Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Kennedy quite properly asks, ‘Who builds the houses?’ I think that is a legitimate matter that could be looked at separate to the principal issue here, and that is about building the housing and not who builds it. But who builds it is not something I believe should be ignored either. The government is on track to build 750 new houses and rebuild or refurbish another 2,500 homes in remote Indigenous communities by 2013. In the 10-year life of the agreement between the states and territories, the federal government has committed $5.5 billion to build 4,200 new houses and refurbish 4,800 more. The commitments will benefit around 9,000 Indigenous families. Increasing the supply of housing available to Indigenous Australians will reduce the overcrowding we have often seen where families of up to 20 may be living in a house designed for one family. Overcrowding is more severe in rural and regional areas.

I want to speak about another matter that is also relevant to this bill, and that is the issue of homelessness. Homelessness Australia suggests that Indigenous Australians are six times more likely to be living in overcrowded conditions than non-Indigenous Australians. Living in overcrowded conditions can also contribute to poor health and family violence and it can disrupt the education of those living in the house. What is more concerning about the statistics, however, is that, of the 105,000 or so homeless Australians, Indigenous Australians are overrepresented in those statistics. Indigenous Australians comprise roughly 2.5 per cent of Australia’s population, but they represent about 10 per cent of homeless Australians. Indigenous Australians comprise 16 per cent of rough sleepers and 20 per cent of people living in temporary accommodation for homeless people. In Western Australia 34 per cent of people in temporary accommodation are Indigenous, and in the Northern Territory that figure is around 63 per cent. Twenty-one per cent of women who seek support from homeless services to escape domestic violence are Indigenous women. When it comes to homelessness, Indigenous Australians are much, much worse off than other Australians.

I come to another matter that is relevant to these statistics, and that is the matter of homeownership in Australia. Again, if you look at the statistics for homeownership, Indigenous Australians are about half as likely to own their home as other Australians. The latest figures, I have to say, show an improvement. I will quote some figures. In 1991 around 19 per cent of Indigenous families owned their own home. By 2006 the percentage had gone up to 36 per cent. For the nation generally, the figure has been consistently at around 70 per cent—in other words, almost twice as much.

Owning your own home is one of the key steps in trying to overcome disadvantage for any family, whether it is an Indigenous family or any other family. Home ownership creates stability in the home and once you have stability in the home then all of the other matters which arise from unstable homes, and which in turn cause a whole range of other social problems, begin to diminish. That is why home ownership is a priority of this government for all Australians, particularly Indigenous Australians. That is why this bill is important. It invests considerable funds in building homes which will be occupied by Indigenous families who currently live in crowded homes, do not have a roof over their heads or live in rental accommodation which is, again, unsuitable. The bill seeks to make the provision of housing and other services to Indigenous communities more efficient while still respecting the rights and responsibilities of native title regarding those communities. It is an important step in the Gillard government’s reforms to reduce disadvantage amongst Indigenous Australians and I commend this bill to the House.

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