Comments from Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro that funding Darwin's largest homeless shelter would be a "waste of taxpayers' hard-earned money" have been condemned as "hurtful" by Aboriginal organisations.
Ms Finocchiaro's remarks this week come as the future of the YiSSA Short-Stay Accommodation on Batten Rd remains uncertain, with hundreds of people still living at the facility and hundreds more on its waitlist.
The future of the site was thrown into limbo in July after the Country-Liberal Party (CLP) Government gave Yilli Rreung Housing Aboriginal Corporation 90 days to vacate the facility following a failure to agree on a price for the property.
The value of the site, which sits on Crown land with accommodation blocks owned by Ausco and leased to the Northern Territory under a five-year agreement, has become the centre of a dispute between the CLP Government and the Commonwealth.
The NT Government has argued Ausco is seeking too much for the accommodation blocks.
However, federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said this week Ausco was seeking $6.5 million for the demountable buildings, with the Commonwealth offering $3.5 million and the NT Government contributing $3 million.
That figure is broadly in line with the NT Government's previously reported valuation of the site.
Ms Finocchiaro on Monday ruled out purchasing the site at the reported price, although she declined to reveal the Government's valuation.
"I'm not aware of the exact details, but it's far more than what we think should be paid," she told Mix 104.9, "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."
'Hurtful' comments criticised
On Friday afternoon, a coalition of Aboriginal organisations — including all four NT land councils, Aboriginal Housing NT, the NT Indigenous Business Network, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT (APONT), the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) — condemned the comments, labelling them "hurtful to the hundreds of families who rely on YiSSA for safety".
"Evidence shows that providing stable housing and targeted support services is less costly than relying on emergency, crisis, and reactive responses to homelessness, which generate higher ongoing costs across policing, health, and child protection systems," they said in a statement.
"Medical professionals have made it clear that YiSSA provides much-needed support to people travelling from remote communities for specialist treatment and provides somewhere for patients to be safely discharged."
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.
Closing YiSSA won't make the "homelessness disappear," the organisations say.
"It pushes people into already severely overcrowded housing, rough sleeping and homelessness, and places greater pressure on the Territory's homelessness system which is already at breaking point," they argue.
"Pushing hundreds of already vulnerable people and families into homelessness places unsustainable pressure on our hospitals."
They called on the CLP Government to "show true leadership and rise above party politics" by continuing negotiations with the Commonwealth "in good faith to secure YISSA's survival for the good of all Territorians".
"Decades of evidence has shown that safer communities require investment in housing, health, families, early intervention, culturally safe services, and Aboriginal community-controlled solutions."
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Client intake at YiSSA was directed to end on July 27. There are currently 233 people at the facility, including 85 children, while a further 300 people — including almost 90 children — are reportedly on the waitlist.
The NT Government has said it is preparing a contingency plan for the closure of the site, which is expected to be released shortly.
Several people who have spoken to National Indigenous Times on condition of anonymity have expressed their concern that the NT Government doesn't see keeping the shelter in the hands of an Aboriginal-controlled service as a priority.
This week, Children and Families Minister Robyn Cahill questioned whether YiSSA is the appropriate facility for all of its current residents.
In comments reported by NT News, Ms Cahill said it had become apparent that many of the people staying at YiSSA "would be better placed in other facilities, people with health problems for example who should be in a medical centre, or others who have been there quite long term".
She also argued the Commonwealth's joint-funding offer was made "with all these caveats".
Senator McCarthy rejected that characterisation, saying the conditions attached to the Commonwealth's proposal were intended to allow YiSSA to continue operating in its current form. The "caveats" put forward by the government, she said, were to ensure "YiSSA could continue to operate in its current form, with the assets remaining where they are".
These included a minimum five-year commitment for Yilli Rreung Housing Aboriginal Corporation to continue delivering services at the Batten Road site, operational funding for property and tenancy management services for the duration of the extension, and the Commonwealth assuming responsibility for required asset removal and site remediation after the agreement ended.
