The Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program (SIHIP) is a joint program between the Australian

Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

government to design and construct housing in a range of

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

communities in the

. It follows on from the previous Federal government's

Northern Territory National Emergency Response The Northern Territory National Emergency Response, also known as "The Intervention" or the Northern Territory Intervention, and sometimes the abbreviation "NTER" (for Northern Territory Emergency Response) was a package of measures enforced by ...

. The A$647 million program proposes to construct over 750 houses and refurbish another 2,500 houses in 73 communities across the Northern Territory, as well as providing essential urban infrastructure to support the new houses. Major capital works are proposed in 16 communities, pending the establishment of long-term leases. A key focus of the program is the aim to provide jobs and training opportunities for Indigenous Australians. The Federal Government announced in May 2009 that work under the program had started in three locations,

Groote Eylandt Groote Eylandt ( Anindilyakwa: ''Ayangkidarrba'' meaning "island" ) is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and the fourth largest island in Australia. It was named by the explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 and is Dutch for "Large Island" i ...

, the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, wi ...

and

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek ( wrm, Jurnkkurakurr) is town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western termi ...

. The government has announced that at least 20 per cent of the local workforce will be indigenous, with the aim of creating longer-term employment outcomes for communities. Work at Tennant Creek includes providing

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

, water, sewerage and roads to the town camps. The program has been criticised by indigenous leaders such as

Alison Anderson Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson (born 28 January 1958) is an Australian politician. She was member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly between 2005 and 2016, representing the electorate of Namatijra (known as MacDonnell until 2012). Cu ...

and

Galarrwuy Yunupingu Galarrwuy Yunupingu (born 30 June 1948), also known as James Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Dr Yunupingu, is a leader in the Aboriginal Australian community, and has been involved in the fight for Indigenous land rights in Australia throughout his c ...

for what they claim is excessive bureaucracy and overheads. Yunupingu said in August 2009 "I keep hearing that, two years on, not one house has been built and I see it, too. Not one house. I keep getting the complaint that all the companies are doing is consulting and consulting, getting their daily fees and disappearing again.", adding "It's a system designed to profit non-Aborigines while nothing gets done." The local federal member of parliament,

Damian Hale Damian Francis Hale (born 28 December 1969) is a former Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Solomon from 2007 to 2010. He moved to the Northern Territory in 1974 and grew up in M ...

had earlier defended the program, citing the remoteness of the areas where the houses are proposed to be built. Hale commented that "It will not be fixed in 20 months but what we can fix is have the land lease arrangements in place properly, the alliances are put in place" and stated that " 're not building in Sydney or Melbourne, we're building in remote parts of Australia." A briefing to Anderson, a Northern Territory parliamentarian, by the administrator of the program, was said to have indicated that as few as 300 houses may be built; this briefing was later described as "inaccurate". Anderson challenged the administration charge claimed by the Territory government—initially $100 million, 15 per cent of the project budget—claiming it was excessive, and was successful in pushing for cost savings of $50 million. The

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier. When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government wa ...

Paul Henderson Paul Garnet Henderson, (born January 28, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A Winger (ice hockey), left winger, Henderson played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple L ...

, has pledged that the program would construct the 750 houses, with construction of 55 new homes to be underway by the end of 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strategic Indigenous Housing And Infrastructure Program Indigenous Australian politics Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory Housing in Australia Public policy in Australia