The Minister for Remote Housing and Town Camps visited a number of homelands at Utopia recently where housing works are rolling out.

Chansey Paech took the time to visit residents and construction workers at what has become a quite a building hub, despite setbacks such as heavy rains and biodiversity restrictions imposed during the COVID pandemic.

Work on a new 15-lot subdivision at Arlparra continues with ten new homes nearing completion.

Meanwhile homes at Camel Camp, Boundary Bore, Tommyhawk Swamp, and Three Bores have been upgraded and a new home built at Three Bores.

The Minister has been lobbying both Federal Labor and Coalition parties to commit to funding housing on homelands to complement the remote housing program rolling out across the Territory’s remote communities.

He says homelands are places of critical importance to Aboriginal people and he’s calling on the major parties to support better housing on homelands.

“Our Government has completed a Homelands Policy Review, we have set the wheels in motion with a Homelands Working Group and now we need the Australian Government to come on board because the Territory Government cannot walk this path alone,” he said.

In remote communities across the Barkly, there are 74 new homes either completed or underway with dozens more planned. 

There are also extensions and upgrades planned for many other homes with more construction works in the pipeline.

This article appeared in Tennant & District Times, 1 April 2022.