Protest meeting demands that Sydney's National Centre of Indigenous Excellence remains open

Community users, stakeholders and politicians are calling for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in the Sydney suburb of Redfern to remain open in the wake of revelations this week that the facility will cease its programs as of Monday 8th August.

Following reports that staff had been given termination notices on Monday, community users and stakeholders gathered at the Centre yesterday to protest the closure and the end of programs.

Attending the protest, City of Sydney Councillor Linda Scott wrote on Twitter that the NCIE “is a vital centre of Indigenous excellence in the heart of Redfern … I stand alongside our communities with the strongest commitment to keep it open for the future.”

Also on Twitter, City of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, advised that she was “very concerned” about Monday’s announcement that the Centre would close, advising that she had requested an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the closure and how it could be kept open.

NCIE provides health and wellbeing services for Indigenous people in Sydney, including sport, fitness, conferences and community classes and employs about 50 people, mostly Indigenous.

Opened in 2006, the site had been owned since 2010 by the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSA), a federal statutory body which manages and acquires assets worth millions of dollars on behalf of Indigenous people, until the NSW Aboriginal Land Council took ownership on 30th June.

It is understood that the Centre has required ongoing subsidies to remain operational.

In a joint statement on Monday, the two bodies said they had worked in “good faith” to come to an agreement on how to continue services, which had been delivered by the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence Ltd, a subsidiary of the corporation.

The statement advised “unfortunately, we have not been able to reach agreement on terms for ongoing support of the organisation and as a result it will close.

“We are disappointed by the outcome and will work to support affected staff and community.”

However, as reported by Guardian Australia, on Tuesday a spokesperson for the Land Council said it had “nothing to do” with the staffing situation and it was the corporation’s decision to close the business with seven days’ notice.

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Linda Burney, said she had spoken to the corporation’s leaders and the MP for Sydney, Tanya Plibersek, about the situation on Tuesday, and “strongly encouraged” the two bodies to come to a solution for the centre, which she called “the beating heart of the Aboriginal community in Redfern”.

An ILSC said all operation decisions were ultimately at its discretion, but it was continuing to work with the land council to attempt to “broker an arrangement” where the site could continue to be used.

They said discussions would remain ongoing with Minister Burney’s office.

One staff member said he and other casual employees were offered a four-week redundancy payment based on their average salary subject to signing a non-disclosure agreement.

Images: Supporters of the NCIE rally after sudden announcementthat the Centre is to close (top, credit: Councillor Linda Scott) and local youth outside the Centre (below, credit: Facebook).