Opinion & Commentary
Aborigines should be given houses for free
Australians who think they are being locked out of the housing market because of rising interest rates and house prices should spare a thought for indigenous Australians who have no chance of private home ownership, even though they own their land, because of complex communal title land arrangements.
The Commonwealth Bank was in the firing line recently after doubling the interest rate rises of the Reserve Bank. Yet, although this is a potential hindrance, home ownership is still within reach for most Aussies.
This is not the case for the 70,000 or so Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders living on indigenous lands who, no matter how much money they save or have, will never be able to buy or build their own home because they do not have individual title over the land.
The only housing Aboriginal people living on indigenous land have access to is "social" (public or community) housing, which despite billions in government expenditure continues to be derelict slums. There will never be enough new social housing to meet demand so there must be other options for Aboriginal people living on indigenous lands.
One solution is to immediately transfer all existing social housing (in certain select areas) to the tenants of those homes - at no cost. That's right - free housing. Some may think this is foolhardy and unfair - why should Aboriginal people get free homes? There are a number of compelling reasons why.
For a start, this would go some way towards compensating Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders for shameful years of neglect and sub-standard housing. Many of the houses on indigenous land would fail to meet occupancy standards and in most suburbs of Australia would be bulldozed. In some areas the government has already signalled that it does not plan to build any new housing - leaving many indigenous families in a state of limbo.
Transferring ownership of social housing to existing tenants would save governments millions in rebuilding and maintenance costs. Money currently earmarked for refurbishments could then go towards building new housing.
However, this is not about allowing government to pass the buck for the costs of maintenance to Aboriginal people, it is about giving existing tenants more opportunities than they currently have.
At the moment people have no choice about the quality or type of house they live in. Some people living on indigenous lands have access to new social housing while others continue to live in derelict slums. There is no equality.
Although transferring ownership of houses to existing tenants won't immediately resolve that inequality it will provide Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders with the chance to improve their lives.
Having a house in their own name will provide many social and economic benefits. It is well known that people who own their own homes are more likely to be employed and have funds available to draw on in times of emergencies. There are a number of financial benefits that home owners can access that are not available to tenants, such as generous government grants for indigenous home buyers.
Aboriginal people who save and work hard will have something tangible to sink their money into - they will find themselves rewarded for their efforts and will have an asset that they can pass on to their children or grandchildren. As one Aboriginal woman said in a report on housing: "You know, the difference between a black man and a white man is this; when a white man dies his family gets his house, when a black man dies the government gets it."
Of course not everyone will maintain their houses properly, but the point is that will be their choice. As is the case everywhere - some people spend time and money looking after their homes and some people don't.
Studies done by the Cape York Institute found that substantial numbers of families on indigenous lands can afford mortgage payments. A queue quickly formed when 99-year leases for private housing finally became available in the Tiwi Islands.
Transferring ownership of social housing to existing tenants would kick-start private property rights. But it is only the beginning.
Other necessary steps will need to be taken to make private home ownership and private business a reality on indigenous lands, including devolving responsibility away from large land councils to individual communities.
Years of welfare dependency and government housing have left Aboriginal people waiting for somebody else to act - transferring social housing to tenants puts the ball in their court for the first time, what they make of it is up to them.
Sara Hudson is a policy analyst with the Centre for Independent Studies and Emeritus Professor Helen Hughes is senior research fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies. Mark Hughes is an independent researcher.
