At sixty-six years of age, Dulcie Nanala has lived virtually her entire life in the same house.
There are mattresses sprawled through every room. Four generations of her family live here too, including her mother, who sleeps in the dining room.
“My mother, my son and daughter and a partner, and two grandkids. Plus another son. Eight people,” she tells SBS News.
Australia hasn’t had a national strategy to address overcrowding in remote Aboriginal communities since 2018, when the last one was discontinued by the Liberal government under Malcolm Turnbull.
The overcrowding and maintenance issues in Dulcie’s house are a major concern for her. When SBS News visited, most of the lights weren’t working and turning on the shower or flushing the toilet caused the house to flood.
Four generations of family live in Dulcie's house. Source: SBS News / Kearyn Cox
It’s a similar situation across Wirrimanu, also known as Balgo, a remote Aboriginal community on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia’s East Kimberley Region.
The Wirrimanu Aboriginal Corporation estimates the majority of houses are overcrowded and in urgent need of repairs.
Making the situation worse, the community is going through an outbreak of COVID-19, with most of the 450 residents needing to isolate at home in recent weeks.
“There was nowhere that they could isolate other than in those houses,” Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia chairperson Vicki O’Donnell says.
“You end up with spikes of strep A, rheumatic heart fever. You end up with spikes of skin infections, ear infections, because you've got overcrowded housing and the limited space that people can move around in.”
Commonwealth withdrawal
Reducing overcrowding in remote Aboriginal communities used to be jointly funded by the federal and state governments, under a 10-year, $5.5bn program called the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing agreed to by the Council of Australian Governments in 2008.
Overcrowding is endemic in remote Aboriginal communities Source: SBS News / Aaron Fernandes
When the partnership expired in 2018, the Commonwealth agreed to continue providing funds to the Northern Territory.
But against the wishes of the state governments of WA, South Australia and Queensland, the Turnbull and then Morrison government refused to renew the agreement, with full responsibility for remote housing instead handed to those states.
“The inevitable and foreseeable consequence of discontinuing NPARIH has been, and will continue to be, a worsening of remote Indigenous housing outcomes, which itself plays into more general disadvantage amongst remote residents,” Australian National University Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Michael Dillon says.
“A further outcome has been to reduce the overall levels of effective transparency in housing outcomes for remote Indigenous people as any national assessment now requires (data to be aggregated) from eight jurisdictions.”
Source: SBS News
No promises
While both Liberal and Labor have pledged to continue funding to the Northern Territory, neither of the major parties has a policy to re-establish a nationwide strategy to tackle overcrowding in remote Aboriginal communities.
In a statement provided to SBS News, a spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt defended the decision to withdraw Commonwealth support for the previous arrangement, and said state and territory governments are responsible for meeting the housing needs of remote residents.
“All states and territory governments have agreed to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which includes a clear target to address overcrowded housing and commitments relating to the housing sector,” the spokesperson said.
In the Northern Territory, the federal government has committed $550 million in funding, matched by the NT to equal $1.1 billion over 5 years for 1,950 new bedrooms in remote communities through a combination of new houses and extensions to existing houses.
Wirrimanu, also known as Balgo, is a remote community on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert. Source: SBS News / Aaron Fernandes
Under Bill Shorten, Labor went to the 2019 Federal Election promising additional funding to Queensland, WA and SA and committed to renegotiate a new national partnership.
But the ALP isn’t making a similar commitment this time around, instead only pledging to negotiate a new remote housing agreement with the Northern Territory Government when the current agreement expires in mid-2023.
A Labor spokesperson said:
"Labor's Housing Australia Future fund will deliver 30,000 social and affordable homes across the country. In its first five years, it will also deliver $200 million for the repair, maintenance and improvements of housing in remote First Nations communities.
"Labor will deliver an immediate boost of $100 million for housing and essential services on Northern Territory homelands.
"This will help people return to country with a better standard of living and improve health, education and safety."
Forgotten voters
Residents in Wirrimanu will vote this week, when a team from the Australian Electoral Commission visits for early voting.
But residents say their most pressing issues have been forgotten in this election campaign.
Geraldine Mudgedell moved out of the room she occupied, so her two nephews had somewhere safe to sleep.
Geraldine Mudgedell moved out of the room she occupied, so her two nephews had somewhere safe to sleep. Source: SBS News / Aaron Fernandes
She says whoever wins, Australia’s next prime minister should travel to remote communities and see the living conditions for themselves.
“Its not just Balgo. Communities around NT, WA, South Australia. Come and see how we’re living. We’re struggling here”.
