The escalating housing crisis gripping the Territory will go under the spotlight this week as more than 1000 people converge in Darwin for a National Housing Conference.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Those at the forefront, experts in the field, policy-makers and researchers will tackle some of the biggest challenges faced by the 116,000 Australians who are sleeping rough on any given night.
"The state of social housing here in the NT is dire," NT Shelter executive officer Peter McMillan said.
"[It is] a mountain to climb to provide the additional housing necessary for tackling overcrowding, ending homelessness, and ensuring that we have well designed, constructed and maintained housing for families and kids to thrive."
The rate of homelessness in the NT is 12 times the national average, and Katherine remains in a housing crisis with more people sleeping rough, per capita, than anywhere else in the nation.
Chronically underfunded and sitting at 31 times the national rate of homelessness, Mr McMillan said Katherine needed a "strategy to meaningfully tackle homelessness".
But, under the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, the NT receives only 1.3 per cent, or $19 million, of the Commonwealth's $1.4 billion contribution to the States and Territories.
The inequity has sparked repeated calls for a revamped NHHA which distributes homelessness funding according to need rather than population size.
More reading:
National Shelter executive officer Adrian Pisarski said the disproportionately high burden of homelessness in the Northern Territory called for additional funding from the Commonwealth to address the unacceptable housing situation, especially for many Aboriginal families across the Territory.
"We stand side by side with the people of the Northern Territory in supporting calls for a higher level of investment in housing and homelessness services in the NT," said Mr Pisarski.
"This is a very small jurisdiction with a very large housing shortfall, arising from years of neglect and underinvestment.
"A national housing strategy is needed and one that recognises that the NT has uniquely difficult circumstances."
Katherine Doorways Hub coordinator Harley Dannatt and case manager, Dean Jones will be part of a presentation on Indigenous housing at the conference looking at self-determination and how mainstream organisations can support Indigenous objectives.
At the forefront of the crisis in Katherine, the pair work with hundreds of highly vulnerable clients who walk through the Hub's doors each and every day.
A part of the Katherine Accommodation Action group, they have collectively called for a comprehensive strategy from all levels of government to tackle homelessness.
The conference will be held at the Darwin Convention Centre from Wednesday, August 28 to Friday, August 30.
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday at 6am from the Katherine Times. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.
