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COMMUNITY LIVING ZONING Full NT Green's proposal here Approximately 1000 people ‘camp’ in Darwin and Palmerston every night. There are a large number of well established camp areas in the Darwin and Palmerston regions. Most of these camps do not have a special lease arrangement. These camps are occupied by Aboriginal people in Darwin and Palmerston. Aboriginal people living in camps do not live in houses. (Homeless) It is proposed that ALL established camping areas in the Darwin and Palmerston regions are rezoned as CL - Community Living. These Community Living areas would then provide a toilet, shower, sink, space for cooking food (fireplace) and regular rubbish collection. To solve the problem of the growing population of Indigenous homeless people, spaces must be allocated in Darwin CBD, Palmerston, all existing and future suburbs. Long term camps already exist not only in existing population centres but also in surrounding areas which are zoned for future residential development. NT Government needs to liaise with the longgrass community to identify those areas where rezoning would be appropriate. It is imperative that people living in the camps be consulted on developments. For many, long grassing is a part of purposeful immersion in a traditional way of life; the way people live in the camps. These established camps will continue to be used. The people who live in the camps will do so on and off for the rest of their lives. Providing facilities would enable people to stay at their camps and alleviate the numbers of longgrass people at shopping centres and public spaces where they seem to be ‘unwanted’. Rezoning the already established camps would also provide a solution to a big problem that NT housing has created. NT Housing has not provided suitable accommodation for large families where they can gather, have a fire and make noise. The outcome of this is that large families are evicted from public housing everyday. These people are then homeless and live in camps. The growing number of homeless people in Darwin is not just a result of bad conditions in Aboriginal Communities. NT housing has created a situation where large numbers of people are forced into the Longgrass. The NT Housing policy of 3 month eviction without reason is evidence of this. People are still needlessly
harassed by NT Government departments and DCC. Legalisation by rezoning
of these camping areas would put an end to the harassment of these citizens. Prepared for the NT
Greens |
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One Mile Dam -- points for consideration - (4th April 2005)
“We recognise
the priority of legitimising existing, long term family camps, by rezoning
these established camps as Community Living, as a financially viable first
step towards addressing the issue of homelessness.” (NT
Greens) Infrastructure and new housing needed A medical centre, community centre, office and new housing designed to be culturally appropriate, are the basic needs for the One Mile Dam community, situated as it is in suburban Darwin. The current shelters are considered entirely inadequate by IHANT Indigenous Housing Association Northern Territory, Yilli Rreung Housing and indeed most observers. Australian citizens with low incomes have access to State Housing and would never be forced to live in tin sheds as do the Aboriginal residents at One Mile Dam community. Given its location so close to the CBD, One Mile Dam should be the model community in the Northern Territory, rather than a grim reminder of past institutionalism and neglect, described as third world, by many people. Multi-purpose
role There are obvious problems associated with this practice, one exacerbated by the lack of basic facilities. The wire-mesh walled sheds with concrete floors used as temporary shelter, would have been considered inadequate in Soweto under apartheid. Despite their long term use for temporary refuge they have absolutely nothing in common with refuge centres elsewhere in Australia. Both buildings are open to the weather and insects -- even bedding and lighting are non-existent. The NT Police and Mission Australia have stated in letters of support, that One Mile Dam has an important function as a refuge for homeless Aboriginal people. These facilities must be upgraded to reflect that importance. Medical facilities Basic medical facilities are also non-existent, even though emergency attendances by ambulances are very frequent. Ice packs and bandages would help relieve some of the pain people suffer, as they wait for medical assistance, but a medical centre to cater to these people is sorely needed. Community centre A community centre for people to work on arts or other projects with tourist access would provide employment and a place to display art works. There is a need to encourage small business ventures, to attract funding and to revitalise a community that has been neglected and marginalised. Plans to build a Chinatown have been mooted that will honour the contributions of the Chinese community in Darwin since European occupation in the Northern territory. We welcome such a venture, but fail to understand why an existing community with roots that predate European occupation and already exists is not receiving similar encouragement and respect from the government. It should be remembered that about 80% of tourists come to Australia to see and experience Aboriginal culture.
An office is essential for the day to day functioning of One Mile Dam community. It is only recently that computers, a printer, etc… have arrived here. They are situated in Community leader David Timber’s home. The room is open to insects and rats and subject to rain gusting in during the Wet. It is very hot inside the room used as an office. These conditions endanger our equipment and create working conditions that would be unacceptable to the people with whom we communicate by the internet due their Health and Safety requirements. It might be possible to incorporate an office into the Community Center.
Housing that is culturally appropriate and esthetically pleasing (given the tourism factor) is essential. The people here should have the same rights as other Australians who would not accept the conditions One Mile Dam residents have endured for decades. We have seen kit homes that have been used on Aboriginal communities successfully, which would simplify and meet such requirements. Mick Lambe - Kumbutjil Association - Project Officer Authorized by Kumbutjil Association |
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