Hostel facing racist eviction claim
10/4/08
A prominent Sydney-based human rights lawyer will represent a group of Aboriginal women who were allegedly asked to leave a backpacker hostel in Alice Springs because of the colour of their skin. Sixteen Aboriginal women and children from the community of Yuendumu had travelled to Alice Springs in March to attend classes organised by The Royal Life Saving Society Australia. After checking in at the Haven Hostel at the weekend they were then asked to leave, with management telling them that other guests felt frightened. Lawyer George Newhouse, who will take their case to Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination commissioner Tony Fitzgerald, today said there was “no excuse” for the hostel’s alleged conduct.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23519752-26103,00.html
Safe hostels ‘to break poverty trap’
Patricia Karvelas; 11/4/08
Young indigenous people will have hostels built for them by the Rudd Government near TAFEs and mining sites to help them escape the poverty trap and get out of dysfunctional family homes. Under the ambitious plan, hostels - housing people as young as 16 - will be built in states and territories around the country near TAFEs and mining sites to ensure that young people are given a safe home while they gain crucial skills. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin, who is on a three-day trip to remote communities in Western Australia, yesterday announced the federal Government would build four of the hostels in WA, with plans to expand the scheme across the rest of the country.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23520600-5013404,00.html
Macklin’s $10 million for Kimberley hostels a ‘first step’ on housing
Sarah Smiles; 11/5/08
When the plumbing backs up in Vondine Gallagher’s house, sewage rises into her kitchen sink. Her three small children aged seven, five and two get what she calls “runny tummy” — stomach upsets. There has been no maintenance on her house in the perhaps ironically titled indigenous community of Joy Springs in Western Australia since it was built 15 years ago. Ms Gallagher’s children routinely get ill, just as surely as her lounge room floods when the rains come. The 25-year-old mother relayed her predicament to Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin, who is visiting remote communities in the Kimberley as part of a three-day tour.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/macklins-10-million-for-kimberley-hostels-a-first-step-onhousing/2008/04/10/1207420591373.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, Education, health, Housing, Racism