$1b needed to fix Aboriginal houses
10th December 2008, 6:15 WST
Taxpayers could face a bill of about $1 billion to replace or upgrade more than 2000 dilapidated houses in remote WA indigenous communities, including many homes that have been abandoned.
In a scathing report based on an audit of Aboriginal housing, the Department of Housing and Works has condemned successive governments for adopting a “build and abandon” policy in outposts, claiming that homes had been constructed without a program or budget for maintenance.
The department acknowledged that Aboriginal tenants had contributed to the debacle, stating there was now an epidemic of abandoned houses in indigenous communities that were so run-down they posed health and safety risks.
The result was an enormous bill for taxpayers, equating to about $225,000 to bring each house up to standard.
The audit involved teams of qualified tradespeople and support staff assessing 2400 dwellings in 130 communities in which the State Government had some responsibility for housing, covering a massive area from the Goldfields north to the Kimberley. About 90 per cent of the homes needed major repairs.
Housing and Works Minister Troy Buswell said the program would be a “massive funding requirement” and the State Government would need help from the Commonwealth.
While the repairs would cost around $500 million, Mr Buswell warned yesterday that the final bill could hit $1 billion once essential services were either provided or restored.
He had received preliminary advice that the cost of ensuring proper power, sewerage, water and other services to remote communities would be a multiple of $500 million.
The report criticised the Commonwealth’s development of about 100 Aboriginal “outstations” of one to five houses in isolated parts of WA.
“These outstations were established by the Commonwealth in the 1990s with no planning or provision for the capital and recurrent costs of maintaining the houses and supplying essential services,” the report said.
It also highlighted that many communities had been provided with houses but no access to potable water, essential services, education, employment, police and justice services.
Mr Buswell stressed it was time the Federal and State governments ended the blame game over who was responsible for the situation.
“What this indicates is the extent of the challenge and the fact that, historically, the provision of remote indigenous housing has been going backwards,” he said. “There is a clear indication from the Federal Government that they want to pursue their ‘Closing The Gap’ agenda, which we support. Housing is a fundamental building block in closing the gap.”
The audit, which cost $2.8 million, was conducted in consultation with the Commonwealth to provide an indication of the funding WA would need from the Federal Government to fix indigenous housing. The final cost could be considerably discounted if both governments agreed that some communities were not viable.
A spokeswoman for Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said yesterday that the Federal Government was providing $1.94 billion in new funding over 10 years to the States and Territories for indigenous housing in remote Australia but she could not say how much of this would flow to WA.
She said up to 4200 new houses and 4800 major upgrades to existing houses would be completed in a program due to start early next year.
“The Government is determined to address the appalling living conditions in remote indigenous communities,” she said.
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=2&ContentID=112392
