Housing First Nations National Conference

Good morning everyone. I’d like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we are gathered, the Turrbal and Yuggera peoples, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging. Everyone here today knows the importance of safe and secure housing.

It is fundamental to a person’s health and wellbeing. And we all know the very real consequences of housing insecurity and homelessness. You see these realities every day.

You work alongside families, communities and with organisations pushing to improve outcomes. Improving housing outcomes for First Nations people remains a priority for our government and is central to our shared commitment under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Genuine partnership also remains at the centre of our approach.

We know the best outcomes are achieved when First Nations people are not simply consulted, but when you are designing, leading and delivering solutions. But some governments are still hard of hearing on that. That principle is reflected across our broader housing agenda.

Our government is focused on ensuring First Nations people have a genuine say in decisions that affect them and a meaningful role in delivering solutions. Through our $47 billion Homes for Australia Plan, we are working with First Nations stakeholders and state and territory governments to improve housing outcomes across the country. The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund is supporting the delivery of 40,000 social and affordable homes over five years.

HAFF Round Three is set to deliver more than 21,000 of those homes. And Round Three is creating greater opportunities for First Nations organisations, particularly community-controlled organisations, to access funding and lead delivery. Round Three includes a dedicated First Nations funding stream, with $600 million for projects delivered by, or in partnership with First Nations housing organisations.

A ten per cent tenancy target across social housing funded through the round will also help ensure First Nations people benefit from the full scale of this national investment. This is critical work that’s being done by my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Clare O’Neil. I’m proud to support Indigenous Business Australia who are also helping First Nations people into home ownership.

It’s another avenue for those families who want to take that opportunity. Just last year, more than 600 First Nations families were supported into their own homes. The IBA program provides concessional interest rates, low deposit requirements and flexible repayment conditions.

This means First Nations people who might not be able to access finance through big banks can still realise their dreams of owning their own home. We have embedded Closing the Gap priorities into Housing Australia's investment mandate, recognising that First Nations organisations are central to achieving better housing outcomes. These measures recognise something many in this room have advocated for over many years.

When communities are at the table shaping solutions, those solutions are stronger, more sustainable and more effective. The same principle sits at the heart of our work in remote Australia. With the Northern Territory Government, the Commonwealth is investing $4 billion over ten years through the NT Remote Housing Package.

Crucially, it’s being delivered in partnership with the Territory’s four Land Councils and Aboriginal Housing NT. Can I just point out for a moment that it was really important to have the four Land Councils and Aboriginal Housing NT very much a part of that joint standing committee. It is something that we have insisted on at the Commonwealth level, to begin the process, which many of our states and territories still have a long way to go, to make sure that First Nations people are at the table with these Federal Funding Agreements.

The Northern Territory is the first. We've got a lot of issues that we've been dealing with, and I'm sure you may have heard some of those here or seen some of those over the last six to 12 months. But what I find incredibly important is that unless we have the First Nations people and organisations at the table, then these governments are working separate to what First Nations people want.

And when there is a dispute, it's important that dispute is debated there at the table and worked through. So, there is a conclusion that all parties agree to. Right now, there is a review that's going on into that $4 billion partnership because there has been a dispute, and that dispute has been over how many houses per year should be built.

But again, the important thing we have to keep here in mind is the principle of making sure everyone stays at the table to get beyond that. So, it is about creating homes ultimately, where children can learn and grow, families can thrive and our communities can remain strong and connected to Country. While the challenges remain considerable, there are encouraging signs from communities where new housing is being delivered.

But too many First Nations families, including those in remote communities, continue to experience overcrowding, run-down housing and housing shortages. That is why our focus remains on sustaining delivery over the long term and ensuring investment translates into better housing outcomes for our communities. Alongside new housing construction, we are continuing to invest in repairs, maintenance and upgrades to existing homes.

Through the $200 million Housing Australia Future Fund Acute Housing Measure, repairs, maintenance and upgrades are being delivered in remote communities across the Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the NT. In South Australia alone, climate resilience upgrades have been completed on more than 300 homes across the APY Lands. This measure is also creating local employment opportunities for First Nations people.

I do want to speak to you about the recent events in Mount Isa. This has been a very difficult time for families who have had the homes they’ve been living in, sold off by the Mount Isa City Council. The Council forced the auctions to recover debts owed by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Welfare Services.

I want to tell you that despite our best efforts, there was no Commonwealth pathway to intervene. The Queensland Government, which is responsible for Indigenous housing, refused to step in. And despite many requests, the Council refused to prioritise the sales of vacant properties over the occupied properties.

Even after the first day of sales made nearly enough to cover the entire debt, I asked the Mayor to stop the sales. The Council had the power to do that. But they decided to push ahead and auction the remaining homes.

The agency that I’m responsible for, the National Indigenous Australians Agency, is continuing the support the families in Mount Isa. Many of those families I’m certainly in touch with through the staff in NIAA, and I'd like to personally thank Neil Willmet for his support throughout this time. Another area I want to share with you is in Darwin, the Northern Territory Government's decision to close the Yilli Short-Stay Accommodation has been deeply disturbing.

YiSSA was the largest homeless and short stay facility in the country and supported thousands of people in its lifetime. People without a home, those fleeing domestic violence, and those needing accommodation while receiving healthcare away from their communities. YiSSA’s closure has been another reminder that behind every discussion about housing and homelessness are real people, often facing complex challenges at some of the most challenging points in their lives.

For many vulnerable people, stable housing is the pathway out of homelessness. And for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culturally safe services delivered by First Nations organisations are a critical part of that journey. That is why strengthening the housing sector remains so important.

It is also why investment in projects delivered by, or in genuine partnership with, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations and other First Nations organisations matters. I’m determined in my role as Minister for Indigenous Australians to keep pushing that significance of the partnership of our ACCOs. We have what’s called a Closing the Gap working group of Ministers from the Cabinet at the federal level, and every single one of those Ministers who have a responsibility for a target in Closing the Gap, and with housing its Target 9, are with me at that table.

We are looking closely at the federation funding agreements with each state and territory. I’m serious about wanting to use the levers of the federal funding agreements on our state and territory parliaments, if they are not adhering and working through these targets in genuine engagement with First Nations people. And I’m hearing through the Northern Territory and in Queensland that those partnerships are lacking, if they are there at all.

We know when those partnerships are there, we know that it can work and does work. We know that long-term investment matters. We know that First Nations-led solutions matter.

And we know that genuine partnership delivers stronger outcomes. The challenge before us is to maintain momentum. To continue increasing housing supply where it is needed most.

To reduce overcrowding. And to ensure communities have a genuine voice in determining and shaping your future, by making the decisions that affect you. Because behind every policy, every partnership and every new home is a person and their family.

All of this is about dignity. It is about opportunity. And it is about ensuring First Nations people have a place they can call safe and a place they can call home.

Yo, Bauji Barra. Subscribe and stay up to date Connect with us PM&C acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.