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Past Programs

Sunday, 23 August 2009

150 years of Redfern and Richard Weston

Presenter: Rhianna Patrick

The inner city Sydney suburb of Redfern recently celebrated 150 years since its proclamation as a municipality and you'll hear about research into the involvement of Aboriginal people in the economic development of Redfern in the 20th Century.

Torres Strait Islander, Richard Weston has become the new CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service in Brisbane which is one of the largest Indigenous organisations in QLD.

And you're heading out to a cattle station near Casino in Northern New South Wales, which is giving young Indigenous people in trouble with the law a second chance to turn their lives around before sentencing.

Redfern recently celebrated 150 years since becoming a council, quickly became known for its progressive services and was the first New South Wales council to offer its residents electricity in their homes.

Heidi Norman is a senior lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney and is currently researching the history of Redfern through the eyes of its Aboriginal residents called "The Black Heart of Redfern: Economic development and Aboriginal people in 20th Century Redfern".

Heidi talks about the Refern of the 1800s and how it changed to the suburb we know today.

For more than eight years, Torres Strait Islander, Richard Weston headed the Mari Maar Health Service at Broken Hill in Far Western New South Wales.

He recently left his position to become the new CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service in Brisbane.

The health service was started in the early 70s by a small group of community members and GPs and is now one of the largest Indigenous community organisations in Queensland.

The organisation recently moved into a new building and Richard talks about the differences in servicing the health needs of an urban Indigenous population and the challenges in getting the community to access good health care.

Given the choice between going to jail or working on a cattle station which would you choose?

In a national first, magistrates in New South Wales now have the option to send young Aboriginal men and women to live and work on a farm prior to sentencing.

The program was developed to break the cycle of reoffending, by teaching the young adults life skills and about their culture and giving them a future.

More than one in five people in Australian jails are Aboriginal, with more than half likely to reoffend upon release.

ABC Rural Reporter, Elysse Morgan went to the opening of the station, whose name translates as "Be good now you have a second chance down by the river."

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