Williams, John --- "Aboriginal Housing in New South Wales" [1991] AboriginalLawB 5; (1991) 1(48) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 9

• Aboriginal Housing In New South Wales

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Aboriginal Housing in New South Wales

by John Williams

It is well documented that one of the most pressing needs faced by Aboriginal communities is for adequate housing. Whilst there have been various programs over the years initiated by Federal and State Governments in NSW, the lesson which has been learnt above all others is that the success of housing and other projects depends on Aboriginal participation in the decision making process.

Will Sanders, from the Australian National University, in his paper delivered to the Aboriginal Housing Conference at Alice Springs in March 1989, argued that Aboriginal housing policies are characterised by two conflicting sets of ideas. A dominant agenda which recognises the massive and urgent need for housing, and an alternative agenda which recognises that housing, especially in remote areas, must be appropriate to the community's circumstances and integrated into the very fibre of the community infrastructure and management. These different emphases in housing policy are not antithetical but are both essential ingredients in any balanced housing programme.

The northern NSW community of Toomelah has highlighted the need for both these emphases, as well as raising crucial issues about Municipal Council services to community land. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's (HREOC) Report on Toomelah praised the State Housing Department's policy of self-determination, however it expressed concern that the Government's Homes on Aboriginal Land (HOAL) program might be abolished. This fear has now been realised.

A major source of funding for Aboriginal housing - The Commonwealth / State Rental Housing Agreement - is at present the subject of a stalemate in NSW. The State Government is insisting on its own priorities for Aboriginal housing and is utilising the proceeds from this agreement for its own housing stock, contrary to the guide-lines of the agreement. Although there was a Federal Ministerial recommendation last year that these funds, supplied by the Federal Government, should be shared for housing on departmental land and Aboriginal Land, only homes upon Departmental land were and are to be constructed. The Commonwealth / State Consultative Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Housing recommended to the State Minister for Housing that the allocation be shared for this financial year. Only the State Department for Housing voted against this motion.

To put this legislative and departmental wrangle into tangible terms let us look at the housing request of the Local Aboriginal Land Council in Wamba Wamba on the NSW/Victorian border. The Aboriginal people in Wamba Wamba wish to continue living on their community land and have documented their concerns on departmental application forms. The current policy of the State Government precludes utilising Federal funds for homes on Aboriginal land. For the Wamba Wamba community to receive adequate accommodation they must seek housing at Deniliquin, some 170kms away. The people at Wamba Wamba have concluded that this is an invasion of their lifestyle, forced assimilation and a threat to their community, The Minister, in a letter of reply to the Wamba Wamba Aboriginal Land Council wrote on the 25th July 1990 that:

"...any future dwellings provided by my Department will be built on Departmental land and the HOAL Program discontinued."

Under the Aboriginal Land Rights. (Amendment) Bill 1990 (No 2) the NSW. Aboriginal Land Council is the advisor to the Government in all matters relating to land rights and advice on adequate housing will be a priority. A review of Government policy and an assessment of Aboriginal housing is needed so that funds for building houses on vacant serviced sites throughout the state can be released.

The NSWALC considers that the most informed people to assess housing policy are Aboriginal people themselves. Since funding has been denied to the Aboriginal . people who choose to live on Aboriginal land, whether in town, city or on communal land, a state wide housing needs analysis is being conducted by members of Land Councils and ATSIC staff to assess the actual extent of the housing crisis and to determine individual locality preference and accommodation requirements within the Aboriginal communities.