Report says Moree pool pricing Indigenous Australians out of its waters

The Moree Artesian Aquatic Centre in northern NSW, known for having denied local Aboriginals access in the 1960s, has been accused of modern-day segregation by charging costly entry fees beyond the reach of the area’s poorer residents.

One of the key locations in the 1965 'Freedom Ride', when young civil rights activists faced an angry crowd to force the local council to allow Aboriginal people to swim in the pool, a report in the Guardian Australia today suggests that, 55 years on, "segregation still exists at the pool in the form of an entry price so steep few can afford to go there".

With the Guardian Australia having collated the entry fees charged by council-operated swimming pools in each of the NSW’s 129 local government areas, analysis shows the Moree Artesian Aquatic Centre (MAAC) is one of the two most expensive public swimming pools in NSW.

It advises that "MAAC’s entry fee per adult of $9 is higher than every other council-owned or operated swimming centre except Fairfield in Sydney’s western suburbs. Fairfield council’s entry fee at its three aquatic centres is $9.50, which includes access to indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna and steam room."

MAAC’s entry fee for children, at $6.80, is also the second most expensive in NSW.

Commenting on this, Chris Binge, Chief Executive of the Moree Sports Health Arts and Education Academy (SHAE), is quoted as saying “considering we’re in a drought, considering we are in western NSW, considering we are in an area with high unemployment, that’s a lot. $9 can buy you a meal.

“Going to the pool for an Aboriginal person in town is luxury for a majority of people. If you work you can possibly afford to go, but for general unemployed, low socio-economic people here in south Moree, it’s rare.

“55 years ago was probably the closest you’d see to South African apartheid, that’s what Moree was living.

“Back in those days it was more in your face, blatant. It still exists, but it’s the underlying component, which I think is worse.”

Darryl Smith, Chief Executive of Miyaay Birray, which runs after-school and holiday care programs in Moree says if he wants to take kids to the swimming pool he goes to Narrabri, an hour’s drive away.

He told Guardian Australia “our youth service holiday programs are affected.

“One of our most popular programs is to go to the pool for the day. We would have two or three hundred kids on that day.

“It’s cheaper for us to go to Narrabri, 100km away. We get a community transport bus and we take the kids down there, go to the pool for the day and go to the pictures. It’s still cheaper than it is to go to the pool here.”

Guardian Australia reports that local children who can’t afford to go to the pool end up swimming in the river, which "stinks and ...(is) unhealthy."

In a letter to Guardian Australia, Moree Plains Shire Council says it “refutes any claim that the fee structure has been determined in a way to exclude any community members or parts of the Moree community”.

Moree Plains Shire Mayor, Katrina Humphries, says the pricing at the pool is set by the volunteer board, which is independent of the council, advising “the MAAC is quite different to other pool operations in our region.

“In addition to the Olympic pool, it has hot artesian pools, dedicated program pool, a waterslide and children’s play area. This complements the canteen, gymnasium and wellness day spa operations.”

Mayor Humphries added that the pool has a vital role in bringing tourism income for the town.

Binge also advised of there being a list of children who’ve been banned from the pool, some for up to a year.

While the Council did not confirm MAAC held a list of banned patrons, it did outline what might lead to exclusion, citing “by way of example only, during the school holidays, an exclusion was put in place to address a patron spitting on an employee" and went on to explain "the safety of patrons of the MAAC is also of paramount importance. Exclusions have been implemented for patron failures in this respect. This covers a range of behaviours including running on concourses, patrons repeatedly interfering with swimming lessons and jumping in lanes in front of small children learning to swim laps.

“Exclusion might range from an overnight exclusion to more lengthy exclusion … depending on the nature of the behaviour. Longer periods of exclusion require a conference between the offender and the CEO to agree the terms of re-entry.”

Mayor Humphries also advises that the Council is “acutely aware of the events of the past”, adding “we, together with many members of our community, have worked hard to ensure that our commitment to recognition, respect and inclusion is demonstrated by our actions.”

Mayor Humphries says the Council received $10,000 from the NSW Government’s drought stimulus package “to subsidise summer holiday pool activities. The funding was targeted at young people and activities for young people.”

It also held a free pool event late last month.

MAAC was given national heritage status in 2013 because of its “outstanding value to the nation” as the place where student protests in 1965 "highlighted the legalised segregation and racism experienced by Aboriginal people.”

Click here to read the original article in the Guardian Australia.

Images show the Moree Artesian Aquatic Centre.