Town camp's first house being built

Construction has begun on the first of 85 houses to be built in Alice Springs town
camps.
The development comes more than two years after the federal government announced it
would overhaul housing and infrastructure in Aboriginal communities in the Northern
Territory.
Minister for families, housing, community services and indigenous affairs, Jenny
Macklin, inspected construction on the new house at Larapinta Valley town camp on
Monday.
The $672 million Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program (SIHIP),
announced in mid 2007, has faced widespread criticism over lengthy delays and high
administrative costs.
A report found SIHIP, which was to build 750 homes across the NT in five years, was
over-budget and behind schedule.
The program delivered its first two houses earlier this month in the remote
community of Wadeye, southwest of Darwin.
Ms Macklin said SIHIP work in the Alice Springs town camps, which also forms part of
the Alice Springs Transformation Plan, would include new houses, essential
infrastructure and the refurbishment of existing houses in poor condition.
As part of the process of providing essential services, wheelie bins will be
delivered to 230 houses in the town camps this week, with weekly rubbish collection
to begin on March 5.
"With construction starting on the first house, we are on the way to providing long
overdue housing and infrastructure to improve the lives of the town camps
residents," Ms Macklin said.
In the coming months, construction of a further seven houses will start in Larapinta
Valley, Hidden Valley, Little Sisters, Trucking Yards and Warlpiri town camps.
Ms Macklin said the final sites of the remaining houses had yet to be decided.
NT Minister for Central Australia, Karl Hampton, said the start of construction
demonstrated both governments were committed to improve housing and build a strong
indigenous workforce.
"The start of the first three-bedroom house has given twelve local Aboriginal men
jobs as trade assistants after completing training in general construction, work
safety and carpentry through Tangentyere Employment Services," Mr Hampton said.
Work on town camps was put on hold when Mt Nancy town camp resident, Barbara Shaw,
in August won an injunction to halt the execution of leases of 16 Northern Territory
indigenous housing associations.
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal in December.
A spokeswoman for Ms Macklin said work was not able to begin in the town camps until
now because leases had not been signed.
She said there had been a "fast turnaround" given the circumstances.
Last week, Ms Macklin announced that the federal and NT governments would develop an
Aboriginal visitor accommodation park on Ken Little Drive in Alice Springs in a bid
to combat overcrowding in town camps.