http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/12/05/1133631203197.html?from=rss
Paola Totaro
"The committee heard details of just how much money had been spent on rebuilding local public housing ($52 million), the progress of a new management group set up after the riots to co-ordinate programs at the coalface and was taken through a restructure of the police command to deal with public order risks. It was told of downward trends in local crime statistics (except assaults and domestic violence, which run at a staggering 200 a month) and heard of the move towards a re-energised, higher visibility policing tactic in the streets.
And it heard that few of the employment, educational and economic statistics that so eloquently paint the picture of a community torn by socio-economic stress had changed one iota: 21 per cent of locals do not complete schooling up to year 10; only 28 per cent have attained year 12 qualifications; 42 per cent of young people under 24 are unemployed or not working; the majority of families earn less than $400 a week and a quarter earn less than $200 a week."
