Discordance, mobility and agency: Dilemmas for housing reform in Northern Territory Aboriginal settlements
Discordance, mobility and agency: Dilemmas for housing reform in Northern Territory Aboriginal settlements Report
DKCRC Research Report
- Author(s): Elvin, R, Peter, S, Porter, R, Young, M
- Published: 2010
- Publisher: Ninti One Limited
- Volume: 76
Abstract: The second stage of the Northern Territory component of the Centre for Appropriate Technology/ Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre Project, ‘Desert Services that Work: Demand Responsive Services for Desert Settlements’, examined the delivery of housing and tenancy management reforms from July 2008–November 2009 in two remote Aboriginal communities that are located in two new local government areas. The research found: 1. The significant mismatch between supply side activities and demand side realities means there will be continuing discordance between government program implementation and residents of remote Aboriginal settlements. 2. Housing and tenancy management reforms need to recognise and accommodate the phenomena of agency and intra-community mobility, whereby a substantial percentage of households regularly change composition and houses, impelled primarily by the prerogatives of family and culture. 3. Effective engagement and information distribution processes would reduce the damage done by the concomitant constant turnover in staff that results in the loss of corporate memory, competencies and, most importantly, effective working relationships. 4. Tailored and flexible approaches are needed in housing delivery that are capable of working productively with variability, dispersal, strong local networks, small populations and extreme conditions. 5. For government, accountability is a key value; for residents of remote Aboriginal settlements, family is of primary importance. Recognising the extent of and the need to mediate the different sets of values and competing priorities in a ‘recognition space’ would help develop long-term, demand responsive solutions to sustainable housing.
- Urls: http://www.nintione.com.au/resource/NintiOneResearchReport_76_DiscordanceHousingReformInNTAboriginalSettlements.pdf
- Publisher Location: Alice Springs
- Keywords: mobility, housing, aboriginal settlements