Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Geoff Turnbull

Bio:
Geoff Turnbull is the spokesperson for REDWatch, the residents group that covers the inner Sydney suburbs of Redfern Eveleigh Darlington and Waterloo (REDW). He has held this role since REDWatch was established in 2004 and maintains the REDWatch website which has documented government initiatives in the area since the early 2000’s.

Geoff has lived in Lawson Street Redfern since 1978 and has run a small import export company in the area since 1990. He undertakes his community work on a voluntary basis. With his wife Lyn they produced the emailed Redfern Waterloo Issues Update for several years. He has been contributing articles to the South Sydney Herald since 2004 and mainly focuses on planning, policy and social equity issues.

Geoff has served on the Redfern Waterloo Authority (RWA) Built Environment Ministerial Advisory Committee (BEMAC) (2005-2011), was a member of the Redfern Waterloo Heritage Taskforce (2010 and 2011) and since 2009 Geoff has also been the REDWatch representative on the Roll Up Redfern committee. He has held executive positions in the former Redfern Waterloo Chamber of Commerce and been a member of advisory committees for the AHC’s Pemulwuy Project and for Redfern Legal Service as well as campaigns to save Eveleigh Heritage. Geoff is on the Management Committee of The Factory Community Centre where he is currently Secretary. He is active in the Groundswell Coalition and the Lift Redfern Campaign.

106 POSTS

Significance of precinct announcement

The government proposes the creation of a mixed social and private development on the site under the Communities Plus program

An Aboriginal affordable housing ask for Waterloo?

One of the big questions about the redevelopment of Waterloo Estate is what will be in this for the Aboriginal community.

 Who’s who in Waterloo – April 7, 2017

A guide to the groups currently working on the Waterloo Public Housing Estate redevelopment.

Independent assistance for master planning

Kira Osborne and Thomas Chailloux have started work to independently resource tenants and community during planning for the Waterloo redevelopment.

Heritage operator derailed

Heritage rail operator, 3801 Ltd, after two years of difficult dealings with Transport Heritage NSW, was locked out of Eveleigh’s Large Erecting Shop (LES) at the end of January 2017.

AHC seeks student housing change to fund Pemulwuy

The Aboriginal Housing Company is seeking to revise its plans for student housing along the railway line to pay for the Pemulwuy Project.

Rachel Forster increase?

Developer wants to increase the number of units in its plans on former Rachel Forster site in Redfern.

Social mix: mantra masking reality

Rather than talking about developers selling off 70 per cent of a development on the private market to build 30 per cent of the...

Waterloo fog may be about to lift 

LAHC and Family and Community Services (FACS) with support from UrbanGrowth will commence the master planning process, including engagement and consultation, late in 2016....

Lessons of history – local connections

Reflections and contrasts: southern Africa's surprising connections with our local issues.

Redeveloping Waterloo – here we go again

The NSW Government’s Christmas present to Waterloo public tenants was the announcement that planning to redevelop their homes would start in early 2016!

Technology Park sold

Prior to the sale, the Council-approved subdivision of the ATP was registered ensuring that the public domain was defined and separated from the existing...

Lawson Street bike and pedestrian improvements

Connecting the Wilson Street and Wells Street cycleways The proposal includes a separated cycleway across the northern side of the Lawson Street railway bridge, which...

North Eveleigh development fast-tracked

UrbanGrowth proposes a slightly expanded park on the western end of the site with the heritage Clothing Store becoming community and retail space rather...

Opportunity to respond to Sydney University plans

There is opportunity to comment on Sydney University’s Campus Improvement Plan.

Early Central to Eveleigh timeframe

The Redfern Precinct, taking in Redfern Station and the Redfern end of North Eveleigh, is considered medium-term at 5-10 years, while the Central Station...

Back-tracking to days of steam power

EVELEIGH: Over 400 locals, railway enthusiasts and industrial heritage buffs were transported to a bygone era of steam trains and handmade machinery at the Heritage Community Days on May 16 and 17 at the Australian Technology Park and the Large Erecting Shop.

Sydney Uni expands on plans

Sydney University is seeking approval for a 68 per-cent increase to its Camperdown-Darlington campus floor space by the end of 2020. This will accommodate a 21 per-cent increase in students on the campus as well as 4,000 units of “affordable” student accommodation.

Sydney Uni – consultation disaster

Inexplicably, the University did not follow these requirements and included broad community comments from earlier consultations. The community groups only saw details when the...

Lift for Redfern’s Inner West platform

REDFERN: Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian has announced that the first lift at Redfern station will be on the Inner West line on platform 6 and 7, allowing access to frequent services to the city as well as services to centres such as Newtown, Burwood and Strathfield. The statement coincided with opal ticketing being introduced at Redfern for the now 50,000 customers passing through the station every day.

Central to Eveleigh consultations

UrbanGrowth NSW recently undertook three workshops in the initial stage of its investigation into the Central to Eveleigh railway corridor.

North Eveleigh by 2015

In March the SSH revealed that the RWA had secured funding in April 2010 from the Federal Housing Affordability Fund. While this was only finalised earlier this year the SMDA has been preparing plans to deliver 61 affordable housing units at North Eveleigh by December 2014.

Central to Eveleigh density

The plans for Central to Eveleigh are so big the SSH could not fit them with the article in last month’s issue so we carried them over to this issue. Below is the map released with the announcement of this “Global Precinct Opportunity”.

Central to Eveleigh redevelopment – it’s big!

NSW cabinet recently decided redevelopment of the railway corridor stretching three kilometres from the CBD’s Goulburn Street car park to Macdonaldtown would be part of an international Expression Of Interest (EOI) process.

Planning – a new approach?

The Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DoPI) has put on exhibition until June 28 both a 200 page A New Planning System for NSW...

Growth targets inner city

 If you live on a major transport corridor and are close to the city your area will likely be targeted to absorb the extra...

Making cities, building communities

City making is everybody’s responsibility. It is a civic responsibility and not just the responsibility of the government, planners, architects, developers and builders. It is a civic responsibility because we all have to live in or with what is built in our neighbourhoods.

NSW fails easy access

Transport for NSW issued its Disability Action Plan 2012–2017 in December 2012. The Action Plan confirms that Transport NSW has not met the Federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992 target of having 55 per cent of stations accessible by 2012. Under the Act, 90 per cent of stations are to be accessible by 2017 and 100 per cent by 2022.

Lift Redfern online petition

Lift Redfern has launched the next stage of the campaign for lifts at Redfern Station. A key part of the new campaign is an online petition that can be signed at change.org. A feature of this petition is that signatories can make their own comments about why lifts are needed. The petition will be presented to both the Transport Minister and the President of the NSW Upper House.

Waterloo HNSW sales

A “For Sale” sign in Raglan Street Waterloo sits outside a poor condition terrace house. Prospective buyers and public tenants report this is not the first public housing property put to market in the area and more are said to follow soon. This is not unique to the inner city. Spot sales of public housing are happening across the state.

Seeing red on rail?

The motorist group NRMA Motoring & Services has launched an online survey to find out about the problems people experience on the rail network....

Hoenig raises lifts

Heffron MP, Ron Hoenig, recently inspected Redfern Station and wrote to the Minister for Transport requesting her to reconsider the government’s position so that funding for a lift on the underground platforms can be given immediate priority.

Dispensing information, while pushing ahead

Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) pushed ahead with the installation of the Automatic Dispensing Machine (ADM) in front of the Redfern Health Centre without mentioning it at a public meeting on January 29. In contrast to the December meeting where locals opposing the installation primarily argued their objections with representatives of SLHD, this meeting was independently facilitated and featured a more balanced discussion about the issues with many supporters of the ADM in attendance.

Human services co-ordination

As people with higher and higher needs are allocated public housing in Redfern and Waterloo the need for integrated service delivery grows. It is necessary to ensure people have their complex needs addressed and can maintain their tenancies, and that they do not impact adversely on their neighbours.

City West in North Eveleigh

City West Housing (CWH) has been appointed as the affordable housing provider for the North Eveleigh affordable housing project initiated by the RWA now UrbanGrowth Development Corporation. CWH is to undertake the design, seek planning approval, construct and manage a minimum of 61 affordable housing units at North Eveleigh. The final number of units will be determined through the design stage.

New growth precincts?

When land values are determined by lines on government maps showing growth areas and other potential developments it is important to get things correct.

UrbanGrowth in Redfern-Waterloo

The state government authority responsible for delivering the BEP2 planning controls for public housing estates in Redfern and Waterloo and for planning on the former Eveleigh Railyards has made yet another transformation. The SMDA, which was formally the RWA, became the UrbanGrowth Development Corporation (UGDC) on January 1. The UGDC retains the SMDA’s Growth Centres powers which allow it to compulsorily acquire land and consolidate it in designated growth centres (currently Redfern-Waterloo and Granville). It will play a broader re-development role alongside a partner agency called UrbanGrowth NSW.

Darlington traffic and transport

The application for new buildings at North Eveleigh will not include the whole of site Transport Management and Accessibility Plan (TMAP) required by the Concept Plan Consent. Instead, the SMDA proposal will only address the impact of its current small development on the area’s transport and traffic.

Work starts on North Eveleigh

Roadwork on the western entrance to North Eveleigh and Carriageworks will commence immediately and be completed by June 2013 to allow work to commence on the affordable housing development by mid-2013.

Stopping heritage rot

Six years after the Redfern-Waterloo Authority gazetted key heritage buildings at Eveleigh, essential conservation maintenance is being planned for the Chief Mechanical Engineers (CME) Building and the Scientific Services Building. The third heritage building in this precinct, the deteriorating Telecommunications Equipment Centre, is not mentioned.

New councillors for City of Sydney

City of Sydney’s Lord Mayor since 2004, Clover Moore, has been returned as Lord Mayor with 51 per cent of the mayoral vote, down from 56 per cent in 2008. Apart from Clover Moore only Robert Kok and Irene Doutney will return from the previous council, while Robyn Kemmis returns to council after a term’s absence.

Volunteer stories

RedWater Montage – Volunteers … the heart of our Community is a booklet with 39 stories about what people do for others in Redfern and Waterloo, and where they do it. It is also a taster that might tempt others to step in and give a helping hand on a management committee, a campaign or with some odd jobs.

Community training

The Groundswell Coalition, made up of local community services and residents, is holding the second of its community training sessions in the Challenge 4 Change Course. The course aims to help residents and community workers pick up skills that will help them be more effective in bringing about change.

Planning consultation?

Keep a close eye on what happens with community consultation in the new planning system when the government responds to submissions to its Green Paper. The Green Paper was the Government’s initial response to the recommendations of the Independent Review of the NSW Planning System. That review produced 374 recommendations, many of which, like the centrality of Environmentally Sustainable Development, went missing in the Green Paper.

Not so neighbourly

In 2010 the Sydney University Vice Chancellor met with Darlington residents and promised the University would be a better neighbour. The promised follow-up meeting never eventuated and many in the local community did not believe that the University that ate Darlington would change. This view has been strengthened in dealings over the Abercrombie Street developments.

Redfern Station not high priority

The draft NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan released in September recognises that work is required on Redfern Station, but sees it only as a medium-term priority. If you do not agree with the proposed timeframe then you should take the opportunity to say so before the exhibition closes on October 26 on the feedback form for section 3 or 4 of the Draft Plan.

Ron Hoenig replaces Kristina Keneally

Botany’s Mayor since 1981, Ron Hoenig, has been elected member for Heffron in the recent by-election with 58.9% of the primary vote. He led the Greens’ Mehreen Faruqi (23.3%), The Australian Democrat’s Drew Simmons (10.8%) and Fred Niles’ Christian Democratic Party’s Robyn Peebles (7.0%). In two-party preferred terms Mr Hoenig received 70.6% of the votes and Ms Faruqi 29.4%.

AHC marathon

REDFERN: The Aboriginal Housing Company completed another lap in its Pemulwuy marathon with the submission in August of the Preferred Project Report. The report responds to the issues raised during the public exhibition and adjusts plans from the comments received. The Department of Planning will now make an assessment of the proposal.

Abercrombie – both sides now

Darlington will get its village upgrade in 2013, 18 years after it was proposed by South Sydney Council.

A little bit higher now

REDFERN: The owners of the GCA/TNT Towers presented preliminary concept ideas for the refurbishment and heightening of the landmark towers adjacent to Redfern railway station to interested community members at Redfern Community Centre in late July.