The Australian Federal Government has committed $4 billion (US$2.65 billion) to a new housing construction programme which aims to deliver up to 270 new homes a year for 10 years, as part of its Closing the Gap Strategy. It will be jointly funded by the federal and Northern Territory (NT) governments.
It will be delivered via an agreement between the two governments, all four of the Territory’s Aboriginal land councils, and its peak body for remote housing, Aboriginal Housing NT.
A 2018 agreement between Canberra and Darwin has built the equivalent of 650 homes in the NT’s 73 remote communities, which has contributed to lifting the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in homes that were not overcrowded from 78.9 percent in 2016 to 81.4 percent in 2021. However, that is still below the 88 percent target set for 2030.
Improvements, Upgrades Also Funded
The federal government will also spend an extra $120 million across three years to match the NT government’s annual expenditure on improvements to housing and essential infrastructure upgrades in remote homelands and will give $1 million to Aboriginal Housing NT to support its role.Speaking at the launch of the programme in the remote NT town of Binjari, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was working to halve the nation’s highest level of overcrowding.
“We are committed to practical actions that improve the lives of First Nations people,” he said. “Today’s announcement will improve housing conditions in remote communities and help close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.”
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said overcrowding was a major barrier to closing the gap.
New Homes Will House 10,000 People
Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler said the practical effect of the new programmes would be to deliver new homes for more than 10,000 people.“The years to come will provide homes for remote area residents that are safer and more secure, as well as employment and training opportunities for those who live in our communities and homelands,” she said.
Aboriginal Housing NT chief executive Skye Thompson said the announcement was the single most comprehensive investment package into the NT’s remote housing and homelands sector.
“Its impact cannot be overstated,” she said.
“This investment will help ensure Aboriginal Australians across the Northern Territory are able to live with dignity and pride, where their kids can grow safe, healthy, and strong and truly look to their futures with real hope and optimism.”
Overall, only four of 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track, according to a Productivity Commission study released last year.
Targets to reduce the rate of incarceration for Indigenous adults and the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care are worsening. The Closing the Gap targets were reset by the Morrison government in early 2020.
The Albanese government identified housing as a key policy priority for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which was defeated at a referendum in October.
