Thursday, April 3, 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

2011 Census

THE AUSTRALIAN Bureau of Statistics has released its first figures from the 2011 census. When compared to earlier census data the 2011 figures show population increases in the Sydney LGA up 8.2 per cent over the last five years with Redfern up 4.8 per cent and Waterloo up 25.2 per cent for over the same period. over the last 10 years the population of Redfern has increased 9.7 per cent and Waterloo a huge 206 per cent!

Bye-bye SMDA

THE NSW budget announced the demise of the Sydney Metropolitan development Authority (SMdA) and its amalgamation with Landcom into a new state-wide body called urbangrowth nSW. The new body will have compulsory acquisition powers like the current SMdA and will be in place by mid-July.

Notre Dame fears

SINCE THE University of Notre Dame (UNDA) first opened in Chippendale it has purchased several sites and expanded its campus more than five-fold. Contrary to previous undertakings, the university is now starting to encroach residential streets. estimates indicate nearly 4,000 students attend the Chippendale campus. This is well ahead of projections.

Leamington saved

SAVE LEAMINTON AVE Inc (SLA) has been seeking assurances that their homes are safe since a leaflet arrived in their letterboxes showing resumption in June 2010. After two years they have received a letter from Transport for NSW (TNSW) director General assuring them that “properties in that area are not required for transport projects, either now or in the foreseeable future”.

Redfern Station upgrade update

MEDIA REPORTS on the NSW Government’s fixing the Trains: Sydney’s Rail future on June 21 said the second harbour tunnel crossing would extend through the city and connect south of Central to the Illawarra and Bankstown lines. This is consistent with maps in the report and may help speed up the sale of north eveleigh and the upgrade of Redfern Station which should not be impacted.

SMDA releases affordable housing details

The SMDA strategy has dropped early RWA references to home ownership and concentrates exclusively on rental housing within the framework of the existing NSW...