The Minister for Indigenous Australians has implored the Northern Territory Government to extend the life of Darwin's largest homelessness facility for at least six more months before it closes this week, noting many current residents have not found anywhere to go.
The future of the YiSSA Short-Stay Accommodation site on Batten Road was thrown into limbo in July after the NT Government gave Yilli Rreung Housing Aboriginal Corporation 90 days to vacate the facility after failing to agree on a price for the property.
The Aboriginal-run facility, which has been used by vulnerable Territorians for dialysis, fleeing family violence and as a homeless shelter, is set to close on October 11.
Last month, the NT Government announced the establishment of the Northern Territory Respite and Recovery Facility in Batchelor, next to the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, 100km from Darwin, rejecting a $3.5 million share offer from the Commonwealth to keep the YiSSA site open.
Up to 150 people will move to the Batchelor facility, while others will be transitioned into alternative accommodation ahead of YiSSA's closure, the NT Government said.
Asked if the current YiSSA site could still be saved, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said the Federal Government's offer to the NT Government was "still on the table in terms of at least supporting the residents there".
"There are over 120 people who are still in the facility who have not found anywhere to go," she told News24.
"If the Batchelor residence is not ready, I reiterate my call to the Northern Territory Government: please extend YiSSA for at least the next six months to get us through the wet season, so that there can be a long-term plan here as to where vulnerable families can go."
Senator McCarthy added: "We saw what happened last wet season."
"I don't think, in my memory, I've ever seen the thousands of people displaced across the Northern Territory as we saw in the last wet season. And YiSSA was able to help those families, especially those families from Daly River, and cared for those families."
The closure of YiSSA caused widespread anger amongst Aboriginal, housing and health groups, and saw Kalkadoon/Waanyi woman Leeanne Caton resign as Aboriginal Housing NT CEO.
When questioned if she thought the Batchelor site was "appropriate," Senator McCarthy said she knew the NT Government wanted to look at Darwin in the long term.
"But in the short term, right now, there's an urgency for these families, and I just ask the Northern Territory Government to reconsider the offer of the Commonwealth," she said.
"Please keep YiSSA open, at least to get us through the wet season, so that we can then work on a longer-term plan."
On Monday, the ABC reported on correspondence from a senior NT Health bureaucrat who reached out to renal health service Purple House last week about the possibility of using its dialysis truck in Batchelor.
This was despite NT Children and Families Minister Robyn Cahill telling reporters last month that NT Health was working to find dialysis patients accommodation options closer to services in Darwin and explicitly ruling out moving those patients to Batchelor.
At the announcement of the new Batchelor site last month, Ms Cahill told reporters there are a "number of other people who have been on the housing list for quite some time but the work hadn't been done to progress that".
"We've been able to actually get people on the housing list, into appropriate housing accommodation; we've got around 30 people who we've relocated back to their [traditional] Country, which is fantastic," she said.
"We've got support from other community service providers who have a better arrangement for some of the people who need additional support in that facility and then we are left with around about 100 people that we're still working with to see what their long-term prospect will be."
The announcement was criticised by Aboriginal and health groups, who argue Batchelor doesn't have the same facilities as Darwin to help "vulnerable Territorians remain safe, well and connected to their communities".
Furthermore, they claimed there was a lack of "any discussion or consultation with the Aboriginal community-controlled sector".
At the time, Danila Dilba Health Service (DDHS) Chair Carol Stanislaus stated: "The situation is exacerbated by the selection of a non-Aboriginal organisation to manage the facility, without any discussion or tender, despite the availability of Aboriginal-controlled organisations with demonstrated competency and capacity in supporting our most vulnerable Territorians.
"This raises serious questions about the Government's commitment to genuine partnership, the principles of self-determination and the Closing the Gap Agreement."
The Government has defended the decision as the best value for money for Territorians.
