Private Housing on Indigenous Lands

Helen Hughes, Mark Hughes, Sara HudsonNovember 17, 2010PM113

Almost 20% of Australia and almost 50% of the Northern Territory are Indigenous lands. Yet Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders cannot build their own houses on them. Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders living on their lands have the lowest living standards in Australia. They cannot access the benefits of the land they own.

Existing territory, state and federal government legislation and programs to introduce private housing and business are seriously flawed. The governments’ own data confirm that despite the billions they are spending on ‘social’ housing, when these programs are completed housing on Indigenous lands will remain sub-standard and overcrowded.

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