“I’m not the sort of person who’s likely to walk in and go: ‘Right, Liz Yeo’s grand vision for this is X’, because I see myself very much as a custodian for something that belongs to the community,” she says.
This is why Ms Yeo, along with her staff and volunteers, took to the Newtown markets to talk directly to the community about what they treasure in their local area. “It just rolled off people’s tongues when you asked them: ‘What do you love about Newtown?’” says Ms Yeo. “Pretty much everything described was about the unique character of Newtown.”
Despite the praise for Newtown’s local colour, a number of people mentioned that they’ve been feeling less safe when they go out late at night in Newtown. “That was the first time I heard people talk about the flow-on effect – or what people were describing as the flow-on effect – from the lock-outs in Kings Cross which meant that a lot more people were coming into this area late at night.”
The desire to protect Newtown’s “vibe” was the motive behind July’s public meeting – a joint initiative of the NNC, Newtown Precinct Business Association, ACON and Member for Newtown Jenny Leong. “We were all hearing things I guess from different perspectives,” Ms Yeo says. “That’s why we thought it would be a good thing to bring people together.”
The public meeting, which was attended by more than 150 people, was followed in August by a roundtable involving the various institutions with an interest in the issue – including Marrickville and City of Sydney councils, the police, the business precinct, local venues, Jenny Leong and the NNC.
“I think we do actually have a lot of shared agreement on what we want to preserve in terms of openness, diversity, safety, fun,” says Ms Yeo. “Another way to express it I’ve used recently is: let’s keep Newtown vibrant, open, weird and safe.”
Some strategies to achieve this goal include developing a volunteer-based effort, improving public transport and ensuring that local venues are safe spaces for all who visit.
“From our perspective as the Neighbourhood Centre, we would like to take up the interest from community members about getting involved in keeping this a safe and fun place.”
This goal contains echoes of the broader mission of the NNC. After six months as CEO, Ms Yeo’s goal is to ensure that the NCC remains a valuable resource for the whole community. She estimates that each day around 35 people will walk into the centre, looking for anything from support around escaping domestic violence to being evicted from their house.
“My vision is that I would like this centre to be seen as ‘a place for the whole community’,” she says. “It’s a place to connect and it’s a place to act. Connection and action – and fun.”
