The future of Sydney’s National Centre of Indigenous Excellence remains uncertain, despite the federal government authority that manages the site announcing a deal had been reached to secure its future.
The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation raised hopes on Sunday when it announced it had reached an agreement with the NSW Aboriginal Land Council to keep the doors of the social enterprise hub, which provides health and wellbeing services for Indigenous people, open.
The Redfern site has been the epicentre of a sustained community outcry since its imminent closure was revealed last week, with hundreds of supporters, elders and advocates rallying in support of the centre’s future.
In a statement posted to its website, the ILSC said they had been in constant discussions with the NSW Aboriginal Land Council over the weekend and said they anticipated services and operations would go ahead under the new “arrangement”.
“The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) is pleased to announce an arrangement has been reached which will enable the fitness and aquatics services to continue at 180 George St Redfern.”
The ILSC purchased the site in 2010 and had been continuing to fund and deliver programs and services until last month, when the divestment of the property was finalised with the NSW Aboriginal Land Corporation after more than five years of negotiations.
The ILSC is a federal statutory body which acquires and manages millions of dollars in sea and land assets, which it then transfers to Indigenous organisations and bodies for the benefit of local Indigenous communities.
“We are looking forward to meeting with the NSWALC to finalise principles for the transfer to them as the new owner and operator.”
But the chief executive of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Yuseph Deen, told Guardian Australia “at this point, no formal agreement has been reached between the ILSC and the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council”.
The NCIE has been operating at a loss for several years, he said, and the land council was unable to sustain its services and programs.
“We were seeking arrangements from the ILSC to supplement operations as one of the conditions moving forward from a period for five years and that was negotiated down to three years,” Deen said.
Many community organisations based at the NCIE Redfern’s hub have put out statements or raised their concerns on social media, saying they are yet to be consulted and nothing has been confirmed in writing.
The NCIE website has not yet been updated, with its website simply saying that the centre is slated for closure and will “move onto the next phase of use. We look forward to seeing the future plans for the site and how it will continue to bring the community together”.
Dozens of community groups, elders and hundreds of supporters, including the minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, and local MP Tanya Plibersek have urged the two organisations to ensure the centre stays open.
A Redfern community group representing a coalition of Indigenous groups said they were “hurt and frustrated” about the lack of certainty for their future.
A spokesperson for the group, Shane Phillips, said the organisations based at the centre were growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress.
“NCIE hosts valuable community programs which must be continued indefinitely,” Phillips said.
“There are young Aboriginal people in Redfern today who would be in jail, or worse, if it wasn’t for the programs built up through the NCIE facility,” he said.
Deen said negotiations were continuing and he was hopeful for a resolution between the two parties.
“I can say that the landscape has changed significantly from last Monday, when NCIE staff were given notice, to this Monday, when where we’ve been in talks with the ILSC around the prospect of NCIE remaining open.”
The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation has been approached for comment.
