The future of Darwin's largest homeless shelter remains up in the air as the opposition leader has slammed the Northern Territory Government's "atrocious track record" when it comes to Aboriginal Territorians.
The scathing comments come as the public disagreement between the Commonwealth and Northern Territory Government over the funding of the shelter shows no signs of abating, with the Minister for Indigenous Australians saying a jointly funded proposal is still on the table despite the Country-Liberal Party (CLP) Government labelling it a waste of taxpayers' money.
The housing future of hundreds of Territorians was thrown into limbo in July after the CLP Government gave Yilli Rreung Housing Aboriginal Corporation 90 days to vacate its short-stay accommodation premises after a failure to agree on a price for the property.
Whilst the YiSSA Short-Stay Accommodation sits on Crown land, the accommodation blocks are owned by Ausco and leased to the Northern Territory Government under a five-year agreement worth between $2.5 million and $3 million per year.
The NT Government had offered Ausco $3 million to purchase the property, whilst Ausco reportedly valued the entire 300-room facility at between $8 million and $12 million, having previously spent $25 million developing the 7.5-hectare site in 2012.
On Monday, the Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said Ausco was only seeking $6.5 million for the demountables on the site, of which the Commonwealth would pay $3.5 million and the NT Government $3 million — in line with the latter's previously reported valuation of the site.
However, the NT Government seemingly rejected the offer, with the Chief Minister arguing the reported cost was a waste of money.
NT Government has no interest in Aboriginal Territorians
Speaking on ABC radio on Wednesday, opposition leader Selena Uibo noted many of the people who access YiSSA's services are Aboriginal people and/or from remote communities across the NT.
In scathing comments, the first female Aboriginal person to lead a major political party in Australia argued the NT Government have "no interest in supporting people who do not fit the model of who their priorities are".
"I think it is very clear, two years into the CLP government, that they do not care about remote communities and they do not care about Aboriginal Territorians," Ms Uibo said.
"I have constituents, and I've had family members access those services who have been lifesaving for some of those people who I work with and who I support and who I serve and represent.
"And for the CLP government to come out and say it's a waste of taxpayers' dollars. What do they expect these people to turn to once those doors close? Are they going to go and open their office doors and the doors to their own home to support these people? I do not think so."
Commonwealth offer remains on table
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The NT News reported comments from Minister Robyn Cahill on Tuesday, arguing the federal government's offer was made "with all these caveats". In response, Senator McCarthy said those "caveats" put forward by the government were to ensure "YiSSA could continue to operate in its current form, with the assets remaining where they are".
They included providing Yilli Rreung Housing Aboriginal Corporation with a minimum five-year commitment to continue delivering services at the Batten Road site; providing operational funding for property and tenancy management services for the duration of the extension; and assuming responsibility for any required asset removal and site remediation after the deal concluded.
"Hundreds of families rely on YiSSA, and it is a vital piece of social infrastructure for our city," Senator McCarthy said in a letter sent to the mayors of Darwin and Palmerston, as well as stakeholders.
"The offer to keep the service running remains on the table. The Commonwealth believes this is a fair offer which would keep YiSSA up and running."
Notably, the Commonwealth's caveats include keeping the shelter in the hands of an Aboriginal-controlled service. Several people who have spoken to National Indigenous Times on condition of anonymity have expressed their concern that the NT Government doesn't see this as a priority.
On Wednesday, Ms Uibo went a step further, arguing the current NT Government "doesn't care about Aboriginal Territorians".
"A third of Territorians are Aboriginal...and we're seeing the CLP completely dismiss any type of working relationship, consultation or partnerships," she said.
"I think it's high time that a situation like this, particularly with YiSSA, which is...very emotive, when we're talking about people's livelihoods, we're talking about people's safety, we're talking about no access to secure housing or shelter, that we have a government — who is publicly saying it is a waste of taxpayers' dollars — to look at a solution for these Territorians.
"I think it's quite disgusting."
Residents face uncertainty
The NT Government says it is preparing a contingency plan, to be released shortly, and has previously flagged a new 400-bed facility, which would reportedly cost $40 million.
Any future model will need to respond to the "significant level of demand currently being met by YiSSA," advocates say.
"People still at YiSSA are facing uncertainty about where they will go next," Yilli Housing Aboriginal Corporation CEO Yvette Park said this week.
"Families with children are feeling the impact, and staff are working hard to support residents through a very uncertain time."
Following the directed end of client intake on July 27, currently 233 people, including 85 children, are at the facility, with a further 300 — including almost 90 children — on the waitlist.
The Northern Territory has the highest rate of homelessness in the country, at almost 12 times the national average. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise 87 per cent of the Territory's homeless population.
Speaking on Darwin's Mix 104.9 on Monday morning, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro shut down any chance of the site being purchased at the reported rate — which she declined to reveal — calling it a "waste of taxpayers' hard-earned money".
"I'm not aware of the exact details, but it's far more than what we think should be paid," she said, "and we just can't waste people's money irresponsibly like that, and even if the Feds want to, it doesn't mean we'll sign on to that."
She argued there will be an alternative, adding: "If we have to go into the alternative alone then so be it, but we're not in the business of wasting money."
The NT News reported on Tuesday that the $6.5 million cost did not include up to $3 million per year to lease the structures whilst the deal was settled, citing correspondence between the NT Government and Ausco seen by the publication.
Speaking to the same radio station on Tuesday, Senator McCarthy said that in conversations with Ausco, they had agreed they would offer the site to the Commonwealth "as much as the Northern Territory Government".
"And I thought it was a pretty sensible step to go in partnership with the Northern Territory Government, which I have genuinely tried to do in good faith, trying to work with Minister Robyn Cahill," she said.
"And unfortunately [it] just seems to be going off the rails with a lot of information that I believe is incorrect, and I do think it can be corrected."
