An angry Katherine school teacher has spoken out over the looming loss of her rental subsidies - she says will cost her $24,000 a year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"We have been suckered by the government to come and live here," the teacher said.
The Katherine Times agreed to protect the teacher's identity, she fears being sacked for speaking to the media.
She said others had encouraged her to contact us to explain the personal impact of the NT Government's decision to remove rental subsidies for Katherine teachers.
The government says the move will save $500,000 a year.
Our teacher says she is not alone in looking for jobs elsewhere in the past few days.
"Right in the middle of holidays, they get us but the word has spread very fast.
"I can tell you there are many teachers in Katherine right now looking to leave, as soon as we can."
She said job security was a big issue for Katherine teachers, most were on fixed term contracts.
The teacher says the subsidies were used by schools to lure teachers from other states.
"It's not a lot of money but pays about half the rent on my house in Katherine East, which is not very flash.
"Katherine is a very expensive place to live, the rent is very dear for what you are paying for, and just the living costs are big.
"Why would I stay, I can get a job somewhere more decent.
"It's a pity, we love our schools and we love our kids but they haven't stuck to their deal."
While about 100 teachers are believed to live in government provided basic accommodation on low rent, others who have been teaching in Katherine for more years have taken to renting homes.
"We have to sign leases, six to 12 months, so we are locked in and now they say we are going to change the rules on you."
Katherine MLA Sandra Nelson has come in for harsh criticism from others who spoke to the Katherine Times.
They wanted to know what Ms Nelson had done to fight for the teachers to keep the subsidies.
Ms Nelson said this week the government had to make tough decisions to fix the budget, including a review of teacher housing in Katherine to bring it into line with that in Alice Springs and Darwin.
She said Katherine teachers receiving the subsidy "will be individually contacted" when they return from holidays next week "to discuss the next steps in the review process".
Ms Nelson said the government still wanted to consult on the move.
But both our teacher and the Australian Education Union said there had been no consultation before the move was announced.
Alyson Kavanagh, the Australian Education Union NT organiser for the Katherine region, yesterday said teachers were blindsided by the move.
Ms Kavanagh said the rental subsidies were offered in Katherine to try and deal with its high teacher turnover rate, the highest in the NT.
She agreed teachers had contacted the union from Katherine saying they were weighing up their future on whether to stay or leave Katherine.
"We have members from Katherine on the phone saying they are liable to move because of this," union representative Alyson Kavanagh said today.
"The government said people on the frontline were going to be protected," the teacher told us today.
"Well teachers in Katherine are obviously different than teachers in other places, we are taking this as a very personal attack on us.
"None of us are making fortunes, a lot of us have to spend our own money just to provide things to keep the classrooms running, we don't see we are the cause for the budget problems."
