By Dongyun Kwon
Despite Yarra Ranges Council’s explanation that the redevelopment of Oonah Aboriginal Health And Community Services will not affect the Healesville Living and Learning Centre, some Healesville community members felt left in the dark due to the lack of communication.
Star Mail interviewed all related parties; concerned community members, Oonah Aboriginal Health and Community Services and the Healesville Living and Learning Centre.
Yarra Ranges Council received a permit application for buildings and works at Oonah Belonging Place at Queens Park, 1 to 1A Badger Creek Road, Healesville and confirmed the Healesville Living and Learning Centre is not closing and is not included in this planning permit.
According to the council’s Advocacy Agenda 2022 report, Oonah requested a $10-15 million investment, shared by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments to construct the Belonging Place and realise its potential to enhance Aboriginal health and wellbeing across Melbourne’s east.
Belonging Place, operating under the Aboriginal community control of Oonah, is a self-determinative response to meeting the health and wellbeing needs of Indigenous communities in Melbourne’s east.
Located at Oonah’s existing site in Healesville, the development of a Belonging Place will increase service accessibility, deepen cultural and social connections, and make significant inroads towards ‘Closing the Gap’.
It can also function as an emergency relief site for communities in times of natural disasters.
Star Mail spoke with three different Healesville residents worried about the plan who preferred not to mention their names.
Each interviewee pointed out the lack of communication led to rumours and concerns about what was going to happen to the Living and Learning Centre.
One of the community members, who was a regular user of the Healesville Living and Learning Centre services, said the services at the centre had seriously declined over the last few years.
“There’s no staff on site at the Living and Learning Centre anymore, so it’s really hard to find out information and what courses are on. It seems like nobody knows about what’s going on at the Living and Learning Centre,” they said.
“About a year ago, my friend told me it looked like things were closing, and she got an indication that the site was going to be taken over by Oonah. Someone from Oonah had spoken to my friend and said the whole site was going to be taken over, and everybody was going to be moved off site.
“It seemed odd that we couldn’t find any information so I started to investigate. I found these little snippets of information about joint funding from the state government and local council.”
According to the person’s claim, after the investigation, they found out the redevelopment of the Oonah, which included a state of the art medical centre, had been in the pipeline for a long time without any public consultation although a considerable amount of money from taxpayers was going to put into the project.
“It just all looks suspicious because we couldn’t find out anything more than that, and why it’s been kept all quiet. There was no document that I could find explaining what was going on,” they said.
“Why can’t the council be upfront and treat us all like adults and have a sensible discussion about this?”
Another community member told Star Mail they heard about the issue from their friends.
“(I started) to check this out to see if the facts that I had been provided were true, and then if they were true, why did it appear to be on the quiet side? So then it was looking and trying to get information that would stop the gossip trends that happen when you don’t know and you only hear little bits of information,” they said.
“But it was trying to find out what was actually going to be there because it seemed quite significant when I finally found plans.
“Again, they were difficult to find, everything seemed to be very quiet. Then I started to look and see how much this would cost And what it is actually for.”
The Healesville resident rang the Yarra Ranges Council’s planning department and local politicians, Eildon MP Cindy McLeish and Federal Casey MP Aaron Violi to check out the facts.
“It turned out that this particular development could go anywhere between $15 million and $20 million worth of development if the permit is approved,” they said.
“When the initial planning permit went up on the fence, it only literally gave a week at best to put in a submission.
“The submission dates were supposed to close on 23 February, and most people didn’t even know because nothing had appeared in papers to say a development was even going to happen in Healesville.”
Since 1998, Oonah has provided services not only in the Yarra Ranges but across the Eastern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne with a reconciliation focus.
Oonah runs the following programs; playgroup, youth club, Deadly Young Leaders, Earth Heart Spirit, Tucker Bag food relief, NDIS access and support, Elder Care Program, alcohol and other drugs support, Bringing Them Home support, Social and Emotional, Paediatricia, optometry, audiology, and podiatry.
Oonah chief executive officer Amanda Hand said Oonah welcomed the Yarra Ranges Council’s support for the important new centre which responds to the needs of the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community.
“It will allow Oonah Health and Community Services Aboriginal Corporation to continue to operate on the site, within a much larger and refreshed community space. It will deliver a net community benefit for the area by providing integrated community services for Oonah Belonging Place on the wider site,” she said.
“The larger building will accommodate expanded service provision and generate increased employment opportunities. At Oonah, we strive to uphold a culturally respectful approach that includes and strengthens all peoples, traditions, stories and culture, now and for future generations.
“We acknowledge each individual’s personal journey discovering their cultural connections. Respect for traditional ways, lore and custom is paramount when providing services and care planning. We seek to improve the quality of our buildings through this planning application, but we would like it noted that these buildings are not yet funded.”
The three Healesville residents, who were concerned with the planning permit, recognised the need for improved health services for First Nations communities to close the gap between First Nations and non-First Nations communities.
However, they claimed the approach of the state and local governments would cause division rather than unity.
One of them said it was a lot of money for the State Government and the local council to put into something that’s only going to be accessible for a small section of society.
The Victorian Government provided more than $1 million to support Oonah Health and Community Services to expand its clinical arm and workforce in 2022, including funding for a community registered nurse, Aboriginal midwife and cultural mentor to help better meet the needs of the community.
Oonah Health and Community Services also received over a million dollars of funding over four years to deliver healthcare including paediatrician, optometry, audiology, and podiatry services as well as community services like playgroup, youth club, NDIS access and support, an Elder Care Program, alcohol and other drugs and social and emotional support.
“The facts are clear, Aboriginal people are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes than non-Aboriginal people,” a Department of Health spokesperson said.
“We also know that when Aboriginal health is in Aboriginal hands you get better health outcomes and that is why we will always support Aboriginal community controlled health services.
“Aboriginal-led organisations like Oonah Health and Community Services provide excellent, culturally safe care that is tailored to the local community.“
Yarra Ranges Council was contacted for comment.
However, as the planning authority, the council couldn’t comment on this but directed the Star Mail to its website for more information.
Next week, Star Mail will finish up the series of stories regarding this issue.
The next article will focus on concerns with the Healesville Living and Learning Centre, and the responses from the board.
