Rental Reform for Outback Australia

Sadly in Australia there are still one set of laws for the original inhabitants and one for everyone else. Partly due to huge distances involved and their remoteness traditional Aborigine communities have different laws from elsewhere in Australia.

In Sydney or Perth public housing is covered by various rental agreements including the obligation for the state to maintain the property and the tenant not to wilfully damage it. Now the federal government wants to rationalise the laws which will include tenants being forced to pay full market rents. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin has signed the first rental agreement with remote Aurukum community in Queensland. Macklin said that NSW and Western Australia were the two states that needed the most tenancy reforms and the the Federal government would ask communities to sign up to new deals in exchange for new money for improved housing and maintenance.

"We are determined to address the desperate housing need in remote communities and use the housing model to rebuild social norms"
"The Government recognizes that old housing models have not served communities well. Tenancy management and maintenance lie with the government and tenants must take personal responsibility for their homes"

Children of Aurukun Community

The vagaries of the State / Federal split of government responsibilities. The States are responsible for social housing or the Rudd Federal Government will pay Queensland $730,000 for tenancy management in Aurukun.

The mixed responsibilities is nowhere more of a problem than in Western Australia where the state's laws doesn't allow private leases to be made over community land. As Western Australia has just voted in a new Liberal Government it will be interesting to see if they bow to the Federal Labor government's pressure.

Remote communities live on the edge of society with some over 40's still recalling a childhood where they practiced their traditional lifetyle and only saw white men as teenagers. Some communities still know of a few isolated individuals and families who prefer to go bush than live in the communities.

As the relentless pressure of mining and mineral exploration see more and more remote areas of Western Australia and the Northern Territory particularly become more economically desirable to white Australia, the Australian people will have to face up to the real social issues dogging Aborigines - starting with sub-standard, third world housing. I hope Macklin continues her crusade.