Media release
24 August 2015

Local Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP, and Greens NSW spokesperson for Aboriginal Justice, David Shoebridge, are calling on all levels of government to step up and ensure Aboriginal housing is funded on The Block.

This follows the decision of the NSW Supreme Court which ruled against the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy, finding the Embassy was “trespassing” on Aboriginal land at The Block.

Greens NSW MP and Spokesperson for Aboriginal Justice David Shoebridge said:

“Jenny Munro, a proud Aboriginal Waradjuri elder  and the Tent Embassy have been engaging in good faith negotiations with the Federal Minister and the Aboriginal Housing Corporation (AHC), and believed they had reached a final agreement last week on Aboriginal housing in The Block.

  “Ms Munro made it clear to the Court that she does not accept that the Aboriginal people ever ceded sovereignty of this land to the English crown. In response the Court held:

The Defendant’s aboriginality, and her contention that the Aboriginal people have never ceded sovereignty to the English Crown does not help her. 

“The fact that the law can so readily dismiss our first people’s prior occupation and custodianship of this land is proof positive of a fundamental flaw in our legal system.

“When it comes to symbolic Aboriginal land like The Block, Aboriginality and more than 40,000 years of Aboriginal custody and possession, should never be dismissed so lightly by our Courts.

“This is far from the end of the struggle for Aboriginal housing on The Block, which is supported by a cross section of the Redfern community,” Mr Shoebridge said.

Greens MP for Newtown Jenny Leong said:

“This community – and the significance of maintaining Aboriginal housing and community on Gadigal country in Redfern is too important to be ignored.”

“Our neighbourhood is awash with plans to develop and invest in infrastructure projects – with billions for Urban Growth’s development of the Central to Eveleigh site and constant construction by the University of Sydney. And yet there is no money for Aboriginal housing.

“Successive governments have been a part of creating this mess – it’s time for them to step up and help resolve it.

 “While it may seem that there is currently an unresolvable conflict – in reality all parties agree that we need to see the funding secured to build Aboriginal housing,” Ms Leong said.

Background

The Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy were established on ‘The Block’ on National Sorry Day last year, May 26, after the Aboriginal Housing Company put forward a planning proposal for a $70 million commercial development on the site.

The Block in Redfern was one of the first parts of urban Australia to be formally returned to Aboriginal people.

Today the NSW Legislative Assembly debated a motion to stop all activity on the WestConnex project until the Business Case and the Environmental Impact Statements are released. The Government blocked this attempt to introduce some transparency into the project.

“Today the Baird Government refused to act in the interest of good governance or financial accountability. This Government is going to great lengths to stop any public scrutiny on this $15.4 billion dollar project,” said the Greens MP for Newtown and Spokesperson on WestConnex.

Thirty community activists attended the debate and demonstrated the community opposition to the WestConnex project.

Community Activists join Jenny Leong and Jamie Parker outside Parliament House

During Question Time on Thursday 6 August 2015, the Greens MP for Newtown and Spokesperson for WestConnex Jenny Leong called on Minister for Planning Rob Stokes to extend the WestConnex Environmental Impact Statement exhibition periods to no less than 60 days.

She asked a Question without Notice to the Minister for Planning. It read:

Given the size and scale of the WestConnex project, as well as the high level of public interest, will the Minister give a commitment to the community that the exhibition period for all future Environmental Impact Statements related to WestConnex will be no less than 60 days?

Greens MP for Newtown Jenny Leong and Senator Larissa Waters are calling for the Department of Environment to protect Green and Golden Bell Frog habitats from WestConnex.

A Roads and Maritime Services NSW (RMS) referral of proposed action to the Federal Department of Environment seeks to gain permission to use a significant portion of Kogarah Golf Club in Arncliffe for construction and tunneling for at least three years, despite including the habitat of a threatened species.

Greens Member for Newtown Jenny Leong has criticised developer El Maha for their complete lack of respect for the local community and council when it comes to the proposed development at Alice St Newtown.

“The arrogance and lack of regard for the community which is being exhibited by this developer is staggering,” Greens Member for Newtown Jenny Leong said.

New data regarding rent prices in Sydney is alarming and requires serious action by the state government to protect renters in Sydney, according to Jenny Leong MP, The Greens NSW Rental Housing spokesperson and Member for Newtown.

Article from page 2-3 of today's SMH.

MEDIA RELEASE: NSW Budget: Government doesn’t deliver on affordable housing despite stamp duty windfall

The Greens have criticised the NSW Government for delivering a 2015-16 Budget that benefits from a boom in stamp duty revenue yet fails to do enough to ensure the availability of affordable housing across Sydney and the state.

In the interests of good governance and transparency, The Greens WestConnex spokesperson and Member for Newtown Jenny Leong has called on the Government to immediately halt the acquisition of homes and the construction of early stages of the tollway until the business case has been finalised and made public.

 “We are now talking about $15.4 billion dollars for the WestConnex tollway – an increase of $500 million from last year – and up from $10 billion from when the project was first initiated. That’s over $450 million per kilometre!” said The Greens WestConnex spokesperson and Member for Newtown Jenny Leong.

Announcements in the NSW Budget regarding changes to state significant infrastructure decisions and commitment of billions of dollars of public money for WestConnex, makes it clear that this Government is more interested in  serving the interests of the big end of town not the community, says Greens WestConnex spokesperson and member for Newtown Jenny Leong.

“WestConnex operates under an accountability smokescreen. No business case, no Environmental Impact Statement, a company with a questionable record being awarded contracts both for construction and assessing environmental risks,” she said.

Media Release

18 June 2015

Train station accessibility needs prioritisation in NSW Budget

Questions asked by the Greens MP for Newtown Jenny Leong in NSW Parliament have revealed that train station accessibility works on Redfern Station Platforms 6 & 7 will be complete by the end of the year, and have advocated for other stations in the area to be prioritised in the next tranche of station upgrades.