Involve Aboriginal communities in housing developments!

Vanguard August 2010 p. 4
Nick G

Two state governments that failed to complete housing in remote indigenous communities by a federal deadline have had part of the federal money provided for the projects revoked.

Queensland forfeited $3 million and SA lost $900,000.

Western Australia, which completed four additional houses above target received a bonus $4 million in payments.

The SA government was given a year to build 44 houses at Amata and Mimili, two communities in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yakunytjatjara Lands in the far north of the state. Government business managers were appointed in the two townships at the start of 2010, modelled on those who were placed into NT Aboriginal communities at the time of the racist “intervention”.

Holding the state governments accountable for federal money, and requiring the completion of projects within a reasonable timeline is a good thing, but the same impetuous and bull-at-a-gate bureaucratic commandism that has caused problems in otherwise commendable initiatives such as the home insulation and Building the Education Revolution schemes was always going to be problematic in remote communities.

For a start, it pretty immediately prevented the training of Aboriginal people in basic skills that could have seen them benefit from working on housing in their own communities.

Amata for example has a TAFE institution, although what is taught there is very largely dependent on the skills and interests of a couple of white residents.

A wholistic and less rushed implementation of the federal government’s housing project could have seen the TAFE office bring in outside staff for intensive short term training courses with a required quota of community members to be involved in their own housing developments. Instead, the houses on the Lands were constructed almost exclusively by young white tradies living in dongas on the outskirts of Amata and Mimili.

This had its own problems.

Unaccustomed to the permits that govern entry to the Lands, and which prohibit alcohol, some of the tradies smuggled in booze for their own secret consumption. Some went further and are alleged to have brought in alcohol and drugs for sale to community youth. Charges have been laid against some of those concerned.

Both communities, up near the NT border, are a good two days’ drive from Adelaide. Construction was delayed after two tradies died in a road accident out of Coober Pedy as they returned for a break to the big smoke.

Sickness amongst tradies resulted in further delays.

An opportunity has gone missing in a government rush to claim results.
The business manager model (“These managers will coordinate the government's service delivery commitments and, as single point-of-contact, remove the need for local community members to navigate their own way through bewildering bureaucracies”) can further marginalise town council members and elders, who should be supported to deal with “bewildering bureaucracies” rather than be paternalistically “managed”.

Real advances for indigenous peoples in remote communities will only occur when the traditional custodians are given genuine control over the nature and pace of development on their lands.