from The Australian
Housing should not be provided to remote Aboriginal communities where there are no jobs and people are unable to pay rent or service a mortgage, says former Labor minister Gary Johns.
In a paper to be released today by the Menzies Research Centre, Dr Johns argues that money spent on remote community housing has been "generous and well-targeted" but has resulted in wrecked houses and dependent communities.
Dr Johns, president of the Bennelong Society, which aims to promote debate on Aboriginal policy, says this is because policy makers have failed to acknowledge the link between housing and employment.
In a blunt appraisal, the former Keating government minister says government should not provide permanent housing to communities unless they can show they are economically viable.
"The ultimate solution to Aboriginal housing in remote areas is jobs," he says in his paper for the Liberal Party affiliate. "But an honest assessment of employment prospects in remote areas is that they are bleak."
Dr Johns says people needed to adjust to the notion that if there are no jobs in their town, they have to move to where there are opportunities, otherwise they will be trapped in poverty.
"Anything less than a 'no job, no house' mindset will harm Aborigines," he says.
The $2 billion investment in Aboriginal housing over the past decade has resulted in only 471 new homes, a 2 per cent increase.
In the Northern Territory, he says, housing has decreased despite the higher investment, leading to 271 fewer homes than five years ago.
Houses have been destroyed because of corruption and "appalling tenant behaviour".
"Replacement under the same rules creates a moral hazard by rewarding poor behaviour," Dr Johns says. "More importantly, if replacement houses are located in areas with few employment prospects, the new accommodation will act as a disincentive to move to where the opportunities for work are greater."
Dr Johns told The Australian yesterday the Rudd Government should come clean on its strategy for remote communities, saying there was an "under the radar" move to consolidate remote communities.
He said in choosing which communities would get new facilities such as childcare centres, the Government was in effect deciding which communities were viable and which were not. The Government had implied it would roll out services to other communities eventually, but it would not do so.
"That's taking choice away because we've held out the hope that things will change. Why don't we just be honest and then let people make up their own minds," he said.
In today's research paper, Dr Johns writes that for country towns, regional centres and major cities, services, including "refugee services and facilities", are needed to help Aborigines transition into mainstream economic life.
He says the Rudd Government's recently announced plan to promote home ownership by pressing indigenous communities to sign private leases would not solve housing problems where there were no jobs.
On the Government's moves to create jobs for Aborigines in land management and conservation, he says the "idea that Aborigines should only work in some culturally appropriate tasks, thereby preserving their culture, is debilitating".
He says only through sustainable employment will Aborigines be able to enter the housing market and create economic security for themselves and their families.
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