MPs lack home truths
IT IS very disappointing that the Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, and the Member for Cook, Cynthia Lui, are making a noise ( only) now about the Aboriginal housing situation.
The word that springs to my mind is “hypocrisy”.
When I was screaming before the framing of the budget, I got no support from the Member for Leichhardt nor the Member for Cook and they could not have “not known” about it.
I made sure that they knew about it because I was screaming loud and long. And, they did nothing. Yet Senator Nigel Scullion in the NT managed to look after his back yard and got $ 550 million in the Federal Budget for Aboriginal housing.
Now the net result of not spending money on this muchneeded housing is that we will continue with a situation where the average occupancy is 12 or 15 people a house. That is for a house which is built for a maximum of five people.
There is one bathroom in a house of 15 people. It is almost impossible to live in a house of 15 people and so the house quickly reduces to primitive Third World conditions.
The program originated in the ’ 80s from Greg Wallace, Hope Vale; Eric Law, Cherbourg; Lester Rosendale, Hope Vale; most of all Gerhardt Pearson ( Noel’s brother) Hope Vale and Donnie Frazer, Doomadgee.
The houses were built by local indigenous labour resulting in big savings; no fly- in costs, no living away from home, no accommodation and food costs.
They were built with workfor- the- dole labour which halved the labour costs.
The concrete blocks met Besser specifications and were built at eight factories in community towns.
We will put up a proposal in conjunction with the combined community councils for an allocation of $ 25 million a year.
If we can get agreement to the arrangements that prevailed during the ’ 80s, then we can restore the benefits and a housing program to communities, who will not be able to restore the 400 jobs that will be lost to Cairns with the closure of the Community House Building program.
Through Dan McCarthy ( KAP candidate for Leichhardt) we will be liaising with the Cape area councils on two issues: title deeds legislation and on the housing. BOB KATTER, Federal Member for Kennedy.