SHOALHAVEN 2020: SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS

East Nowra 2020

East Nowra is a part of Nowra, a part of our city where by actions of government at various times, and by acts of neglect as well, an array of social issues have been able to aggregate. The Shoalhaven scores sadly on the index of social disadvantage* at 964 and Nowra alarmingly at 826.7. Compare with Vincentia at 1028Berry at 1081. Only in the Far West - Brewarrina 764 and Central Darling 821 do we seek scores lower than Nowra. And 'Nowra' contains elements west of the highway with affluence and advantage, so East Nowra on its own is deeply disadvantaged when compared with any part of the state. This appalling.

*The Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage is derived from attributes such as low income, low educational attainment, high unemployment, jobs in relatively unskilled occupations and variables that reflect disadvantage rather than measure specific aspects of disadvantage (e.g., Indigenous and Separated/Divorced).

"High scores on the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage occur when the area has few families of low income and few people with little training and in unskilled occupations. Low scores on the index occur when the area has many low income families and people with little training and in unskilled occupations. It is important to understand that a high score here reflects lack of disadvantage rather than high advantage, a subtly different concept." [from pages linked above]

There is a history of involvement of many government agencies in East Nowra. Without solving core problems.

There are many good people in East Nowra. The question is whether it it possible for them to work together themselves on an empowerment and capacity building program to improve their lives. Confidence comes from taking control.

The federal government has had a 2020 Summit but when and how results will trickle down to benefit communities is far from clear.

We have to do things locally. I have confidence that people in the greatest adversity can have the greatest vision.

Hence my offer to the people of East Nowra to work with them on a project called East Nowra 2020. Whether to proceed is for that community to consider. I have indicated that I will allocate 20% of the mayoral allowance (about $6000) in my first year to associated practical costs of organising meetings and circulating information, etc. We can begin and construct a process before I have that capacity to pay.

If we succeed in East Nowra we can proceed similarly elsewhere. It's all about empowerment, self-confidence and capacity building. We search for strategies, and THEN we work out what support is needed from federal, state and local governments. It not about charity, it's about working together and building confidence.

TEXT OF MEDIA RELEASE 30 JUNE

The council will, at 7pm Tuesday 1 July at the council offices, provide a briefing on its plans to infiltrate traffic through East Nowra as a result of the expansion of the Stocklands shopping centre.

This plan has met strong community objection.

Council should go away and rethink the whole deal on grounds of social justice.

East Nowra has been impacted by damaging government actions and disregard for decades. Good people in East Nowra are surrounded by depths of social problems and disadvantage which have become very serious.

Nowra's place on the Australian Bureau of Statistics index of disadvantage is right at the bottom of the scale for NSW. Only in the far West, in Brewarrina and the like, is disadvantage greater. This is appalling.

(You can see, in links from the Council's own web site,
http://www.id.com.au/profile/shoalhaven
hard statistics of the depths of disadvantage in Nowra.
.....see selected numbers at http://shoalhaven2020.net/commitments/eastnowra.html )

It is time for East Nowra to get a new deal.

Funding for a sensible traffic solution for East Nowra should come ahead of the North Nowra Link Road and the pork barrel $4 million the elected council committed itself to last week. Those amounts alone, $14 million, would build enough of the East Nowra Sub-Arterial Road to solve the Stocklands traffic issues and provide a strategic start for a better deal for East Nowra. If we can build a road to Nerriga that ends in bulldust, we can build half of ENSA.

If we do not work to lift East Nowra urgently, there is little point working on promotion of the central business district or security issues there.

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