❓ A parliamentary question regarding Aboriginal housing conditions in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, focusing on waiting lists, new housing construction, and the specific case of the Deegan family. The Minister provides data and context, highlighting shared responsibilities and ongoing audits.
AnsweredQoN 4Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PUBLIC HOUSING — ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES
Given Coroner Alastair Hope’s damning report on Aboriginal living conditions in the Kimberley and the fact that not enough is being done to address overcrowding in Aboriginal housing — (1) What is the current waiting list for public housing at Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing? (2) How many new rental houses have been built in each of those communities in the past two years? (3) How many of those houses have been rented to Aboriginal families? (4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS
Given Coroner Alastair Hope’s damning report on Aboriginal living conditions in the Kimberley and the fact that not enough is being done to address overcrowding in Aboriginal housing — (1) What is the current waiting list for public housing at Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing? (2) How many new rental houses have been built in each of those communities in the past two years? (3) How many of those houses have been rented to Aboriginal families? (4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(1) What is the current waiting list for public housing at Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing? (2) How many new rental houses have been built in each of those communities in the past two years? (3) How many of those houses have been rented to Aboriginal families? (4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(2) How many new rental houses have been built in each of those communities in the past two years? (3) How many of those houses have been rented to Aboriginal families? (4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(3) How many of those houses have been rented to Aboriginal families? (4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses.
(4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(1) What is the current waiting list for public housing at Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing? (2) How many new rental houses have been built in each of those communities in the past two years? (3) How many of those houses have been rented to Aboriginal families? (4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(2) How many new rental houses have been built in each of those communities in the past two years? (3) How many of those houses have been rented to Aboriginal families? (4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(3) How many of those houses have been rented to Aboriginal families? (4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(4) Why have the atrocious conditions under which the Deegan family is living at Lot 164 Mardiwah Loop, Halls Creek not been addressed? (5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(5) Can the minister explain how up to 15 toddlers and adults can continue to be crammed like sardines into a tin shed and in a broken-down donga alongside the main house at the Deegan’s block? I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
I have pictures to show the minister of those conditions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of this question. (1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(1) At Halls Creek there are 87 applicants and at Fitzroy Crossing there are 29 applicants on the current waiting list. I hasten to add that because I do not believe those waiting lists are in any shape or form comprehensive, many more people than that would require to be housed. Quite apart from the waiting list for public housing, there is the issue of overcrowding in remote and town-based communities. Some of those town-based communities are around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, and there are issues there. That is why I have announced that an audit is being done of all housing needs across the Kimberley. It will not be just public housing but also town-based and remote housing. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Dr K.D. Hames : It’s about time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is already underway, member for Dawesville. Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Dr K.D. Hames : It’s a multi-issue. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : I do not want to be nasty about this, but the member for Dawesville might like to look at his record as minister of both housing and Indigenous affairs and reflect on the fact that in the last five years he was in government he did not build one extra house in Fitzroy Crossing—not one. However, I will not be diverted by that nonsense from the question the member has asked me. The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
The audit we are undertaking is pivotal to working out the exact housing needs across the Kimberley. Members opposite well know that there has been a shared responsibility between the federal government, the state government and Indigenous communities. Indeed, in many of the communities—town-based communities such as Mardiwah Loop and those around Halls Creek—people’s houses were built through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the community was given money directly. These are not what is traditional public housing. The land is not owned by the state nor do we have a contract for the maintenance of that housing. (2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
(2) With respect to new rental housing in Fitzroy Crossing—this includes housing in those town-based communities—since 2004-05 more than 40 new houses have been constructed in Fitzroy Crossing and an additional 20 are under construction for use as Indigenous community housing. I note also that more than 40 houses are being refurbished at a cost of $5 million. As I have mentioned in the house before, in 2006 we committed to 16 new dwellings in Halls Creek at a cost of $5.6 million for public housing; 10 dwellings at a cost of $3.5 million for government regional officers’ housing; and 10 houses at a cost of $3.5 million for town-based communities. Also, 20 dwellings have been refurbished at a cost of $2.4 million. The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses. (3) Houses that have been completed in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, not including GROH houses, all have Aboriginal tenants. (4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
The following year, 2007, we increased the number of homes being built to a total of 23 GROH houses, 23 public houses and 10 town-based houses. We promised 36 houses, including the GROH houses in 2006, and we have increased that now by an additional 20 to a total of 56 houses.
(4)-(5) Concerning the family at Mardiwah Loop, it would be instructive for the member and the house to understand the nature of the town-based communities. In Halls Creek, there are three town-based communities. One of the strategies that the Department of Housing and Works is employing is the improvement of housing management so that those houses that are built are properly maintained, rents are paid and so forth. We want these communities to be included in the town planning scheme. In 1990, the Aboriginal Lands Trust issued a management order for Mardiwah Loop to the Thalngarr Ngarriny Aboriginal Corporation. Some members of that corporation are reluctant to accept external housing management, even though many of the people there recognise that the basic fundamentals of competent housing management are not in place. DHW has advised the community that we are not prepared to put new houses into Mardiwah Loop while there is no certainty of proper housing management and assurance of asset protection. I notice that that attitude is reflected in Coroner Hope’s report. That is exactly the point he has made about a housing management plan and a plan for the maintenance of houses. We cannot blithely, as occurred under ATSIC and previous regimes, just build houses and see them become nonexistent within seven or eight years. There must be agreement about their management. On 13 February this year, at a meeting attended by Department of Housing and Works officials and people from those town-based communities, a proposed management model and a capital works program were offered subject to the corporation agreeing to external housing management. They were advised of the audit survey and so forth. That is the nub of the issue and that is the reason that there is overcrowding, with no current commitment for new houses to be built in Mardiwah Loop. We have said that times have changed and we have to be tougher to deliver long-term results for Aboriginal communities. We cannot just build the houses and walk away from them. People have to pay rent and people need to spend money on their houses to maintain them and put in place programs, such as the home support programs that have been put in place. Management of the houses and all these issues are echoed directly in Coroner Hope’s report. That is the reason we have taken the approach we have with the community of Mardiwah Loop.
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