HOUSING FOR ALL
DEMAND 5
Return administration of housing stock from the NT Department of Housing to local Indigenous housing committees attached to the community councils.
Funds for housing construction and renovation currently going to the Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program (SIHIP) run by government and major constructions firms must be redirected to the local committees.
Funds for new housing must be available to all communities and substandard SIHIP renovations reassessed for further needs.
Employment on housing programs should involve 80 per cent Aboriginal workers.
Train and employ a permanent housing maintenance team in every community.
References
Speech to 2007 National Indigenous Housing Conference
William Tilmouth, former Executive Director of the Tangentyere Council in Alice Springs, outlines the importance of Aboriginal control within the social housing sector. Since this speech, NT Housing has taken over all housing in the Alice Springs town camps.
Paddy Gibson, senior researcher with the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, outlines how current housing policies in NT Aboriginal communities are being driven by a philosophy of assimilation. Includes interviews with Aboriginal communities leaders.
Territory Housing no Silver Bullet
Media release from the Central Land Council in 2009, outlining the problems with the mainstream NT housing agency taking over Aboriginal housing stock.
Room for more: Boosting providers of social housing Labor Minister for Housing,
Tanya Plibersek MP argues in this speech to the Sydney Institute in 2009 that community based housing organisations provide superior management to mainstream public housing agencies. Federal Labor's policy to transfer much housing management from state agencies to the community sector is the complete opposite of their 'mainstreaming' policy in Aboriginal housing.
A way forward for housing Indigenous peoples in Australia National Shelter Policy Statement 2010, calls for 20,000 homes to be built across Australia. Says the push towards 'mainstreaming' has "damaged the trust and goodwill of many Indigenous people towards government" and argues for the importance of self-determination within the housing sector.
Little Children Are Sacred Report Pat Anderson and Rex Wild QC provide an analysis of the underlying causes of child abuse and other social problems in Aboriginal communities. Key findings and recommendations, outlined in a section starting on page 195 of the full report, is for massively increased investment in social housing on Aboriginal land.
Explore the reality further: What's the next demand?
