Natasha Robinson; 23/7/08
Health and education groups claim the Northern Territory Government is cynically ignoring the plight of remote Aborigines as it pitches its re-election case on a second gas plant for Darwin harbour. They also accuse the Labor Government of promising only a “pitiful pittance” in funding for indigenous services. The Australian Education Union and the Territory’s peak Aboriginal health group were united in criticising Chief Minister Paul Henderson’s Government yesterday, questioning why indigenous affairs appeared to be a low election priority despite remote health and education systems being at breaking point.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24063023-5013404,00.html
Funds hinge on tenants’ behaviour
Padraic Murphy; 23/7/08
The federal Government is to spend an extra $60 million fixing decrepit and overcrowded houses in Queensland’s Aboriginal communities on the condition tenants enter tenancy agreements, pay market rents and meet behavioural standards. The money-for-behaviour deal further commits the Government to welfare reform with a greater emphasis on self-help and is intended to improve standards in Aboriginal communities that have been wrecked by violence, and alcohol and drug abuse. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin, who yesterday announced the funding in Cairns, said housing in indigenous communities in Queensland was at crisis point, with 15 or more people sometimes forced to share three-bedroom houses with broken bathrooms and kitchens. She acknowledged the need for morehousing, noting homes in indigenous communities housed an average 9.6 people, four times the national average.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24063038-5013404,00.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, Drugs, Housing, Human Rights, Welfare