IA flagged that all levels of government needed to co-ordinate to solve the challenge, with overcrowding and substandard housing impacting health, safety, education and employment. It gave the timeframe as action needing to be taken as “near term” (the most urgent rating the body has). “Relieving overcrowding and improving quality in housing for people in remote areas can significantly improve health, safety, education and employment outcomes,” it said. “Investment is necessary to ensure the gap continues to close, thereby reducing the high associated social and economic costs.” This report came one week after state Coroner Ros Fogliani released the results of her coronial inquest into the suicides of 13 children and young people in the Kimberley region over three years and devoted considerable space to detailing the impact of overcrowded housing. “Practically all of the children and young persons whose deaths were investigated had disrupted home lives, many of them did not live with their parents, and a number of them were transient between different Aboriginal communities, living in overcrowded and/or inadequate housing arrangements,” she wrote.

Loading “Children need a safe and nurturing home environment. They need to be living in adequate housing." She noted the Housing Authority provided and maintained 1826 social housing and 1742 remote housing properties in the Kimberley. To put this in perspective, a national review found 5500 more homes would be needed over the next decade in Australia, mostly in WA, the NT and Queensland. Since the former state coroner’s 2008 inquest the state government has built 620 new homes and refurbished another 1058.

It has also instigated the transitional housing program in Kununurra, which provides stable affordable homes for Aboriginal people undertaking employment and education programs, whose success has led to its expansion to Broome, Derby and Halls Creek. The Department of Communities acknowledged the housing shortage to the Coroner but submitted that rather than simply building more houses it was preferable for strategies to focus on reducing the demand. Its major challenges were funding, accessing land in remote locations, maintaining houses on land it didn’t own, difficulty accessing qualified tradespeople. It mentioned “constant” challenges managing in partnership with remote communities and organisations, and drew her attention to the Commonwealth government’s withdrawal of funding. The high costs were another big challenge; it cost $180,000-$250,000 to build a family home in Perth, but the same home in a remote Fitzroy Valley community might cost $380,000 to the low $400,000’s.

“I accept that the Department of Communities is making ongoing and sustained efforts ... within the context of fostering stable and adequate housing for children and young persons, I have made recommendations concerning the expansion of the transitional housing program, and recommendations concerning flexibility of that program,” the Coroner said. She noted the success of the transitional housing program, particularly in Kununurra, where school attendance of children in the housing has increased to 97 per cent over the rest of the Kimberley’s 60 per cent. Another success was that the rules around occupancy in transitional housing might be assisting in minimising the overcrowding arising from “cultural expectations of visiting relatives”. Accordingly, the Coroner recommended the Transitional Housing Project be continued and extended to other Kimberley towns. She also noted problems arising when families in social housing had members who got work, started earning over the eligibility criteria and then lost their house, which she said was obviously a possible disincentive to remain in work, particularly in an area of scarce housing such as Halls Creek.

“It may lead to a family choosing between an increased income, or remaining in the public housing,” she said. The Department of Communities did give people 12 months to find new homes. It was looking at more flexible options, building transitional houses in Halls Creek and sometimes allowed people to stay in the existing houses and pay a market rent, but it acknowledged the problems. The Coroner recommended that people in public and/or transitional housing in the Kimberley not be disadvantaged regarding accommodation if their household began to exceed the income threshold for eligibility. The McGowan government is yet to announce its response to the Coroner’s recommendations. If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 or Kid's Helpline on 1800 55 1800.

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