Santa Teresa housing compensation battle heads to Federal High Court

A six year battle for safe and liveable homes in the Red Centre could soon be heard in the highest courts of Australia.

A SIX year battle for safe and liveable homes in the Red Centre could soon be heard in the highest courts of Australia.

Residents of Santa Teresa, 80km southeast of Alice Springs, have filed an application to have their case against the NT Chief Executive Officer of Housing heard by the High Court of Australia.

Barrister Matthew Albert, who represented Enid Young and Petria Cavanagh, said a special leave application would be considered by the High Court on Tuesday.

In preparation for the case, Mr Albert appeared in the NT Supreme Court on Thursday to push for an amendment to a lower court application.

Enid Young (seated) outside the Alice Springs Supreme Court with her granddaughters Leocardia Young, Jodie Young, Monica Young and great great granddaughter Rebecca

It comes almost three months after Justice Jenny Blokland upheld an NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal compensation payment to Santa Teresa residents after a lack of emergency repairs made their government housing unfit for habitation.

One resident Enid Young was left without a back door to her home for almost six years and with no air conditioning through five summers in the desert community.

Justice Blokland also found the CEO “failed to act with reasonable diligence” to fix Ms Young’s broken toilet, shower and stove.

“An accumulation of defects in the property may so undermine its comfort and amenity as to render it unfit for habitation,” Justice Blokland said in February.

On Thursday, Justice Stephen Southwood said moving the housing challenge to the higher court appeared to be an attempt to “shake up” the compensation claims.

But Justice Southwood was sceptical about the case, characterising it as potentially “futile”.

“Where is it going? … Nowhere in my view, you’re left with nominal damages and what other damages are there,” he said.

“Isn’t it futile?”

Mr Albert disagreed saying it would test how compensation could be evaluated under tenancy agreements.

He said ideally before the case arrived in Canberra, there needed to be an amendment to one of the NT Appeal Court orders.

Mr Albert said the change was not disputed, but there was debate over which court should assess the application.

He said the Santa Teresa residents were hoping the Territory court would make the change to its own order, without the need for a directions hearing to drag out the matter.

“The horse has bolted well and truly to Canberra,” Mr Albert said.

“As of next Tuesday the High Court has literally everything it needs in order to determine the special leave application.

“The question is, how do we deal with that messiness in circumstances where there is no dispute between parties … and it ought to be cleaned up.”

Enid Young (seated) at Santa Teresa in the Northern Territory. Source: Grata Fund

He said the small change could be made easily to save further Supreme Court directions hearings.

“Any time is precious and even if that weren’t the case and no ones’ time matters, we still end up with the very real risk … that this court varies an order which the High Court is dealing with.”

NT Solicitor General Nikolai Christrup said the government was still unclear which issues were “still alive” and asked for a directions hearing for filing and written submission.

Justice Southwood called for both parties to file an outline of written arguments within four weeks, with the matter of the application to be considered by the full court.