Santa Teresa residents win class action against NT Government
RESIDENTS in the Aboriginal community of Santa Teresa have won a class action against the NT Government for its failure to maintain housing to a safe and healthy level
Alice Springs
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RESIDENTS in the Aboriginal community of Santa Teresa have won a class action against the NT Government for its failure to maintain housing to a safe and healthy level.
The class action lawsuit was brought against the NT Government by dozens of households after it failed to take action over hundreds of urgent repairs, with some families waiting over five years.
The Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT) found the NT Government is legally obliged to provide habitable housing in remote communities.
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Some buildings were described as structurally unsound, without running water, sewerage and ventilation despite the desert temperatures of extreme heat during the summer and icy temperatures in winter.
Grata Fund, the public interest litigation fund which financially supported the class action, hailed the decision as a victory for the residents of Santa Teresa who they say have been ignored by the Government.
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Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights have acted for the residents and the lead lawyer, Dan Kelly said Aboriginal communities including those in Santa Teresa “fought long and hard”
“The NTCAT decision has cemented the rights of the Eastern Arrernte people of Santa Teresa under residential tenancy law - just like anyone else who rents from a landlord — despite the Government’s attempts to shirk its obligations,” Mr Kelly said.
“Unless the government acts, there will be more litigation. The system has been utterly exposed, and if people in Santa Teresa are entitled to compensation, the same must be true for the other 70 remote communities across the NT”, said Mr Kelly.
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Jasmine Cavanagh, a resident of Santa Teresa told the NTCAT that a toilet was blocked and leaked sewerage into the water leaking from the shower.
“Water was everywhere in the back area of our house. This started soon after I moved in. I complained about it many times to Housing. Sometimes I got a bandaid solution,” Ms Cavanagh said.
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“When it was leaking, we would have to mop up dirty water about every four hours. I would mop it up at 8pm, then get up at midnight and mop it up again, and then get up in the early morning and mop it up again. I used to have to go and have a shower at my mum’s house. We would also wash the kids there.”
The NT Department of Housing initially counter-sued the plaintiffs but amended its suit after many of its claims were found to be incorrect.
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