[Lift Redfern] Human Services and Redfern Station

Wed Mar 14 10:19:43 AEDT 2018

Dear REDWatch Members, Supporters and Agencies

Human Service Plan Input

The second meeting to help formulate of a Waterloo Human Services Plan is
happening on Tuesday 20 March 2018. If you are a human service provider
active in Waterloo and have not received an invite or RSVPed please email
hsplanwaterloo at facs.nsw.gov.au <mailto:hsplanwaterloo at facs.nsw.gov.au> .
This meeting is the opportunity for agencies to put on the table what they
want a human services plan and its mechanisms to achieve. The first meeting
was very top down setting out the current FACS human services framework,
this meeting is supposed to be to get the bottom up input into the plan and
a third in April will aim to try and bring top and bottom together. Given
the air gap that is often between the top and the those working at the local
level this will be no easy task. We have to push hard to make sure we do not
have another "plan" that does not address the areas human services issues -
see Human Services in Redfern and Waterloo: A potted history listing of
plans, interventions, activities, consultations and reports
<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/humanservices/wloohs/180116redw> .

REDWatch has pushed for this Human Services Plan to try and address the
systemic problems that come from government concentrating people with
complex needs in public housing without adequate joined up supports. We want
to see the people living and working in Waterloo getting the best possible
human service support for themselves, their clients or neighbours. REDWatch
has placed on its website some examples of the kind of problems we want to
see addressed (Human Service Plan Goals from REDWatch Perspective
<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/humanservices/wloohs/171106redw> ) but this
creating an agenda will only work if people turn up with their own stories
of what they want to see fixed, addressed or fine-tuned. 

We appreciate there is reluctance in some areas, given the long history of
human service interventions that have gone nowhere, to get involved in this
process. From REDWatch perspective we encourage you to give it another shot
and to take this opportunity to name the problems that have to be addressed
if current and future public tenants are to receive the responsive support
they need.

In discussions with LAHC it has been recognised that the human service plan
also needs to hear from community groups, tenants and those that live in the
area. LAHC will be contacting some identified people with an active interest
directly - if you want to be part of this conversation or make an input then
email hsplanwaterloo at facs.nsw.gov.au <mailto:hsplanwaterloo at facs.nsw.gov.au>
. REDWatch is considering having a human services meeting in May and
discussions are underway about how the NAB and tenants more broadly might
feed into the proposed plan.

One of the problems that has been flagged is the importance for mechanisms
within government departments so that front line workers can also feed into
the process and help close the gap between senior officials and those at the
"coal face". 

A good step in this direction is the new Redfern Waterloo Healthy Living
Link Worker. Kristian will operate out of the Factory Community Centre on
Wednesday's and his job is to help people access services across the Sydney
Local Health District silos and to flag issues back into SLHD. You can
contact Krisitian by email on Kristian.Reyes at health.nsw.gov.au
<mailto:Kristian.Reyes at health.nsw.gov.au> . Also on health the second
Waterloo Health Forum on Building a Healthy and Resilient Community will be
held on Friday 4th May from 8.30-2pm at the National Centre for Indigenous
Excellence (NCIE), 166-180 George St Redfern. If you are interested in
attending please email SLHD-Planning at health.nsw.gov.au
<mailto:SLHD-Planning at health.nsw.gov.au>  by the 27th April, 2018.

Redfern Station Update

On Thursday 1 March, REDWatch had a meeting with Transport for NSW (TfNSW)
about Redfern Station. The two main things that were discussed were: 

The upgrade of access to the platforms at Redfern: There was a lot of
discussion about the issues around Redfern Station. The preferred option
from the 2010 gateway project was used to discuss the kind of solution being
considered. This option is in the public domain after the Lift Redfern
Campaign successful made an application for the release of many studies on
Redfern Station. You can see these Redfern Station
<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/statesignificant/station/>  tab on the
REDWatch website. The case study used in the discussion on Thursday as
indicative was  Redfern Station Upgrade - 2009 Cox Proposed Revised Concept
Design Extract
<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/statesignificant/station/studies/rsu090723co
x8/download> . What has changed since 2009, the meeting was told was that
the increase in usage would mean that the Lawson Street concourse would
continue to be used in addition to the proposed new concourse although lifts
would be placed only on the new concourse due to the problems of accessing
lifts on Lawson Street. IN 2024 when the Metro line starts there will be two
lines that will not be in use at Redfern Station which may provide some
flexibility for construction of the new station access. It is very early
days in the current investigation and this was the first meeting TfNSW has
held with local stakeholders. They are proposing future meetings as they
further their investigations and put together a case for funding the
upgrade.

The Moving of the Gibbons street Entrance: This change has come as a bit of
a shock to some of those present especially those from Alexandria as TfNSW
did not consult widely about this change and work is already starting. The
entrance change is to get around the current dangerous waiting area outside
the station on Gibbons Street. The new entrance / exit will be onto the
corner of Lawson and Gibbons and will include a bike lockup and a larger
number of entrance gates. Since the REDWatch meeting TfNSW has placed
information and a number of graphics shown at the REDWatch meeting on their
website at
https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/redfern-station-i
mprovement-works. The new exit will link to the at grade disability access
to the ATP down Gibbons Street to the ATP. However you still need to be able
to get off the platform as the platform 6&7 lift looks like the only one
that will be in existence for quite some time.

Many issues covered in REDWatch's last list of issues for discussion were
not addressed. These included the building proposed above the Eastern
Suburbs railway line on Platforms 11 & 12, the registration of Interest
process, Mirvac's proposal for a southern concourse and what happens at the
station end of North Eveleigh. The SMH of 2 March reported on a Major Google
- Mirvac proposal being considered at North Eveleigh as an unsolicited
proposal - Ambitious secret plan to create Sydney's Silicon Valley
<https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/ambitious-secret-plan-to-create-sydney-
s-silicon-valley-20180302-p4z2k0.html> . This came on top of a Chanel 7
announcement reported in the Australian of March 1 that they would be
relocating staff to Media City at ATP. Both are likely to bring more people
to Redfern Station.

Transport has indicated that it want to have further conversations with
residents about Redfern Station and North Eveleigh in the future and
REDWatch will work with TfNSW to try and ensure that their community
engagement is much more extensive than it has been in the past.

The South Sydney Herald attended the REDWatch meeting and have run the
following story in their March 2018 issue- Still no plan for Redfern station
upgrade
<http://www.southsydneyherald.com.au/still-no-plan-for-redfern-station-upgra
de/> 

Regards,

Geoff

Geoffrey Turnbull

REDWatch Co-Spokesperson

Ph Wk: (02) 8004 1490  Mob: 0418 457 392

email:  <mailto:mail at redwatch.org.au> mail at redwatch.org.au 

web:  <http://www.redwatch.org.au/> www.redwatch.org.au 

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