Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Will the minister update the House on any breakthroughs in the government’s efforts to improve living conditions on the APY lands?

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kingston for her question and her very real interest in improving the living conditions of Indigenous people in Australia. Any of us who have been to the APY lands in remote South Australia would know that improving the living conditions is absolutely vital, particularly for the children living in those communities. Just two weeks ago I went to the APY lands with the South Australian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation and met with a number of community members and the executive of the APY lands.

There is no question that the housing conditions on the APY lands are nothing short of appalling. The essential services are either nonexistent or in serious disrepair. There are very high levels of overcrowding and of transients putting significant pressure on families. Members of this House from the South Australian community in particular know that the recent Mullighan inquiry reported horrifying evidence of widespread child abuse on the APY lands and found that the appalling level of housing was a significant contributor to the levels of child abuse. This is a situation that the nation cannot accept and must act upon.

Since we were elected, I have been working closely with the South Australian government to secure leases over the lands for improved housing. After more than a year, negotiations between the South Australian government and the APY executive had almost broken down. But in a major breakthrough following our visit, the APY executive just last week agreed to 50-year leases for both new and improved housing on the APY lands. I am very pleased to announce today that the South Australian minister has signed off on the leases and that an official will fly to the APY lands for a final sign-off on the part of the APY executive. This is a major breakthrough, because the Commonwealth can now finally move forward on our $25 million commitment and start building and improving housing in these APY communities. It has been a very long time coming.

The housing will be managed as public housing with normal tenancy rights and obligations, and the leases, which are what we have been working on for so long, will provide the secure tenure to make it absolutely plain that the South Australian government is responsible for the regular maintenance of that housing. For the first time it will be absolutely plain where responsibility lies for the management of the housing stock. There will now be new work and training opportunities available for Indigenous Australians on the APY lands and construction and maintenance will now take place for both new and upgraded houses.

One of the other important reforms as a result of this agreement is that it will be clear that rent will have to be collected and paid on a regular basis and, of course, tenants will have to look after their homes. Agreements like this are vital if we are to close the life expectancy gap that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This agreement, which has now been secured on the APY lands, followed an earlier agreement we reached in June for the Alice Springs town camps. We will be seeking similar arrangements, similar leases, in other remote parts of Australia so that we can see these vital improvements to housing conditions take place.

I would like to take this opportunity in the chamber today to congratulate the leaders in the APY lands for taking this major step forward and also the South Australian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Jay Weatherill, for his commitment to improving the lives and living conditions of Indigenous people in South Australia.