Aboriginal Housing Redfern, The Australian, 2005.

John Stapleton

THE brand new houses built for aboriginal people at the Block in

Sydney's inner-city  Redfern, with their gleaming knobs and fresh

paint, were a source of much fascination for the poor white residents

in the surrounding streets.

"It was Gough Whitlam who was in charge of it," Joyce Larkin, 80,

recalls. "My husband said, they're building these nice houses for the

aborigines. We went up to have a look. They were lovely; beautiful

little terraces. I would have lived in one."

Now, more than 30 years on, those same houses are derelict, the

windows smashed or boarded up, the neglected gardens full of rubbish,

the doors wrenched off after successive drug raids. Many are burnt

out. The utopian dreams of Whitlam and his cabinet to grant

aboriginals self-determination, to give them back their land and

create a source of indigenous pride in the heart of Sydney, are

literally in ashes.

While still owned by the Aboriginal Housing Company only 16 families

remain living on the Block. At night a loose band of intinerants

gather around a fire, sharing a bottle, laughing or arguing.

It is the view behind a large wall painted with the yellow, ochre and

black of the aborginal flag which gives the key to the value of this

strategic site. Centrelink Tower, World Square and the chunks of the

city's skyscraper all demonstrate the close proximity of the CBD and

one simple truth.  In private hands this site would be worth hundreds

of millions of dollars.

This Thursday action gorup REDWatch, local churches and ALP branches

are holding a candle light vigil outside the offices of Frank Sartor,

the Minister responsible for the Redfern Waterloo Authority,

protesting what they see as the governments efforts to remove black

faces from the Block altogether. Distrust and accusations of racism

government thuggery are flying thick and fast.

Last week the state government declared the Block and other parts of

Redfern to be of "state significance" and gazetted planning controls

from Sydney Council.  Frank Sartor, the minister responsible for the

Redfern Waterloo Authority, the body vested with the job of

rejuvenating the blighted district, has completel control over the

future of the Block.

His vision, which does not include aboriginal housing, clashes

directly with the "traditional owners" of the land.

The Aboriginal Housing Company has drawn up aspirational view plans

for the "Pemulwuy Project", so named after an aboriginal warrior. They

will need all the strength of the ancestors to defeat the state

government and implement their plans.

In sharp contrast to its present derelict state, architect drawings

show an aspirational world view for The Boock; a wide European style

plaza greets commuters as they exit Redfern train station. Behind the

plaza, with its cafes and shops seling aboriginal art, is an

aboriginal college and a unique aboriginal business incubator.

As part of the Pemulwuy Project the Housing Company plans

accommodation for 62 families, a mixture of priave and public housing

as well; as emergency accommodation. Sixty two is significant. It is

the same number of families in the Gadigal tribe there in 1788. Within

a few years of European conquest they are believed to have all died of

smallpox.

It is the housing which horrifies the state government.

A spokeswoman for Frank Sartor said the government does not believe

the plan to reconstruct the 62 houses will work.

"Focussing those high dependency dwellings or tenancies on the block

would just be a re-run of past mistakes," she said. "The Minister has

committed to finding the balance of those 62 tenancies in the area. He

thinks it should be used for a range of purposes, cultural,

educational, so that it can become a positive icon for the aboriginal

community and the whole of sydney; a place where you could buy

aboriginal art, not just a place of housing."

This stance places the Carr government on a collission course with the

aboriginal community and has ignited opposition against the state

government.  which stands acused of racism and thuggery as it once

more steals land from aboriginal people.

Community group REDWatch has said passing planning control to Sartor,

who has declared he does not want aboriginal housing on the Block, to

be highly provocative.

"Aborigines have historically been pushed off their land by powerful

colonisers. Now the Redfern Waterloo Authority want to develop Redfern

they want to use the State's power to push them off again. But this is

a special place for Aborigine people and they will not give up control

of this place," said REDWatch spokesman Geoffrey Turnbull. "It isw

clear with the Authority taking planning control of private land

around The Block and to the East of Redfern Station that the Authority

has big plans for redeveloping the area which have not been disclosed

to the community. The Block is in the way of those plans."

Feelings are also running high in inner-city ALP branches, which are

supporting the candle light vigil against Sartor and see the moves to

keep aboriginal housing off the Block as contrary to Labor principles.

Long time Labor supporter and Secretary of the local Darlington branch

said: "I am today ashamed to be a member of the ALP. This is an

unprincipled land grab.

"There has been furious reaction from the local ALP brnach members,

many of whom have been very staunch over many years. This is one of

the most left wing precincts in the country and we are concerned about

our electoral chances in the inner city over the nexty couple of

decades.

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