Government racism razes Swan Valley Nyungah Community
Peter Mitchell | 07.04.2014 09:00
The Western Australian State Government sent in demolition contractors to raze the vacant residences of the Swan Valley Nyungah Communit
The Western Australian State Government sent in demolition contractors to raze the vacant residences of the Swan Valley Nyungah Community. Emotions ran high among former residents, many of whom remain homeless. They only learned of the demolition as it was happening such was the clandestine nature of the Government’s underhandedness. Many have been homeless since 2003, and fair to write, the then Geoff Gallop Government evicted en masse all the residents in a knee jerk reaction to what later proved to be unsubstantiated and false information about rife sexual abuse.
Natural justice was denied then, it was denied again today – eleven years later.
The then State Government broke a prescribed promise to transition all the residents to State Housing and to assist with other various services. The Government never kept this promise, they could not even do this. Nothing was done to help the former residents, not once in the eleven years.
The majority of the residents finished up on the streets. The majority remain on the streets, homeless. About a dozen have sadly passed away on the streets of Perth. Three of them were siblings, two of them – sisters – were found dead on the streets of Perth in consecutive Perth winters.
Just recently, the Swan Valley Nyungah Community launched a campaign calling for the reopening of the Community and for the homeless to be returned to their homes.
Only last week, community rallied on the steps of State Parliament to launch the call for the Community which had remained idle for eleven years to be reopened. Premier Colin Barnett was approached with a question as to whether he would consider this and he responded to the reporter with “NO”.
Despite a change.org petition to Premier Barnett and despite another rally scheduled for the heart of Perth, Forrest Chase, for noon April 2nd, Premier Barnett moved without notice to oversee the unexpected demolition of the site, with the objective it will be outrageously transformed into a park – “Reconciliation Park” – what a disgrace. What a horrific act of inhumanity, and indeed of ugly racism. I, Gerry Georgatos, do not intend this article as ordinary journalism, but as an extraordinary subjective statement of the facts as I know them, and I take this move standalone with ownership of these words, and if Premier Barnett wants to litigate, I will stand in the Supreme Court and swear by my words and truth despite whatever consequences the imbalances of a justice system leveraged for the wealthy and privileged dump on me. I have been there, so no worries from my end. However I will not stay silent and not say it as it is.
Homeless Nyungahs, induced into homelessness by a ruthless State Government, turned up this morning to the locked gates of their Community to be shocked by the demolition. The Stringer was on site, witness to a young homeless male saying, “White people cry when their houses are burnt, when they lose their memories, well for us this site is where my memories were. I played there, I swam in that river. Here are my memories.”
Community News
Natural justice was denied then, it was denied again today – eleven years later.
The then State Government broke a prescribed promise to transition all the residents to State Housing and to assist with other various services. The Government never kept this promise, they could not even do this. Nothing was done to help the former residents, not once in the eleven years.
The majority of the residents finished up on the streets. The majority remain on the streets, homeless. About a dozen have sadly passed away on the streets of Perth. Three of them were siblings, two of them – sisters – were found dead on the streets of Perth in consecutive Perth winters.
Just recently, the Swan Valley Nyungah Community launched a campaign calling for the reopening of the Community and for the homeless to be returned to their homes.
Only last week, community rallied on the steps of State Parliament to launch the call for the Community which had remained idle for eleven years to be reopened. Premier Colin Barnett was approached with a question as to whether he would consider this and he responded to the reporter with “NO”.
Despite a change.org petition to Premier Barnett and despite another rally scheduled for the heart of Perth, Forrest Chase, for noon April 2nd, Premier Barnett moved without notice to oversee the unexpected demolition of the site, with the objective it will be outrageously transformed into a park – “Reconciliation Park” – what a disgrace. What a horrific act of inhumanity, and indeed of ugly racism. I, Gerry Georgatos, do not intend this article as ordinary journalism, but as an extraordinary subjective statement of the facts as I know them, and I take this move standalone with ownership of these words, and if Premier Barnett wants to litigate, I will stand in the Supreme Court and swear by my words and truth despite whatever consequences the imbalances of a justice system leveraged for the wealthy and privileged dump on me. I have been there, so no worries from my end. However I will not stay silent and not say it as it is.
Homeless Nyungahs, induced into homelessness by a ruthless State Government, turned up this morning to the locked gates of their Community to be shocked by the demolition. The Stringer was on site, witness to a young homeless male saying, “White people cry when their houses are burnt, when they lose their memories, well for us this site is where my memories were. I played there, I swam in that river. Here are my memories.”
Community News
Peter Mitchell