The howls and screams. The blazing rows. The day-to-day struggle just to scrape by.
When the Burns family opened the doors of their rundown townhouse in Claymore, western Sydney, to an ABC documentary crew 12 years ago, they never expected to become the face of urban poverty in Australia.
Married couple Brett and Caroline Burns, and their children Hayden, 14, Jessica, 12, and Hayley, 2, were featured in the memorable Four Corners episode ‘Growing Up Poor’ in 2012, which followed their chaotic lives on welfare in one of Sydney’s most impoverished suburbs, where the majority of residents live in state housing.
The episode ended with their prospects of a brighter future looking slim. Sadly, when I visited them more than a decade later, it became clear the family had been unable to escape the cycle of grinding poverty and abuse that continues to wreak havoc on their lives.
But there was at least one silver lining: the couple and two of their children had finally been rehoused by the NSW Government, moving out of their dilapidated home and into the nearby suburb of Minto after years on the waiting list.
‘We’re in a much better way now. It’s a beautiful area (in Minto) and we have a lovely house,’ Caroline proudly told me.
‘We’ve been blessed.’
Perhaps unsurprisingly, shortly after leaving Claymore, the Burnses’ three-bedroom house was vandalised and trashed by local thugs.
At the time of filming the Four Corners documentary, Hayden Burns was struggling with bullying at school, as well as his parents’ constant arguments
Hayden now spends his days rummaging through bins around the neighbourhood in search of empty bottles and cans he then exchanges for a 10c refund
‘It’s frightening living next door to a vacant home, kids go in and start fires,’ one Claymore resident said of the youth crime that runs rampant in the area.
Like many other families living on Sydney’s western fringe, the Burnses’ main source of income is Centrelink payments.
At the time of filming the Four Corners program, the family had been living in their ramshackle home for 13 years. They would eventually spend 24 years there.
While their living situation has undoubtedly improved, it was also evident to me upon visiting them in Minto that poverty and unemployment was continuing to blight the family, which includes the couple’s now-adult children, daughters Jessica, 24, and Haylie, 14, and son Hayden, 26, who still lives at home with his parents.
Hayden spends his days rummaging through bins around the neighborhood in search of empty bottles and cans he then exchanges for a 10c refund.
He returns to Claymore each week to collect cans and bottles from his old stomping ground, a former neighbour told me.
At the time of filming the documentary, Hayden was 14 and struggling with bullying at school, as well as his parents’ constant arguments which made him withdraw from the family.
During the program, Brett moved into the garage because of his fights with Caroline. It was later revealed Brett had physically abused her in front of the children.
Today, the couple continue their fraught relationship, and Brett is now using a walking stick, but an optimistic Caroline believes their overall circumstances have improved over the last decade.
‘Everyone is doing well,’ she said.
The Burns family (pictured a 2016 Facebook photo) took part in a Four Corners documentary titled Growing Up Poor in 2012
NSW Police applied for an apprehended violence order for Brett Burns against his son Hayden (left, on Four Corners; right, in a recent Facebook photo) following an incident in March
Caroline Burns said the family was ‘doing well’, but it was clear to me that the spectre of poverty still loomed over their lives
Family patriarch Brett Burns now uses a cane to walk
However, a search of public records shows there is still discord among the family: NSW Police applied for an apprehended violence order for Brett Burns against his son Hayden following an incident in March.
When asked about the dispute, Caroline brushed it off.
‘He [Hayden] is okay. That was a while ago,’ she said. ‘That was just a one-off and all over and done with.’
The Claymore housing estate was built by the NSW Government in the 1970s and is home to more than 3,000 of the state’s poorest families.
The family has finally been rehoused by the NSW Government, moving out of their dilapidated townhouse and into the nearby suburb of Minto (pictured) after years on the waiting list
The Burnses lived in this townhouse in Claymore for 25 years and were recently rehomed. The property, seen here, was vandalised shortly after they vacated and is now condemned
Forty years on, Claymore remains a depressing sight with many burnt-out and abandoned homes and rubbish littering the community.
But Claymore, along with neighbouring Bonnyrigg Heights and Airds, is due to undergo a transformation as part of the major social project.
Under the new project, the redevelopment will see a mix of new public and privately owned homes.
Some of the private owners have already moved in, and the difference between their spacious, new-build homes and the NSW Housing properties was stark.
Longtime resident Kaisey, 29, told me during a previous visit that the area was a lot safer since residents had been slowly rehomed.
‘I used to live on Ramsay Way but our place got set alight,’ the mum-of-three said.
‘It’s all changing now that they’re knocking it all down – it looks rough but it’s safe. I love Claymore.’
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