Slockee, Thomas --- "Oh, when will they ever learn? a personal perspective on Aboriginal housing issues" [2009] ALRCRefJl 35; (2009) 94 Australian Law Reform Commission Reform Journal 27

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Reform Issue 94 Summer 2009

This article appears on pages 27–30 of the original journal.

Oh, when will they ever learn?

A personal perspective on Aboriginal housing issues

By Thomas Slockee*

‘Access to safe and healthy shelter is essential to a person’s physical, psychological, social and economic well-being and should be a fundamental part of national and international action ... An integrated approach to the provision of environmentally sound infrastructure in human settlements, in particular for ... urban and rural poor, is an investment in sustainable development that can improve the quality of life, increase productivity, improve health and reduce the burden of investments in curative medicine and poverty alleviation ... As a first step towards the goal of providing adequate shelter for all, all countries should take immediate measures to provide shelter to their homeless poor ... All countries should adopt and/or strengthen national shelter strategies ... facilitate access of urban and rural poor to shelter by adopting and utilizing housing and finance schemes and new innovative mechanisms adapted to their circumstances ... People should be protected by law against unfair eviction from their homes or land ...’^[1]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples do not have adequate standards of living, housing and security. Housing (shelter) is a right—yet most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have to endure homelessness and standards of housing that are much lower than other Australians. In the area of housing and homelessness, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are in constant anxiety about their future.

People are now using the term ‘affordable housing’. But there is much more to living than just having affordable housing and most good housing managers realise that it’s about looking after people—not just the bricks and mortar.

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who live in what is referred to as public housing or community housing face extreme poverty, poor health, lack of opportunity for employment, family mental illness, family instability and violence. Most Aboriginal people I talk to in the course of my work say they are in a crisis situation because of an inability to access public or community sector housing.

Other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who try to find shelter as tenants through the private market encounter overwhelming discrimination and racism. Yes, there are tenants’ rights. But our people seem to be under the constant threat that if they don’t live according to ‘white fella’ ways or standards, then eviction and homelessness will be their lot.

The fact is: there is ongoing discrimination against Aboriginal people in the area of housing. There is a dire shortage of housing for the urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders population. Mainstream housing is very difficult to obtain—even through government housing departments! As one Aboriginal person said: ‘For an Aboriginal person to get non-Aboriginal housing, like through the real estate (agent), you don’t get it. You just don’t. Nobody will house you. It doesn’t matter what references you have.’

Indicators show that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders social and economic disadvantage hasn’t improved and in some cases has worsened, yet governments pursue a dictatorial, ‘top-down’ approach, which in the long run is doomed to fail and leave Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a worse position.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) in an open letter to the Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP, printed in The Australian newspaper, which, in part, reads:

Tangentyere^[2] has rejected the blackmail that will make housing conditional upon Aboriginal communities signing leases that will relinquish control to the government. ... In May 2007, Macklin criticised the Howard Government’s attempt to impose a 99 year lease on Tangentyere: “No other group of Australians would have their property rights treated this way ... we do not want land tenure reform being made a condition of funding for basic services.” We agree that infrastructure and services for Aboriginal people should not depend upon the surrender of fundamental rights.
We recognise the right of town camp residents to self-determination. We also endorse the Productivity Commission’s recent call for an end to ‘top-down’ directives from government and for the empowerment of Aboriginal communities. Closing the gap will not be achieved in any other way.
The use of coercive powers established under the Intervention threatens the existence of one of the most successful Aboriginal organisations in the country and sets a dangerous precedent for undermining all Aboriginal community initiatives. Such discriminatory action would be unlawful without the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act—an action condemned by the Human Rights Commissioner and international human rights bodies ...^[3]

In 2001 the Australian Housing Ministers issued a Ten Year Statement of New Directions for Indigenous Housing with a vision for better Indigenous housing stating that;

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people throughout Australia will have:

• access to affordable and appropriate housing which contributes to their health and well being; and

• access to housing which is safe, well designed and appropriately maintained.

There will be a vigorous and sustainable Indigenous community housing sector, operating in partnership with the Commonwealth and State, Territory and Local Governments.

Indigenous housing policies and programs will be developed and administered in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous communities and with respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.^[4]

All this is now in the bin as a new reform agenda is rolled out. Under the guise of ‘reform’, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing is being condemned, attacked and even dismantled.

A brief history

I have been part of the development of Aboriginal community housing for the past 25 years. I have seen housing programs offered through the Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Aboriginal Development Commission, then through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and then the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office.

It all began in the mid 1970s with the Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs, which funded Aboriginal community organisations for land and housing. Self-determination was the principle and self-management was the approach. This was before the formation of the Land Councils in NSW.

Aboriginal community organisations were formed under the policy of self-determination to address the appalling conditions of our people in employment, training, education, health and other social issues—including housing. The policy was one of self-determination and community control.

There was no plan, no strategy, no policy on the proliferation and the locations of these new Aboriginal community organisations.

In about 1980, the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) implemented a strategy that required Aboriginal housing organisations to increase their rents to cover all housing related costs and administration costs. The grant for administration was to be phased out over a period of five years. Housing management was the sole responsibility of the Aboriginal community organisations. Control of and responsibility of the Aboriginal Housing Company and its homes was completely in the hands of the people themselves. That is, the company looked after rent collections, repairs and maintenance and payment of local rates and other charges (for example, sewerage). No effective training and support was put in place. It was a ‘build and abandon’ approach.

The ADC was abolished and ATSIC was created with Regional Councils making decisions for housing grants. Many community organisations—especially those on ‘Reserves’ or ‘Missions’—were confused about who funded the grants and who was responsible for administering the funds. There were also challenging community conflicts during this period.

The intentions and goals were optimistic. What Aboriginal people wanted was the opportunity to do something ourselves to address the atrocious conditions our people were living in. Aboriginal people were just trying to get our people decent housing and create situations where we could get better education, training, employment and health care.

In NSW, the state government also had a responsibility and was funded by the Commonwealth to address the deplorable situation in Aboriginal housing. The main response was the Houses for Aboriginals (HFA) program, which operated mainly in urban and large regional centres. HFA houses were owned and managed by the Housing Commission. There was a change in policy (about 1990) and the NSW government began funding housing for the Aboriginal community through the Housing Aboriginal Community Program (HACP).

Even though the HACP was designed as a guideline for local Aboriginal community organisations to put in place policies that would bring about effective and efficient housing management practices, this never really happened. Housing needs were not being addressed by the mainstream and many of our people had dropped out and were living rough or in overcrowded conditions. Many of our people in charge of the Aboriginal community organisations (including Local Aboriginal Land Councils) just used local practices and customs (for example, giving preference to family members) in allocations and did not really apply strong rental settings and collection and arrears management.

Even before the HACP, many efforts have been given to train and support Aboriginal Community Organisations with Aboriginal Housing. There was limited success and effective property and tenancy management is still a major challenge.

The NSW Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO) was created in 1998 and inherited a system that was chronically ill. Other states had created Aboriginal housing structures within mainstream departments—most have since been abolished and swallowed up by mainstream housing initiatives. The AHO, with its separate legislation, is also under threat as mainstream forces critically assess and condemn Aboriginal community housing providers.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders want reform. Non-Aboriginal managers must realise that reform in our sector is a long, hard process that requires constant and sensitive engagement with our diverse communities and organisations and a willingness and capacity on behalf of bureaucrats representing the government to negotiate and implement locally appropriate strategies after proper consultation.

This situation of having a multitude of small Aboriginal housing providers—including multiple providers in many small towns—is the making of non-Aboriginal policy makers, who in the past operated in a largely uncoordinated way and with apparently no regard for the long-term sustainability of the Aboriginal housing sector. As a result, many of the houses that Aboriginal housing providers now have responsibility for were built to an inappropriate standard and there is a significant backlog of repairs and maintenance. The NSW AHO inherited this problem and has not been funded adequately to address all the issues.

The AHO engaged in a major sector strengthening and reform strategy in 2008 and I believed that this strategy would address the problem of having too many small and unsustainable Aboriginal housing providers and bring a provider accreditation system into operation.

I and others, believed in and advocated for the Aboriginal Housing sector reform to be that of a strategy to establish a small number of larger scale, specialised regional housing management services, building on the positive demonstrations under the South East Area Regional Management Service (SEARMS) and Murdi Paaki Regional Housing Company (MPRHC), from which valuable lessons have been learned. The governments have required a different strategy, which has been developed without engagement with Aboriginal leadership and the community. It will be very challenging to bring about effective reform. When will the white fella ever learn!

Aboriginal leadership

The Murdi Paaki region is a good example of Aboriginal people taking leadership in Aboriginal housing. The ATSIC Murdi Paaki Regional Council took the initiative and did a comprehensive study of Aboriginal Community Housing Organisations in its area. It was obvious that small Aboriginal housing organisations—which were a result of ‘white fella’ policies—were not sustainable and that major reform was necessary. The MPRHC was established to take over the ownership or management of Aboriginal Community Housing stock where local housing organisations had either fallen into liquidation or were struggling with the management of their assets. Murdi Paaki Housing was formed in 1997 and set about rescuing the assets of many small housing organisations in towns around outback New South Wales. The Murdi Paaki region covers almost one third of NSW and includes some of the most remote and isolated communities in the state. The MPRHC has overcome challenges and today is providing services for the betterment of Aboriginal communities.

SEARMS is also another example of Aboriginal leadership taking the initiative to reform. Established in 2003, SEARMS is a co-operative that consists of six Aboriginal housing providers, servicing the Aboriginal communities NSW south coast Management Model. SEARMS was created as a pilot Regional (communities included Batemans Bay, Ulladulla Mogo and Moruya). The main goal was to improve property and tenancy management of the community-owned rental properties, and bring about better outcomes in management and delivery of housing. A key challenge was to ensure that local housing organisations were able to face the challenges ahead with the escalating costs of maintaining existing stock and providing new homes in the communities into the future. By a negotiated agreement during the establishment phase, SEARMS assumed many of the policy and management functions while leaving communities in control of other aspects of decision making. Collaboration, participation and accountability to communities and tenants are central features of the model.

I remain optimistic that the structures created through the leadership of Aboriginal and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will remain and that the NSW Government will allow Aboriginal people to develop the strategies; and allow Aboriginal people to plan and implement Aboriginal housing programs that will make the difference and ‘close the gap’—now and into the future. Another part of me is cynical as I observe what’s happening in the Northern Territory and other states. I and, I believe, other Aboriginal leaders are angry, frustrated and disheartened while we wait patiently (in hope) for the decision makers to consult and listen to the collective knowledge and advise of Aboriginal people who have been working tirelessly at the community and bureaucratic levels for many years, trying to bring about reforms.

I believe that may be at the mercy of the ‘white fella’ again, as a ‘mission manager’ attitude seems to be the current way of dealing with Aboriginal issues.

The road ahead is likely to be a rough one as non- Aboriginal policy makers dominate and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are denied. The great white and black hope is to close the gap but if Aboriginal people are not involved, then the gap will not close and the desperate plight of Aboriginal people will worsen. Then it may be known as ‘the great white hoax’.

Maybe they could add a verse to the song:

Where has all the Aboriginals gone, long time passing?
Where has all the Aboriginals gone, long time ago?
Where has all the housing gone? O they are homeless everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ quality of life—our physical, psychological, social and economic well-being—is at risk.

Please listen to us: engage, talk and listen. Work with us, so that together we can make a difference and have a better Australia.

* Thomas Slockee is the Chair of the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office. He has been referred to as a dynamic and visionary community leader, at the front line in bringing about new management systems and structures for Aboriginal Housing in NSW. He was the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person ever appointed to the position of Chairman of the Southern Area Health Service Board. He was also the first and only Aboriginal person elected to the Eurobodalla Shire Council. Tom was the Inaugural Chair of the Board of the Aboriginal Housing Office in NSW. He was also Board Director for Aboriginal Hostels Ltd in 1998–2000. This article expresses his personal opinion.

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[1] Agenda 21: the United Nations Plan of Action from Rio, Chapter 7: Promoting Sustainable Human Settlement Development.

[2] Tangentyere Council is the major service delivery agency for the 18 Housing Associations known as ‘town camps’ in Alice Springs. Tangentyere Council began operating in the early 1970s and was first incorporated in 1979.

[3] Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, ‘Open Letter to the Hon Jenny Macklin MP’, The Australian, 30 July 2009.

[4] Australian Housing Ministers’ Ten Year Statement of New Directions for Indigenous Housing, Building a Better Future: Indigenous Housing to 2010 (2001).