By: Paul Parker

Paul Parker — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 02:18:06 +0000

Some incentives sound nice, however meaningless.
Principle incentive for these hub towns is to fix the ongoing disincentive – the absence of valid leases.
Few businesses establish, develop and operate within these communities due ongoing refusal to provided valid meaningful leases – for housing and business locations.
The Central Land Council argues in court, “Traditional Owners” only right is to stand somewhere – unless they obtain leases.
The Central Land Council with Land Trusts continue to refuse to issue valid leases to their tenants.
Commonwealth supports tenants having no rights.
Commonwealth funded houses constructed without valid leases, so no security of tenure for residents, no right to operate a business, no right to exclude others from entering their homes and trashing them.
Commonwealth and Central Land Council prevent these tenants sharing rights elsewhere regarded as basic standards.
Incentives uneconomical where recipients denied valid leases and basic standards to live or operate their business.
This problem recognized when the Commonwealth Ombudsman said record keeping for Territory’s remote housing system was seriously flawed.
“Territory Housing … has difficulties identifying whether people are paying rent when they should not, or conversely, not paying rent when they should.”
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-17/nt-housing-accounts-a-shambles/4207278?section=nt
The NT Ombudsman correctly states Commonwealth is leaving NT Housing to solve the problem.
Disagree with NT Ombudsman calling it “an extremely complex problem” for the problem is simple, the ongoing refusal to issue valid leases.
Commonwealth exempted need for leases so houses could be constructed, absence of valid leases is the cause of this problem.
Issuing valid leases is essential to resolve this problem.
Valid leases enable residents and investors to invest and develop these towns.
So Commonwealth needs to amend Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act and bring our corporate cowboy Land Trusts subject to same basic standards, same responsibility as other landowners, and require they issue leases valid in the NT.
If these Land Trusts continue to refuse issue leases, then Commonwealth should act so as to ensure wherever houses constructed ownership is transferred to the residents.
Why should tenants – particularly the many “Traditional Owner” residents – not be provided title ownership of their own homes?

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By: Paul Parker