Blain MLA Mark Turner urges Attorney-General to do full mould inspection of NTG housing
A high-profile Territory politician has urged the NT government to audit all NT government housing and work sites after an eight-year-old girl’s near-death struggle.
Northern Territory
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BLAIN MLA Mark Turner has written to the Attorney-General urging a mould inspection of every home and worksite owned by the Northern Territory government, amid concerns of a “timebomb” of medical complications similar to those suffered by an eight-year-old girl in 2019.
The Sunday Territorian last week revealed the plight of Sienna Santiago, who was left with lifelong impairments following an 11-day battle in intensive care.
Sienna’s dad Stephen Thomson said they were convinced rampant mould in their former NT Police home in Pirlangimpi was a factor in the tragic episode, in which Sienna suffered from an infection of her throat.
Now Mr Turner has written to Attorney-General Chansey Paech, expressing concerns about the state of NT Police homes more broadly and urging a widespread mould audit of facilities.
Among the MLA’s concerns is that a report into the Pirlangimpi homes found varieties of mould associated with liver cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, lung scarring and lung cancer.
“If at all possible, I would suggest that should the houses at Pirlangimpi still be in situ; further laboratory analysis is conducted to determine the exact strains of mould and any future preventative medical advice or medical testing for members and their families that have resided there,” Mr Turner wrote.
“I have also been advised ... new residents were not told of the mould problem.”
He urged the government to launch a full audit to rule in or out whether Sienna’s problems were indicative of wider issues within police housing.
“To put this issue to rest, can I respectfully request that NT Worksafe liaise with an expert in this field and urgently consider mould testing at all NTG work sites and houses that may be affected to ensure we are not sitting on a time bomb of medical issues that will disproportionately affect First Nations Territorians, frontline responders associated community workers and their families; both past and present,” he said.
“I believe it is of some urgency to identify if this is indeed a single tragic issue or a multifaceted problem brought to prominence through the horrific situation faced by Mr Thomson, Sienna and their family.”
Mr Turner also blasted NT Police, arguing Mr Thomson was not supported by the service.
“He does not feel heard, valued or that his families suffering is of any concern to the Northern Territory Police and the only way to draw attention to his plight is through the media.”
When contacted for comment on the letter, Mr Turner said the “correspondence speaks for itself” but added he didn’t want to “cause widespread alarm”
“If there is a problem, let’s identify and deal with it,” he said.
In response to questions, an NT government spokeswoman said Territory Housing was “developing a new, more intensive management approach that will see all government employee houses inspected every three months”.
“The program of inspections is scheduled to begin before the end of this year,” the spokeswoman said. There are currently 1800 government employee houses managed by Territory Families, but the department said the Pirlangimpi police home was “an NT Police asset”.
NT WorkSafe in May launched a second investigation into the incident, probing whether police were aware of the mould issues before Sienna’s medical episode.
The NT Police Association last week claimed complaints about mould at lot 255 of Pirlangimpi dated back to 2003.
Petition to keep family on island
A FAMILY who spent months pushing for action against rampant mould in their NT Police home were transferred off the Tiwi Islands despite locals petitioning for them to remain, it can be revealed.
The NT News reported on Saturday the plight of Sienna Santiago, 8, who was left with lifelong ailments following an 11-day ICU battle against a rare throat infection.
Her dad Stephen Thomson, a former police officer, said the family had been complaining for months beforehand for NT Police to assist in battling rampant mould.
Now a Pirlangimpi resident has revealed 114 locals signed a petition against a decision by NT Police to transfer Mr Thomson off the island in 2020.
The NT News has obtained a copy of the petition.
Locals escalated their campaign to politicians, including to the then-health minister and now Chief Minister Natasha Fyles, as well as then-police minister Nicole Manison.
The local Pirlangimpi resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said police had wanted to transfer Mr Thomson off the Tiwi Islands after the medical episode.
“Police were going to boot him out no matter what,” the resident said.
The local resident also said the two NT Police-owned homes in Pirlangimpi, lots 255 and 256, had been condemned after a mould report into the properties found unsafe levels of mould.
But he said local residents were not told about the homes being unfit for human habitation until well after the incident.
“They didn’t test anywhere else, they didn’t test the school … in case it was rampant in the community,” he said.
In response to this, an NT Police spokesman said they took “issues relating to public housing very seriously”.
“We work closely with the relevant agencies and the NTPA to ensure our members are in suitable accommodation,” the spokesman said.
Ms Fyles was contacted for comment.
Top brass ‘was aware’ of cop staff home horror
NT Police management was aware a home it housed officers in had been having mould issues as far back as 2003, it can be revealed, but only recommended that tenants run air-conditioning to resolve the problem.
Reacting to revelations over the weekend about a Tiwi Island home with chronic incursions of fungi, NT Police Association president Paul McCue also warned the state of police housing more broadly was poor.
Eight-year-old Sienna Santiago was in intensive care for 11 days in a medical episode her family believes was caused by rampant mould growth within their home in Pirlangimpi home.
This occurred in 2019 but Mr McCue said the issues had been raised with NT Police long before Sienna’s father Stephen Thomson was allocated the home.
“The mould issue in the house used by Mr Thomson and his family was first reported to the Department in 2003, some 14 years before the Thomson family first moved in,” he said.
“There were significant amounts of mould in the hallway and cupboards, and this is an issue which has plagued this, and other houses, for far too long.
“When members first raised the issue, they were told to leave the air conditioners running for 24 hours and that should resolve the problem.”
A spokesman for NT Police said they engaged a contractor in 2019 to provide a report on the property.
“Following that report a thorough clean of the property was undertaken,” he said.
“NT Worksafe is now reviewing the matter and it’s appropriate that we leave Worksafe to complete their enquiries.”
Mr McCue welcomed news that NT Worksafe were looking into the incident for a second time.
“Without pre-empting the outcome of any investigations underway, it should never take this sort of a tragic situation to highlight the need to house people appropriately if you want them working in remote areas,” he said.
Mr McCue said “successive governments” were at fault for neglecting police housing.
“This is why we are still using shipping containers in some locations after 15 years which are not fit for purpose,” he said.
NT Police were contacted for comment, and had not responded to earlier questions put to them about the incident as of Monday afternoon.
Originally published as Blain MLA Mark Turner urges Attorney-General to do full mould inspection of NTG housing
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