Image - www.abc.net.au

Image – www.abc.net.au

The Western Australian Minister for Housing, Bill Marmion is reading the same chapter on public spin that former Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin so dearly prized. Ms Macklin’s six year long stretch in the ministry claimed much but delivered little. Ms Macklin said she delivered near 3,000 dwellings – second and third rate homes in mostly dustbowl townships people have been corralled into after far too many residents were pushed off Country.

Minister Marmion claims Western Australia continues to lead the nation in home building rates for the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing (NPARIH) program, exceeding targets for the fifth consecutive year. Well, it should be leading the nation as Western Australia has the most and highest concentration of remote communities in the nation – 274 remote communities.

In his press release Minister Marmion said WA was the only State to consistently reach and exceed its targets under the program, despite the challenges of working in some of the most remote parts of the continent. Then why Minister Marmion are families leaving these remote communities and finishing up homeless in bigger towns and in Perth? These families are leaving because schools are closing down or because the quality of life is so substandard that for far too many families with expectations for their children to do better than was allowed for them, continuing to live in these communities would betray these expectations.

It was only weeks ago a family of six school age children came to the attention of the Western Australian and national media. They had left a Western Australian remote community, with their Grandmother Maria Meredith, and their father. They drove more than 1,500 kilometres to Perth to educate the children aged four years to 16 years of age.

“The quality of education in the remote is as poor as it gets. We’re years behind in the standards and levels to the city kids,” said Ms Meredith.

“We want to give these children the opportunity not just to learn how to read and write adequately but also to have a chance to graduate into the opportunities our children in the remote cannot even dream about. They have no hope of achieving the skills for real opportunities from a remote school. Our Governments and the Department of Education have failed to deliver good education for our communities.”

“The Department of Education has failed our people, it has failed our children.”

But they could not find accommodation. They went to every Government agency seeking assistance and none could be provided. In the end, they spent six months homeless, living in bush off a major Perth highway but the children were taken to school each day. We learned about their predicament and through a social media campaign found them interim housing. We did the Government’s work.

Minister Marmion’s press release stated that a total of 115 new homes and 256 refurbishments were completed by the Department of Housing in the 2013-14 financial year, against a goal of 107 new homes and 256 refurbishments set by the Federal Government.

“WA has continued to lead the country in delivering improved housing outcomes for remote communities through the hard work and dedication of Department of Housing staff,” said Minister Marmion.

Then why are more people homeless and why is the seven per cent of the Kimberley homeless?

“This highly complex work involved detailed planning in the areas of essential services, native title, heritage and contract negotiations,” the Minister said.

“WA’s success in the past five years demonstrates how committed we are to closing the gap in indigenous disadvantage and providing better outcomes for those most in need.”

If Minister Marmion is correct that Western Australia is the only State to exceed NPARIH targets five years in a row then we can well understand the nationwide debacle. Take a visit to South Australia’s APY Country, to the Territory’s Central Desert and to Arnhem communities.

LINKS:
Indigenous homelessness rife while Macklin writes up her own history
Six homeless children fighting for a better tomorrow
Homeless family living in tent near Perth prompts call for better State housing priority