The story of Armidale's successful Ezidi resettlement program

 

Ezidi students. Photo Simon Scott via UNE Life story 

In April 2017 I reported (Bias against the bush in Australian refugee resettlement) on the continuing unsuccessful  efforts in Armidale and Tamworth to make the cities eligible for refugee resettlement, SBS reported at the time on local disappointment: Regional community disappointed by government's rejection as resettlement location. On 11 August 2017 a breakthrough finally came: Armidale to settle 200 refugees - overview and discussion. 

Syrian refugees had been the original target group,  but this attempt failed because those re-settling wanted to be close to other Syrians in Sydney. Instead, Ezidi refugees came to the city from 2018. The Ezidi (Yazidi) are a minority religious group spread especially across Iraq, Syria and Turkey that has suffered considerable persecution most recently from ISIS. Those coming to Armidale came from Northern Iraq and included victims of the Sinjar massacre, 

Successful resettlement faced considerable challenges. Many of those coming had been traumatised, spoke no English, did not drive, had little experience of urban living and limited education. Despite the difficulties, the number of Ezidi living in Armidale grew. The 2021 census recorded that the city had 610 residents with both parents born in Iraq; the majority if not all would have been Ezidi. In April 2023 NBN news reported that there were 650 Ezidi now living in the city and that the resettlement program was proving mutually beneficial to both the Ezedi and the local community. The NBN report includes the TV news item that is worth watching, 

With the growing Ezidi population came new babies. In a story in the Armidale Express (June 2025: not on-line) Lydia Roberts reported that Armidale's population had grown by some seventy babies since the resettlement program began in 2018. Lydia also suggested that the Ezidi population had now grown to about 1200. 

Ezidi Food and Bakery, The Mall, 171 Beardy Street Armidale. Photo Heath Forsyth, story Armidale Express.

With many children already in the group, Ezidi students spread across the schools and into the University.  Now with successful  establishment came initial new businesses with the establishment of two restaurants, two barber shops plus two middle eastern supermarkets with others reportedly in the pipeline. There were some initial reservations in Armidale about making the city a resettlement centre, but these seem relatively limited and have diminished with time, replaced I think with a feeling of pride.

The reasons for the success of  Ezidi resettlement in Armidale deserve detailed analysis. At this point I simply note that many factors contributed to the success of the the resettlement program. 

Armidale had to fight to become the first new regional refugee settlement in eleven years under the Commonwealth Government's Humanitarian Program creating a supportive atmosphere. Local members of Parliament Barnaby Joyce (New England) and Adam Marshall (Northern Tablelands) were supportive. Settlement Services International (SSI) provided coordinating support helping integrate community activities with broader Government support. Community organisations such as Rotary were supported by volunteers who among other things provided English language conversation, driver training, a community garden and personal family support. The schools, TAFE and university combined in a variety of ways to support the initiative. As SSI noted (link above) it was a whole of community approach.

   

Belated Blogging update 7June 2025

 While personal circumstances have limited all my research and writing activities, I have kept this blog open to allow for comments on past posts since it is clear that people are still reading it and commenting. Since my last post on 21 October 2023 there have been dozens of such comments excluding the inevitable spam, many on posts from early in the blog's history. Together, they constitute quite a valuable resource. 
 

Some months ago I returned to research and writing (and book buying!) with a special focus on my main history projects. This was mildly depressing at two levels: I found more gaps in my research, while there had been a mass of new material published that I needed to take into account! I was also conscious that with the progressive collapse of much of the local press the type of broader integrative reporting often found on this blog was absent.  I have therefore decided that it is time for me to try to resume publication, recognising that my activities are still constrained. We will see how we go!  

New England Passings - Brian Hardaker

Professor Brian Hardaker has died. Professor Sunjana Adapa prepared this obituary that I have taken the liberty of repeating in full. 

 

"It is with deep sadness I share that Emeritus Professor Brian Hardaker, UNE Business School, passed away on Tuesday 10 October. Brian’s wife reached out to our colleague Dr Emilio Morales and shared the devastating news. Brian’s wife also informed Emilio that before he passed away he wished the best for all UNE colleagues. 

Brian Hardaker was an Emeritus Professor in the UNE Business School. He started his career in Agricultural Economics working at the University of London, then Cambridge University, UK, before coming to UNE in 1967 as a Lecturer in the (then) Department of Farm Management, which later merged with Agricultural Economics. 

Brian retired from UNE in 1995 having reached the rank of Professor (Personal Chair). After he arrived at UNE he joined a group of young and enthusiastic scholars, led by the late Professor John Dillon, who became interested in risk in agriculture. Brian was a co-author with Jock Anderson and John Dillon of a pioneering and influential book on the topic, published in 1977, called Agricultural Decision Analysis. Subsequently, Brian was the lead author of a book, published in 1997, called Coping with Risk in Agriculture, which was an update of the earlier publication. Two subsequent updated editions have been published. 

Since Brian retired, he worked as a private consultant and as an Honorary Professor at Curtin and Wageningen Universities, as well as an Associate at the Norwegian equivalent of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). Brian was a Past President and Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES). He published approximately 350 research outputs, in the form of books, major reports, and journal publications. 

Brian’s contribution to UNE Business School and UNE will be sorely missed and my heartfelt condolences are with his family members."

Oaky Hydro Electric site for sale

 

Essential Energy has placed the 214ha Oaky Hydro site on the market. The sales pitch suggests that there is a 2,700 ML dam restoration opportunity with a Hydropower Station connected to the network with a 8.2 km frontage to Oaky River.

The Commercial Real Estate advertisement for the sale (here) includes a range of photographs, while  a 19 September 2022 story by Caroline Riches, Oaky River hydro site offers rare opportunity provides additional information. 

During the 1950s, Albanian civil engineer Zihni Buzo designed and oversaw the implementation of the dam and hydropower scheme here, which supplied renewable energy to the local area from 1956 until 2013, when severe flooding burst the banks and damaged the infrastructure. The Wayback Machine includes the report on the events surrounding the flood event of 23 February 2013. The damage was never repaired.  

Zihni, father to playwright Alex Buzo, was a visionary man who saw the Oaky Scheme as a first step in broader hydro and water development including pumped hydro. While the scheme was not large by today's standards it was all very exciting. Aunt Margaret worked in the Thiess office, Thiess were handling constriction, while Zihni took us all to the site to show us the works in progress. 

The costs of construction added to power bills. By the time of the abolition of the county councils in 1995, the amortisation of the original costs by the New England County Council was flowing through in below average electricity prices. These gains now vanished. I have always felt, perhaps wrongly, that the the troubles that befell Oaky were one of the collateral costs of the 1955 Sydney electricity heist. Perhaps now we might see the scheme reborn. 

It's been bloody wet on the the New England!

 As I write it's cold and blowy. That plus cloud has kept the frosts away. The ground is sodden from the constant rain. As the ABC's Lara Webster reports in Northern New South Wales farmers see their wettest conditions in decades as rain keeps falling, this is the third year in a row of above average rainfall.

It's now hard to remember the previous drought, but the effects are still there. This year's autumn show was much less spectacular than in previous years because the trees are still feeling the impact of the long drought. Many trees died, others carry dead branches, while some have simply fallen over under the impact of rain and wind. 

Covid adds to the case for New England statehood

 With just three posts last year, this blog has been in sad decline! The combination of personal circumstances with covid has had a devastating effect. It’s not that I had covid, just that covid made life very disruptive and difficult.

Two posts this year on my personal blog (Covid woes - further failures in public policy, Covid woes - virtual lockdowns) look very briefly at covid policy issues from a personal perspective. Covid has demonstrated the continuing importance of the states. It has also provided very tangible evidence of the continued importance of our fight for New England self-government.

Because we don’t exist in a formal sense, because we have no power, the covid measures that might have protected us, that might have allowed us to manage, were simply swamped in that blancmange called NSW. We do need our own state.

New England travel wish list: visiting Comboyne

 

I have never been to Comboyne or its surrounding plateau. Many years ago after my father retired he took mum on a series of road trips including three days on the Comboyne Plateau. He came back praising its beauty. 

I was reminded of all this by  a story on ABC Comboyne locals rally to revitalise their mountain-top town after trifecta of drought, bushfires, floods. It's a story of recovery in the face of isolation and natural disaster. 

Comboyne lies to the south west of Port Macquarie, north west of Taree. It's a bit over three hours from Armidale by road. Definitely time for me to visit!  

Greens to preselect candidate for Richmond

 

I see from ABC North Coast that Mullumbimby  based comedian Mandy Nolan has announced she will be running for preselection as the Greens' candidate for the federal seat of Richmond. The map shows the current boundaries of the seat.

My eye was caught by the announcement in part because I had just written a refection piece triggered by two recent deaths, Reflections on the passage of time - deaths of Mungo MacCallum and Doug Anthony.  Journalist Mungo MacCallum moved to Ocean Shores in the electorate, while Doug Anthony was the former member for Richmond. 

The last part of the introductory course I have been running on the history of the broader New England includes an analysis of the demographic and cultural changes that took place over the last decades of the twentieth century. This included the rise of the counter culture and environmental movements and the sea change population surge to the North Coast. 

The political changes that have taken place in Richmond are part of this process. A once safe Country Party (now National Party) seat was taken by Labor. Labor member Justine Elliot who has held the seat since 2004 now faces a growing challenge from the Greens. 

The graph below shows the progressive decline in the coalition vote since 1983, along with the rise in the Green vote. The Labor vote has bounced around, but has also been reduced by the rise of the Greens. Green preferences have been important in maintaining Labor in power. 

To win the seat, the Greens really need to get in front of Labor. If they can do that, then Labor preferences will carry them to power. At the moment, I doubt that they can do that. 

   

Hopefully resuming posting

I hope that you had a happy Christmas. 

It's been slim pickings on this blog over the last twelve months with only nine posts. There have been particular reasons for that including time pressure on other projects. Some of those reasons I will explore here later. Hopefully I will do better this year

New England Renewable Energy Zone - projects in progress

Back on 10 July 2020, the NSW Government announced that  the New England Tablelands would become a NSW powerhouse, with a NSW Government $79 million plan to develop a second, massive 8,000 MW Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in the region.

According to Deputy Premier Barilaro, “The New England REZ is expected to attract $12.7 billion in investment, support 2000 construction jobs and 1300 ongoing jobs – all while lowering energy prices and future-proofing the regions,”  You will find a little more on the zones here.  

The above map provides a status report on some of the projects. I hope that it's readable, You may need to blow it up.