
So if you would like to become a member or be more actively involved now is a good time to think about it for the next year.
Council Redfern/Darlington community meeting and update - 12 October
Late 2022, Council sought input on a Redfern Neighbourhood Vision and Plan for the area around the Redfern Community Centre and The Block. Council then produced a plan for the parks, public spaces and streets surrounding the Redfern Community Centre that it brought back to the community for feedback in mid-2023.
One of the areas of contention from the feedback was a proposal to move the basketball court from Hugo Reserve to a half court in front of the Community Centre. Following this meeting Clover Moore wrote to locals saying:
I have asked our Chief Executive Officer to develop a plan to keep the basketball court in Hugo Street Reserve, and not move it to the community centre as proposed at our community meeting in June.
I have also asked that the court be redesigned with noise-mitigating materials and surfaces, as well as other sound attenuation measures to ensure its impact on residents is reduced as much as possible.
Other changes proposed in the Council plan involved closing off Eveleigh Street to traffic going through to Cleveland Street, introducing one way streets around the area and doing street plantings and footpath widening.
Lawson Street is not currently in the plans proposed, and currently has no planned upgrades. This potentially leaves it neglected given the upgrade pedestrian treatments at Darlington Shops, Little Eveleigh Street and the proposed upgrade around The Block. Fixing trip hazards along Lawson Street has been promised but none have yet eventuated.
The community meeting about the revised plan on will be held on Thursday 12 October at the Redfern Community Centre, 29-53 Hugo Street. The meeting will start at 6.30pm with food being served and the revised plan on display. This will be followed by presentations from 7pm. We expect the meeting to finish at 8pm.
If you plan to attend, please register on the City's website at city.sydney/redfern-sys<https://city.sydney/redfern-sys>. This link also has some background on the earlier consultation and will be used to give your feedback online on the Council's proposal between 13 and 27 October.
If you have any questions, please contact Gareth Jenkins, Senior Project Manager - City Engagement, on 02 9265 9333 or at sydney<mailto:sydneyyoursay at cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au>yoursay at cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.<mailto:yoursay at cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au>
There has been no progress on a proposed meeting with Council & TfNSW about traffic changes proposed for Little Eveleigh Street.
DCJ Housing Customer Service Commitments now front of house
Improving customer service has been a key focus for the Waterloo Collaborative. Recently all participating organisations agreed to work in line with the NSW Government's Customer Commitments and to "encourage the development of a customer service culture within agencies serving and supporting public housing tenants in Waterloo that meets or surpasses the expectations of their clients".
As part of this, agencies should have, or develop, a customer service policy and should make public their customer commitments to service users.
We have previously provided the link to the NSW Department of Communities and Justice Housing Practice Standards<https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/download?file=832770> that is to guide DCJ Housing staff in dealing with public housing tenants. Now that staff training has been undertaken, DCJ Housing offices will display a poster of "Our Commitments to our clients". The poster lists the six headline commitments in the Housing Practice standards:

  1.  We respect your needs and are here to help
  2.  We promote a supportive and co-operative environment
  3.  We will communicate with consideration and respect
  4.  We welcome feedback to improve the way we work
  5.  We are committed to making a difference
  6.  We are honest and accountable at all times
This tells public housing tenants the customer service culture they should expect when they visit their local DCJ Housing office. The posters have also been produced in Arabic, Persian, Vietnamese, and both Traditional and Simplified Chinese.
Social Housing and the 2023 Budget
There has been concern raised in the budget responses from the sector about the lack of funding in the NSW Budget for building new social and affordable housing. Where the money comes from to grow the public / social housing stock to the levels needed remains the big question to be addressed by the new NSW Government if it is going to tackle the waiting list.
Allowing LAHC to borrow against its substantial assets was one of a mix of measures suggested a paper written by Dr Cameron K. Murray and Professor Peter Phibbs: Reimagining the economics of public housing at Waterloo<https://shelternsw.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=40560058b01899e30b1294fd8&id=012c5c1927&e=85c01243d0>.<https://shelternsw.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=40560058b01899e30b1294fd8&id=54e43565f3&e=85c01243d0> It was hence encouraging at the NCOSS post budget breakfast that the NSW Treasurer confirmed that LAHC has a borrowing limit. The size of which was not specified.
The budget papers in the section below show a "$70.0 million interest-free debt financing for NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) to accelerate the delivery of social, affordable and private homes primarily in regional New South Wales".
This would seem to be a modest move in the direction suggested by Murray and Phibbs, which hopefully will be explored further as the NSW Government works through the options for actually increasing public / social housing stock and not just stopping its sell off to fund LAHC's capital works.
Below is the budget summary that references the loan.
Building more social and affordable housing
The 2023-24 Budget includes additional funding to deliver more social and affordable housing, providing homes for key workers and vulnerable members of the community. More social and affordable homes are needed urgently, to address a decade of underinvestment and ensure that everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home.
This investment will help tackle the State's housing crisis and assist New South Wales in meeting its commitments under the National Housing Accord to build more homes.
The Budget includes

*         $610.1 million from the Australian Government under the Social Housing Accelerator Agreement to deliver a permanent increase of around 1,500 social homes over the next five years, in partnership with community housing providers

*         $300.0 million in reinvested dividends to enable Landcom to deliver an additional 1,409 affordable homes and 3,288 market homes to 2039-40

*         $70.0 million interest-free debt financing for NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) to accelerate the delivery of social, affordable and private homes primarily in regional New South Wales

*         $60.0 million for Landcom to deliver around 100 build-to-rent homes on the South Coast and Northern Rivers, targeting 20 per cent affordable rental housing

*         $35.0 million to LAHC to support critical maintenance of State-owned social homes

*         $20.0 million reserved in Restart NSW to deliver residential accommodation for those with long-standing mental health challenges, in partnership with The Haven Foundation

*         $10.0 million for LAHC to pilot the delivery of modular social homes and investigate how off-site manufacturing can deliver more homes sooner.
The Government is also establishing Homes NSW to deliver better outcomes for social housing tenants, deliver more affordable and social housing, and reduce homelessness.
These investments are in addition to initiatives to accelerate private market housing supply
Source: Budget Paper 3 Infrastructure Statement 2023-24 Box 3 Page 1-8
Regards,

Geoff
Geoffrey Turnbull
REDWatch Co-Spokesperson
Ph Wk: (02) 8004 1490  Mob: 0418 457 392
email: spokesperson at redwatch.org.au<mailto:spokesperson at redwatch.org.au>
web: www.redwatch.org.au<http://www.redwatch.org.au/>
FB: www.facebook.com/RedfernEveleighDarlingtonWaterlooWatch/<http://www.facebook.com/RedfernEveleighDarlingtonWaterlooWatch/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.redwatch.org.au/pipermail/northeveleigh/attachments/20230929/1642db4f/attachment-0001.html>