Construction underway for $68 million prefabricated homes project to address remote housing issues
CONSTRUCTION work on a $68 million prefabricated housing project is under way with homes now rolling out to remote communities
Alice Springs
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CONSTRUCTION is well underway for a $68 million prefabricated homes project which seeks to address remote housing issues in the NT.
Darwin companies, Northern Transportables, PTM Group and NT Link; and Murray River North in Alice Springs were last year awarded contracts to build 134 homes for delivery to Aboriginal communities across the NT. To date, 74 homes have been completed.
The project is part of the Territory Labor Government’s Homebuild program.
Chief Minister, Michael Gunner was joined by Minister Remote Housing and Town Camps, Chansey Paech on Thursday when they visited Murray River North in Alice Springs to check out the progress of the builds.
Mr Gunner said there was a “significant deficit when it comes to the housing stock we have in remote communities”.
He said the investment was part of a plan to change the social and housing landscape in communities across the NT.
”The project has created many jobs and boosted the capacity of dozens of Territory construction businesses.
“Last year we did 1700 new rooms and 2500 upgraded or essentially rebuilt renovated rooms.
So there’s 4200 rooms that can suddenly be slept in the community that weren’t there before.”
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Through Local Decision Making, the houses have been designed in partnership with the
communities to ensure homes suit the needs of residents with provisions for elderly
residents, people with disabilities and extended family groups.
Mr Paech said there were many families looking forward to their new prefabricated homes and the homes had been well received by those who have already settled in.
“We understand the challenges that people have in those communities but also the design concepts that people want out on country,” he said.
“These (prefabricated) homes are open, they’re taking into account the lifestyles and way that people want their home to look with outside areas verandas, security and also taken into the design and the functionality people in remote communities like to have with visitors coming into the home.”
The project is using Sentenced to a Job, a paid prisoner employment program that allows large and small local businesses to employ prisoners outside of correctional facilities.
Murray River North Operations Manager, Ross McLellan said the project had allowed the company to employ around another 40 people, essentially doubling their workforce.
The company uses the Sentenced to a Job program extensively and have done for the past six years.
“Maybe 90 per cent of them come on board with us full time (after completing their sentence),” Mr McLennan said.
“Cameron Button is the second person who has completed the program and come to work with us from a job to a job full time, and now he’s an apprentice.”
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