Remote Aboriginal community continue legal fight, as NT Government countersues for unpaid rent

NEW court proceedings will be the next step in a legal stoush over housing for these residents against the NT Government

Mark Alice and his wife Francesca Williams had been having ongoing problems with their housing in Santa Teresa

COURT proceedings kicking off next week will be the next step in a legal stoush between the NT Government and the community of Santa Teresa.

When over 70 households made moves towards civil action against the NT Government in 2016, for failing to provide safe, healthy, habitable housing, the Department of Housing launched a countersuit to pursue unpaid rental debt — now the legal team representing the community are hoping to set a new standard of accountability.

Mark Alice, an elderly and disabled resident of the remote NT community Santa Teresa, is regularly forced to dig a moat around his house to stop it from flooding.

Mr Alice said he and his wife Francesca Williams had been having ongoing problems whenever rain comes, as well as plumbing issues.

“There’s a storm coming this afternoon so I have to prepare for that,” he told the NT News yesterday.

“The government should wake up and do something.”

The couple’s issues are some of the 600 urgent repairs that are said to be needed in Santa Teresa.

Mark Alice is regularly forced to dig a moat around his house to stop it from flooding and will be part of a legal challenge of the NT Government's remote housing strategies.

Grata Fund is financially supporting the legal action being run pro bono by the Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights and Matthew Albert from the Victorian Bar.

Executive Director Isabelle Reinecke said the community were trying to secure the same rights that tenants all over Australia require from their landlords in meeting minimum legal standards in providing housing.

“Although the NT Government has carried out some of the repairs in Santa Teresa, it only did so after the litigation was filed and serious questions remain over the quality of those repairs,” she said.

“On top of all this, the NT Government has countersued the Santa Teresa community members, seeking thousands of dollars in unpaid ‘rental debts’. The amounts the NT Government claims are putting significant financial stress on households.”

Ms Reinecke said even though the rental debts are being disputed in the NT’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT), the NT Government’s contractors have been signing up Santa Teresa residents to direct debits to pay back the money.

“With this case, we hope the Government’s rhetoric on housing will finally be forced to reckon with the atrocious reality of Government controlled housing in remote NT,” she said.

The hearing begins at the NTCAT on Monday November 19.

The Housing Minister Gerry McCarthy and department was contacted for comment.

28/01/2016: General views of Santa Teresa, an Aboriginal community located 80 kilometres from Alice Springs, where 75% of residents have commenced legal action seeking better repairs and maintenance for their community.