tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/remote-communities-15427/articlesRemote communities – The Conversation2023-11-06T22:59:48Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169082023-11-06T22:59:48Z2023-11-06T22:59:48ZHigh Court, then what? NT remote housing reforms need to put Indigenous residents front and centre<p>The relationships between tenants and landlords are often fraught, but it’s fair to expect a house to meet basic standards, like having a back door.</p>
<p>That wasn’t the case for an Aboriginal woman in a remote community, who was part of a successful class action to sue the landlord for failing to provide a habitable house.</p>
<p>Last week, the High Court <a href="https://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showCase/2023/HCA/31">ruled</a> residents of the community of Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Apurte) could be compensated for the “distress and disappointment” caused by the poor state of their government-managed houses.</p>
<p>So how can such housing be better managed? And what needs to be done to ensure houses in remote communities do not just meet the legal standard, but exceed it?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-back-door-for-5-years-remote-communitys-high-court-win-is-good-news-for-renters-everywhere-216821">No back door for 5 years: remote community's High Court win is good news for renters everywhere</a>
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<h2>Big result, but ongoing problems</h2>
<p>Seventy public housing residents in Santa Teresa commenced the legal action against their landlord, the NT government, in <a href="https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nt/NTCAT/2019/12.html">2016</a>.</p>
<p>By the time the High Court decision was handed down in 2023, both lead applicants had died. Just as remote housing tenants must wait prolonged periods for repairs, the lengthy delay for housing justice outlasted them. </p>
<p>Elsewhere in the NT, residents of Laramba have also been pursuing compensation for the landlord’s failure to undertake housing repairs, and arguing for a right to safe drinking water in their homes. </p>
<p>In October this year, the <a href="https://arena.org.au/safe-drinking-water-in-nt/">NT Supreme Court</a> found the landlord, the NT government, is responsible for ensuring safe drinking water at those premises. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1652427646574243840"}"></div></p>
<p>The Santa Teresa High Court decision is <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-back-door-for-5-years-remote-communitys-high-court-win-is-good-news-for-renters-everywhere-216821">potentially significant</a> for tenants across the country. </p>
<p>However, a right to seek compensation for distress and disappointment is not a silver bullet for housing justice. </p>
<p>The challenge is to maintain housing and essential services at such standards that render these types of lawsuits unnecessary.</p>
<h2>When your landlord is the government</h2>
<p>The NT government has not always been responsible for remote community housing.</p>
<p>Most remote communities are located on Aboriginal land owned under the <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/alrta1976444/">Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976</a>. </p>
<p>Through the NT Intervention, the Commonwealth government compulsorily acquired five-year leases over entire communities. </p>
<p>A policy of “secure tenure” made subsequent housing and infrastructure investment contingent on long-term remote community leases to governments. </p>
<p>Indigenous Community Housing Organisations were effectively <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718522001944">dismantled</a>, and the introduction of “mainstream” tenancy arrangements under a public housing system followed. </p>
<p>One of the unanticipated consequences of this change was the ability of tenants to use the <a href="https://legislation.nt.gov.au/en/Legislation/RESIDENTIAL-TENANCIES-ACT-1999">Residential Tenancies Act</a> as a “<a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/INFORMIT.062772924394473">tool of empowerment</a>”.</p>
<p>Residents could now push back against <a href="https://www.academia.edu/44672286/2021_Housing_waste_in_Remote_Indigenous_Australia_In_The_Temporalities_of_Waste_Out_of_Sight_Out_of_Time_eds_F_Allon_R_Barcan_K_Eddison_Cogan_75_86_Routledge_New_York_and_London">entrenched low expectations</a> for the timeliness and quality of remote housing repairs.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/think-private-renting-is-hard-first-nations-people-can-be-excluded-from-the-start-192392">Think private renting is hard? First Nations people can be excluded from the start</a>
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<h2>Current programs falling short</h2>
<p>In response to the cases at Santa Teresa and Laramba, the NT government has sought to reform its remote housing maintenance program. </p>
<p>In 2021, the NT government introduced its <a href="https://tfhc.nt.gov.au/housing-and-homelessness/healthy-homes">Healthy Homes</a> program. It aims to prioritise cyclical and preventive maintenance to improve the quality of houses as well as health outcomes for tenants.</p>
<p>The reforms reflect many <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/remote-housing-review">reviews</a> that have recommended such measures.</p>
<p>If implemented effectively, Healthy Homes can improve <a href="https://www.healthabitat.com/">housing hardware</a> and increase the lifespan of existing housing.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.menzies.edu.au/page/Research/Indigenous_Health/Preventive_health/Healthy_Homes_Monitoring_and_Evaluation_Project/#:%7E:text=Healthy%20Homes%20is%20framed%20as,undertake%20'healthy%20living%20practices'">evaluation of Healthy Homes</a> found the average maintenance spend per house to be about $6,000 per year.</p>
<p>While seemingly significant, this is much less than is spent <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/368">by Housing SA</a> on housing on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in northwest South Australia, where expenditure in 2021 exceeded $10,000 per house.</p>
<p>The key mechanism that underpins the NT’s Healthy Homes is a yearly condition assessment requirement, generating maintenance work without relying on tenant reporting. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.menzies.edu.au/page/Research/Indigenous_Health/Preventive_health/Healthy_Homes_Monitoring_and_Evaluation_Project/#:%7E:text=Healthy%20Homes%20is%20framed%20as,undertake%20'healthy%20living%20practices'">The evaluation</a> found that from July 2021 to February 2023, only 1,315 such inspections had been undertaken across a total of 5,498 houses included in Healthy Homes.</p>
<p>This is equivalent to an inspection of only 23.9% of houses. </p>
<p>The Santa Teresa case also laid bare significant issues with the NT government’s record-keeping, which don’t appear to have been fixed.</p>
<p>The evaluation found:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>NT government datasets cannot distinguish between preventive and responsive maintenance</p></li>
<li><p>reporting requirements mean maintenance data is unreliable for determining how quickly repairs were undertaken</p></li>
<li><p>a significant proportion of maintenance work is coded miscellaneous, meaning it is not possible to determine the proportion of works by trade type.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The combination of these factors makes it very hard to assess whether and how approaches to remote community maintenance might be improving.</p>
<h2>Bringing remote housing up to scratch</h2>
<p>So a High Court case has reaffirmed the rights of Santa Teresa tenants and the current remote housing maintenance program is inadequate. What happens to NT remote housing now?</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/land-and-housing/national-partnership-remote-housing-northern-territory-2018-23#:%7E:text=On%2030%20March%202019%2C%20the,for%20Aboriginal%20Territorians%20in%20remote">National Partnership for Remote Housing Northern Territory</a> expired in July 2023.</p>
<p>Commonwealth funding was extended for another year. A new agreement is currently being negotiated.</p>
<p>To meet the needs of remote communities, this agreement must be tripartite. The peak body <a href="https://ahnt.com.au/">Aboriginal Housing NT</a> and Northern Territory land councils require rights to determine funding allocations and policy directions, as well as the territory and federal governments.</p>
<p>This is necessary for the meaningful participation and empowerment of those Aboriginal organisations in key decision-making under the agreement, and to enshrine their place as equal partners in the ongoing governance of remote housing in the NT. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-housing-policies-must-be-based-on-community-needs-not-what-non-indigenous-people-think-they-need-162999">Aboriginal housing policies must be based on community needs — not what non-Indigenous people think they need</a>
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<p>Federal funding of remote housing is required into the long term. A ten-year funding agreement should support all of remote communities, town camps and homelands.</p>
<p>Because of historical underfunding and neglect, this funding also needs to increase and the Commonwealth Government must remain on the hook.</p>
<p>The Santa Teresa case has shown the ongoing legacy of underinvestment and neglect. </p>
<p>Aboriginal residents of remote communities and their representative organisations must be supported to play a central role in determining the future of the places they call home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liam Grealy receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, and the NT Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities. He is affiliated with Menzies School of Health Research and the University of Sydney. Details related to specific projects are available on his public profiles. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyllie Cripps receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Government and State Governments to conduct research and evaluations. Details related to this are on her public profiles.</span></em></p>Last week, the High Court ruled the community of Santa Teresa could be compensated for the “distress and disappointment” caused by their poor housing. So how can such housing be better managed?Liam Grealy, Research fellow, Menzies School of Health ResearchKyllie Cripps, Professor, Director Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, School of Philosophical, Historical & International Studies (SOPHIS), School of Social Sciences (SOSS), Faculty of Arts, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160852023-10-23T04:52:58Z2023-10-23T04:52:58Z‘Digital inclusion’ and closing the gap: how First Nations leadership is key to getting remote communities online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555170/original/file-20231023-23-vi5czm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C24%2C4025%2C2993&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mapping the Digital Gap Co-researcher Guruwuy Ganambarr using her mobile phone to connect to wifi in Gäṉgaṉ homeland, East Arnhem Land, NT.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Featherstone</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are more than 1,500 remote First Nations communities and homelands around Australia, and about 670 of them have no mobile phone coverage. In research with 495 people from ten remote communities, we found 45.9% were “highly excluded” from increasingly important digital services and tools. </p>
<p>Digital inclusion for First Nations people is part of the <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement">National Agreement on Closing the Gap</a>. The agreement calls for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have “access to information and services enabling participation in informed decision-making regarding their own lives”, and “<a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement/national-agreement-closing-the-gap/7-difference/b-targets/b17">equal levels of digital inclusion as other Australians</a> by 2026”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-remote-aboriginal-families-limited-phone-and-internet-services-make-life-hard-heres-what-they-told-us-201295">For remote Aboriginal families, limited phone and internet services make life hard. Here’s what they told us</a>
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<p>There is still some way to go, as our research shows. As one person in a remote community described their situation, “the internet here in Galiwin’ku past 10am is hopeless. [It] further marginalises people already living in an isolated community.”</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.gov.au/publications">new report by the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group</a>, released today, proposes a series of practical strategies to the Australian government to reduce the digital divide for First Nations Australians, particularly those living in remote communities and homelands. </p>
<h2>Digital inclusion and the digital gap</h2>
<p>We are part of a team that studies digital inclusion – the ability to access, afford, and effectively use digital technologies – across Australia. Each year, we publish the <a href="https://www.digitalinclusionindex.org.au">Australian Digital Inclusion Index</a> which gives scores out of 100 for inclusion in different regions and groups of people around the country. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.admscentre.org.au/mapping-the-digital-gap/">Mapping the Digital Gap project</a>, we are researching digital inclusion among First Nations people in remote communities.</p>
<p>There is a significant gap in <a href="https://www.digitalinclusionindex.org.au/dashboard/firstnations.aspx">digital inclusion for First Nations people</a> compared with other Australians, which widens substantially with remoteness. </p>
<p>Nationally, we found a “digital gap” of 7.5 points between First Nations people and others in Australia. In remote Australia the gap is 24.4 points, and in very remote communities and homelands it is 25.3 points.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Australia coloured in shades of red, with darker shades around capital cities and the east coast and lighter shades inland. A key shows how the colours correspond to different scores on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">First Nations scores on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index by remoteness, including the gap against the national average.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.25916/a01g-fp91">Mapping the Digital Gap: 2023 Outcomes Report</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>The biggest contribution to this gap comes from access to communications services. There are some 1,545 remote First Nations communities and homelands across Australia, and 670 have no mobile coverage. Many of the others need much better access to affordable and reliable connections. </p>
<p>First Nations people primarily use prepaid mobile services for voice and data, so expanded access to mobile and wifi services are a critical first step. </p>
<p>Of the 495 remote First Nations people who participated in our study, 45.9% were rated as “highly excluded” based on their inclusion index scores, compared with 9.4% of people across Australia. </p>
<h2>First Nations leadership on closing the digital gap</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/closing-gap/implementation-measures/first-nations-digital-inclusion-advisory-group">First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group</a> was established by Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland in January 2023 to provide First Nations leadership on policy and programs to address closing the digital gap. </p>
<p>The advisory group consists of five highly experienced First Nations people, supported by a seven-person expert panel and a secretariat within the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure. The group is chaired by veteran media professional and Noongar woman Dot West, with researcher Lyndon Ormond-Parker, an Alyawarr man and coauthor of this article, as deputy chair.</p>
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<img alt="A group of nine people posing for a photograph." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Members of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group and the expert panel with Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland. Back row, left to right: Che Cockatoo-Collins, Neil Turner, Daniel Featherstone, Lyndon Ormond-Parker and Scott Winch. Front row, left to right: Lauren Ganley, Michelle Rowland, Dot West and Talei Elu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.gov.au/publications">advisory group’s initial report</a> was released by West, Rowland, and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney. This report follows the release of the federal government’s <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/first-nations-digital-inclusion-plan-2023-26">First Nations Digital Inclusion Plan</a> in July.</p>
<p>In the introduction to the report, West outlines the importance of Closing the Gap Target 17:</p>
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<p>Digital inclusion is a critical enabler for a vast array of other benefits, including health, education and social connectedness, as well as making sure First Nations people have access to the information they need to make decisions for themselves and their families.</p>
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<p>She describes the need for a collaborative approach to achieve this ambitious target. </p>
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<p>To meet Target 17 will require significant and new investment by governments in partnership with industry and those communities where the digital gap is most pronounced. The most effective approaches will be ones that reflect local priorities and are based on direct engagement with communities.</p>
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<p>In the report, the advisory group outlines a number of practical recommendations to help close the digital gap. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>providing affordable pre-paid mobile plans</p></li>
<li><p>improved access to government communications programs</p></li>
<li><p>fit-for-purpose connectivity options such as community wifi connections, prepaid NBN services, new satellite internet projects, and upgrades to improve TV access.</p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-communities-embrace-technology-but-they-have-unique-cyber-safety-challenges-69344">Aboriginal communities embrace technology, but they have unique cyber safety challenges</a>
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<p>Other recommendations are supporting the development of digital skills needed to safely and confidently use online services, and access to relevant news and media, including local First Nations services. </p>
<p>Improving national data collection for the 70% of First Nations people who live in urban and regional Australia, to measure progress, is another key recommendation. This builds on an earlier outcome of the advisory group’s advocacy, <a href="https://spatial.infrastructure.gov.au/portal/home/item.html?id=cebfe7afe0894bd9bda06edbd65b9d17">an interactive map of connectivity in First Nations communities</a>.</p>
<h2>Shared decision-making</h2>
<p>The National Agreement on Closing the Gap is built on a partnership approach between governments and First Nations people, which includes co-design and co-delivery of programs. </p>
<p>The first of the reforms at the centre of the agreement is to “strengthen and establish formal partnerships and shared decision-making”. If this reform is enacted by governments nationally, it is likely to lead to meaningful progress on Closing the Gap. </p>
<p>This advisory group provides an example of how First Nations leadership can provide practical, appropriate and evidence-based input on key policy areas that affect First Nations people and communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Featherstone is employed within the RMIT University node of the ARC funded Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (CE200100005). He leads the 'Mapping the Digital Gap' research project within the Australian Digital Inclusion Index team, both of which are primarily funded by Telstra. Daniel is also a member of the Expert Panel which support the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyndon Ormond-Parker is an Aboriginal man of Alyawarr descent from the Barkly Tablelands region of the Northern Territory. He currently holds a part-time ARC Discovery Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (IN220100008) with the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National University, and a part-time position as a Principal Research Fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (CE200100005), RMIT on the Telstra funded project Mapping the Digital Gap. He is also deputy chair of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group.</span></em></p>A new report shows how remote First Nations community face obstacles to digital inclusion – and what can be done to remove them.Daniel Featherstone, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLyndon Ormond-Parker, Principal Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2128582023-09-20T02:03:09Z2023-09-20T02:03:09Z‘Government all over us like a rash’: the broken service delivery system in remote Aboriginal communities<p>Indigenous people in remote and very remote communities in Australia tend to <a href="https://ctgreport.niaa.gov.au/sites/default/files/pdf/closing-the-gap-report-2020.pdf">experience</a> poorer health, education and employment services and outcomes compared to the general population.</p>
<p>To find out more about why this is happening, we brought together the main players in Aboriginal service delivery in the remote communities of the Kimberley in Western Australia to identify problems and discuss opportunities.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-in-the-kimberley-have-spent-decades-asking-for-basics-like-water-and-homes-will-the-voice-make-their-calls-more-compelling-202606">People in the Kimberley have spent decades asking for basics like water and homes. Will the Voice make their calls more compelling?</a>
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<h2>What we did</h2>
<p>In 2018 and 2019 we ran three workshops to discuss the roadblocks to Aboriginal development that service providers encounter in towns and remote communities of the Kimberley. </p>
<p>The first was with Aboriginal community organisation leaders, the second with public servants, and the final workshop with non-Aboriginal NGOs. </p>
<p>We decided to run separate workshops because we didn’t think it would be productive to put all sides in the same room together; we hypothesised the groups would be more likely to speak freely if they were separated. </p>
<p>By running each workshop separately, we found each sector enthusiastic to engage and discuss their aspirations as well as their frustrations. </p>
<p>We recorded each workshop and edited the transcripts down to the most insightful contributions, then arranged them under similar topics. </p>
<p>The result is <a href="https://doi.org/10.57981/c601-gd71">the book</a> Voices from the Frontline: Community leaders, government managers and NGO field staff talk about what’s wrong in Aboriginal development and what they are doing to fix it, published by the Nulungu Research Institute of the University of Notre Dame Australia.</p>
<p>We found all sides tended to identify the same systemic problems, rather than blame each other, when given the chance to discuss their work in a safe environment. </p>
<p>Some of their concerns included: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>excessive managerialism (having too many managers doing too much managing), reporting, and top-down direction</p></li>
<li><p>the inefficiencies and misdirection of resources through government’s creation of a false competitive market in Aboriginal services</p></li>
<li><p>the need to counter this by recognising the dedication of all local players to a shared goal</p></li>
<li><p>greater regional decision-making and cooperation. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>‘Governed by a bureaucrat who hasn’t seen a Blackfella in their life’</h2>
<p>Most of the Aboriginal contributors had worked in the field of community development for about 40 years – all their adult lives. </p>
<p>They remembered a time before the introduction of a bureaucratic management style that focused heavily on outsourcing, competition for service delivery contracts, and intrusive reporting on targets determined by people who live nowhere near the community.</p>
<p>The other contributors, newer on the scene, tended to accept this as just the way business is done. </p>
<p>All sides said managerialism – which they saw as private sector methods and ideologies applied in the public sector – and control of projects by bureaucrats in faraway cities were the major impediments to effective outcomes in Aboriginal development.</p>
<p>As one Aboriginal contributor put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My mother worked [in a state welfare department] and every day I had to go to work with her after school […] I can recall everybody being happy. I can recall a lot of social inclusion. I can recall a lot of discipline, respect. I can recall a lot of happy times growing up as a kid […] Today, for heaven’s sake, we can’t move. Government all over us like a rash. Today our lives are being governed by a bureaucrat who hasn’t seen a Blackfella in their life or haven’t spoken to one.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Cooperation should trump competition</h2>
<p>Competition for government contracts often provoked suspicion and antagonism from all sides involved in Aboriginal service development.</p>
<p>To counter it, all sides identified personal commitment as important. They saw personal commitment as going above and beyond, often directly counter to the direction they get from bureaucrats or NGO staff sitting in Perth and Canberra.</p>
<p>All sides believed greater regional cooperation – from design through to implementation of programmes – was an absolute necessity. </p>
<p>Worryingly, even the government middle managers felt there was no institutional support for this regional cooperation.</p>
<p>Encouragingly, participants said the formal relationship between First Nations peoples and settler Australians must be re-thought, re-stated and then reflected in government processes.</p>
<h2>No shortage of talent, good will and enthusiasm</h2>
<p>We gave our book the title <a href="https://doi.org/10.57981/c601-gd71">Voices from the Frontline</a> before the current debate over a constitutionally enshrined Voice got underway. </p>
<p>Yet the foreword by Elder and Yawuru man <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/about/university-executive/professor-peter-yu-am">Peter Yu</a> shows how relevant it is to that debate. He writes: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The referendum on a constitutionally enshrined First Nation Voice has brought national attention to the failure of Australia’s government system in addressing the appalling economic and social conditions experienced by First Nations people.</p>
<p>There is a nearly unanimous acknowledgement that the formal relationship between the Australian nation state and its First Nations people is faltering. </p>
<p>Through the voices of those directly involved, [<a href="https://doi.org/10.57981/c601-gd71">Voices from the Frontline</a>] presents a compelling case for change and serves as a call to action for all who wish to understand and address the pressing issues faced by First Nations communities in the Kimberley region and beyond.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a sentiment all of the contributors would have agreed with, whether government managers, Aboriginal leaders or NGO managers and field staff. </p>
<p>Our research shows there is plenty of talent, good will and enthusiasm out there. It just needs to be harnessed more effectively.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/countless-reports-show-water-is-undrinkable-in-many-indigenous-communities-why-has-nothing-changed-194447">Countless reports show water is undrinkable in many Indigenous communities. Why has nothing changed?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212858/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Sullivan received funding from the Australian Research Council for the research in this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Thorburn received funding for this project from the Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP160102250: Reciprocal Accountability and Public Value in Aboriginal Organisations.</span></em></p>One interviewee told us: ‘Today our lives are being governed by a bureaucrat who hasn’t seen a Blackfella in their life or haven’t spoken to one.’Patrick Sullivan, Professor, University of Notre Dame AustraliaKathryn Thorburn, Translational Fellow Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2100352023-08-10T20:29:09Z2023-08-10T20:29:09ZThe trauma caused by resettlement in Newfoundland and Labrador must be acknowledged<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538120/original/file-20230718-23-on95fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C17%2C1671%2C623&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pushthrough, N.L. in the early 1960s. It was resettled in 1969.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Conrad Hiscock and John Marsden)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-trauma-caused-by-resettlement-in-newfoundland-and-labrador-must-be-acknowledged" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Between 1954 and 1975, <a href="https://mha.mun.ca/mha/resettlement/">30,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians</a> resettled from hundreds of remote communities to larger towns. The relocations were part of a plan by the provincial and federal governments to move people to areas with better economic opportunities, social amenities and improved educational facilities.</p>
<p>Today, there are only a handful of isolated communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. The provincial government continues to provide relocation assistance if at least 75 per cent of residents vote to resettle elsewhere. Residents of Gaultois, N.L., the most recent community to vote on resettlement, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/gaultois-relocation-decision-1.6817787">did not reach the 75 per cent threshold needed to relocate</a>.</p>
<p>Most families that moved under earlier resettlement programs found employment, better schools and modern conveniences, such as running water, electricity and an end to their isolation. However, many also endured mental anguish and trauma from being thrust into new communities with little social or economic support. The governments that relocated them were not there to help them.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/resettlement-program.php">Resettlement</a> began as a provincial policy in Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1950s, and the Government of Canada joined the program in 1965, sharing the cost of resettling thousands of residents from small rural communities. </p>
<p>Resettled families did not receive adequate compensation for property such as land, sheds and fishing premises left behind, and were rarely provided with sufficient funds to build new lives in their new communities.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KgHR1gJiqtg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Newfoundland and Labrador still runs a relocation program aimed at saving the provincial government money in providing costly services to remote communities.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The resettlement of Pushthrough</h2>
<p>When our family resettled from Pushthrough, N.L. to Hermitage, N.L. in 1969, our mother received $2,428 from both governments. That covered half the cost of a new home purchased for $5,000. My grandmother received $1,200 for her home, outbuildings and land she left behind; certainly not enough to build a new home.</p>
<p>Our mother had no savings and the $240 cheque she received monthly from worker’s compensation after our father was killed in an industrial accident in 1966 was barely enough for the family to survive.</p>
<p>Finances were only one source of stress for resettlement families. Resettled people were uprooted and moved to new communities where they were regarded as outsiders for years. </p>
<p>The state did not seem to care. It never provided any mental or social supports for those thousands dealing with anxiety and stress of all sorts. Resettlement people were often victims and faced trauma and anxiety that were either dismissed or simply ignored.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540528/original/file-20230801-19-d61kxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white photo of a sea side town." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540528/original/file-20230801-19-d61kxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540528/original/file-20230801-19-d61kxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540528/original/file-20230801-19-d61kxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540528/original/file-20230801-19-d61kxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540528/original/file-20230801-19-d61kxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540528/original/file-20230801-19-d61kxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540528/original/file-20230801-19-d61kxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An undated black and white photo of the town of Pushthrough, N.L. Many families who relocated from communities like Pushthrough did not received the support they needed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Maritime History Archive, Memorial University)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Impacts of resettlement</h2>
<p>In 2017, <a href="https://www.saltwire.com/newfoundland-labrador/news/newfoundland-and-labradors-forced-resettlement-a-historic-injustice-brothers-say-170787">we wrote an article</a> about the Newfoundland resettlement program. We did not romanticize isolated Newfoundland communities. Nor did we lament the passing of those communities like Pushthrough.</p>
<p>As our article circulated, a large number of resettlement people reached out to us with their <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/forced-to-resettle-browne-1.4423073">riveting, often heart-wrenching stories</a>, recalling the trauma, hurt and anguish they experienced.</p>
<p>Many were children at the time, and they recounted stories of bullying, abuse and being othered in their new communities. Many dealt with their untenable situation by quitting school.</p>
<p>We heard from one woman teased relentlessly about her clothes and general appearance in her new school. Her lunch money was stolen regularly, she remembers, and the image of being “the laughing stock of the school” is seared permanently in her memory. </p>
<p>The bullying was so relentless her parents contacted the priest who then had the teacher place the young child in the back of the classroom, hoping she escaped the mocking mental abuse she endured. </p>
<p>“Looking back today,” she recalls, “it was bullying that I had encountered. I dropped out of school that same year and went to work on the fish plant. I could not take it anymore.”</p>
<p>Others related similar experiences that have plagued them all of their lives. Another individual who moved a short distance to a new town in Fortune Bay said it was like moving to a different world. She was only 12 when her family resettled and just two years later she was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer, all from worrying and loneliness. “I’m 60,” she said, “And I never really ever got over the trauma of resettlement.”</p>
<p>Another told us that his family moved in 1969 when their school closed, mail service stopped and the coastal boat ceased calling at their community. His family received just over $2,000 to move everything they owned. With that, they had to rebuild their lives in a new community.</p>
<p>Others remember living in houses that were no better than shacks or living in partially finished homes because their parents had not received enough in resettlement funds to complete their homes. Many houses were finished only when families could afford to purchase building materials.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540527/original/file-20230801-17-ljeulp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white photo of a church" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540527/original/file-20230801-17-ljeulp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540527/original/file-20230801-17-ljeulp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540527/original/file-20230801-17-ljeulp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540527/original/file-20230801-17-ljeulp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540527/original/file-20230801-17-ljeulp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540527/original/file-20230801-17-ljeulp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540527/original/file-20230801-17-ljeulp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An undated black and white photo of the town of Pushthrough, N.L. Resettled families did not receive adequate compensation for property and were rarely provided with sufficient funds to build new lives in their new communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Maritime History Archive, Memorial University)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Acknowledging consequences</h2>
<p>State planners in Ottawa and St. John’s <a href="https://heritagenl.ca/discover/provincial-historic-commemorations-program-designations/resettlement-under-the-smallwood-administration/">saw considerable benefit in resettlement in the 1960s and 1970s as they do today</a>. They believed redistributing the population would facilitate economic development and provide citizens living in what they considered non-viable outport communities with essential educational, medical and social services. </p>
<p>Today, the relocation policy is about saving the provincial government money in providing services, such as ferry connections, electricity and medical services, to remote communities.</p>
<p>There were improvements for many people who resettled, but also deep costs that the provincial and federal governments never considered.</p>
<p>It is time we understand the impact of resettlement on thousands of people relocated from their communities. Government policies can cause harm and leave a legacy of trauma and hurt, even if those actions occurred a generation ago. </p>
<p>The Newfoundland Resettlement Program had severe social consequences, and caused anguish that people are still dealing with to this day. Newfoundland and Labrador’s current community relocation program is different from what it was in the 1960s and 1970s but the consequences for those citizens who were resettled should not be forgotten by governments as communities continue to contemplate resettlement.</p>
<p><em>This article was co-authored by Hayward Blake, a former instructor and coordinator at the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210035/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raymond B. Blake receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Resettled families did not receive adequate compensation for property left behind and were rarely provided with sufficient funds to build new lives.Raymond B. Blake, Professor and Department Head, Department of History, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2040322023-06-14T03:49:04Z2023-06-14T03:49:04ZMany First Nations communities swelter without power. Why isn’t there solar on every rooftop?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531846/original/file-20230614-29-zdp3hb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C24%2C3995%2C2993&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Original Power</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over 3.4 million <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-01/rooftop-solar-to-overtake-coal-as-australias-main-power-source/102033740#:%7E:text=A%20new%20report%20from%20industry,business%20roofs%20across%20the%20country.">Australian houses</a> now have rooftop solar, often subsidised by <a href="https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/consumers/buying-solar/government-programs">government incentives</a>. </p>
<p>But in remote First Nations communities in the Northern Territory, you don’t see solar on any rooftops. That’s a real problem. This part of Australia is dangerously hot in summer. And many people don’t have enough power to run vital appliances like the fridge and air conditioner. </p>
<p>Solar would be an ideal solution. Tennant Creek has over 300 days per year of sunshine with some of the clearest skies in the world, for instance. </p>
<p>Only recently, co-author and Warumungu elder Frank Jupurrurla took part in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02831-4">first NT rooftop solar trial</a>, supported by <a href="http://originalpower.org.au">Original Power</a> and installed rooftop solar on his house. </p>
<p>As our new research found, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00049182.2023.2214959?src=">this pilot</a> worked well, supplying a third of the house’s power and ending the problem of power disconnecting. Previously, the power would go out once a month on average. After solar, it never went off. </p>
<p>So why isn’t this widely available? The main problems are red tape, such as getting approval for work on public housing, securing feed in tariffs and metering requirements. As Mr Jupurrurla’s experience demonstrates, they can all be overcome – but not easily. </p>
<p>As Frank Jupurrurla says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We call the sun Kilyirr […] Right now he’s shining on my panels, he’s giving me power, and he looks after us. So that Kilyirr, he gonna be there forever. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531851/original/file-20230614-27-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="solar trial tennant creek" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531851/original/file-20230614-27-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531851/original/file-20230614-27-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531851/original/file-20230614-27-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531851/original/file-20230614-27-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531851/original/file-20230614-27-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531851/original/file-20230614-27-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531851/original/file-20230614-27-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sun after red tape: Frank Jupurrurla (centre), with family members Serena and Nina-Simone (left) and Lauren Mellor (Original Power).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Original Power</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do remote communities get power at present?</h2>
<p>Prepaid electricity is used in many remote First Nations households across Australia, and in almost all town camps. In this model, people “top up” the meter with credit. When credit runs out, the electricity disconnects until more credit is purchased. The electricity here is often produced by diesel generators. </p>
<p>Despite the risk of sudden disconnection, this model is often preferred by many communities as it gives residents fewer surprise bills. The downside is it often leads to an unenviable choice – power or food. </p>
<p>For residents of Tennant Creek’s <a href="https://www.wilyajanta.org/warlinginchi-apa">town camps</a>, it is not uncommon to run out of credit on a hot day. The hotter the day, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00942-2">higher the chance</a> people will lose power. That’s because hotter weather forces air conditioners and fridges to work harder. </p>
<p>When the power goes off, food inside fridges starts to spoil. Essential medical devices such as oxygen concentrators stop operating. Medications can become inactive or even <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nursing/Citation/2019/08000/Can_medications_become_harmful_after_the.4.aspx">toxic</a>. </p>
<p>Air conditioners stop working and temperatures rise. On very hot days, the inside of a house gets well over 40°C. Children and adults can’t sleep. Going to school gets harder. Not only are these conditions unsafe, they can drive <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00210-2/fulltext">social disharmony</a>. </p>
<p>As Frank Jupurrurla says: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We struggle every day. Our people, they’re not healthy. Lots of people in this town are on renal [dialysis]. Solar should be talked about in parliament and put on the table.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Did the trial help?</h2>
<p>A 6.6 kilowatt solar array was installed on Mr Jupurrurla’s house and switched on in November 2021. The house kept its grid connection and no battery was installed. Household residents received a crash course from the installers, First Nations organisation <a href="http://originalpower.org.au">Original Power</a>, on making the most of the solar for example by running the washing machine during daylight hours. </p>
<p>The result? Solar generates a third of the total power use in any given month. But more importantly, through reducing energy costs, disconnections stopped entirely. This removed a huge source of stress and made the home safer and more enjoyable, according to the family. </p>
<p>As Mr Jupurrurla says: “We used to put a lot of power cards in nearly every day, second day. Now we got money all the time since we’ve got solar.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531849/original/file-20230614-28-7916dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="solar install trial tennant creek" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531849/original/file-20230614-28-7916dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531849/original/file-20230614-28-7916dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531849/original/file-20230614-28-7916dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531849/original/file-20230614-28-7916dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531849/original/file-20230614-28-7916dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531849/original/file-20230614-28-7916dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531849/original/file-20230614-28-7916dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Installation took a fraction of the time to get approvals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Original Power</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Solar is a great solution – but only if it’s made easy</h2>
<p>It sounds simple: install a 6.6kW array and see what difference it made. After all, people in the cities can do this routinely. </p>
<p>But it’s harder far from the cities, and harder still when different government departments have to sign off. As Mr Jupurrurla describes: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The barriers was from the day we started. Before that, we’d argue with [Department of] Housing, and they said we have to check inside and check if the house is strong enough. Once we had the panels on, then it took us a while to [turn] it on. It was pretty frustrating. It took Power and Water more than three months just to switch the switch on. It was so hard. I rang the housing minister but nothing happened. So one day I just went out there to the box and switched it on myself </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Installing solar here meant overcoming regulatory barriers such as securing feed-in tariffs for excess power produced, ensuring the public housing is high-quality enough to host solar, and the question of ownership of the panels. </p>
<p>The NT housing department required an engineer’s sign off on the roof’s structural integrity, as this can’t be assumed for remote public housing. </p>
<p>As Mr Jupurrurla’s experience demonstrates, these barriers can be overcome – but not easily. </p>
<h2>What’s stopping a wider rollout?</h2>
<p>Our trial shows solar can work well for remote communities. The timing is good, as the ongoing roll-out of smart prepay meters means most remote First Nations houses in the NT are able to <a href="https://www.securemeters.com/au/product/smart-prepayment-electricity/direct-connected-meter-smart-prepayment-electricity/liberty-120/">handle solar</a>. </p>
<p>For this to gain momentum, the NT government must find ways to overcome these barriers. The Territory government has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-04/nt-supreme-court-finds-for-santa-teresa-public-housing-tenants/100804718">responsibilities</a> as both the landlord for <a href="https://tfhc.nt.gov.au/housing-and-homelessness">housing</a> and as the <a href="https://www.powerwater.com.au/">monopoly energy provider</a>. </p>
<p>A key first step would be to smooth the path with clear paperwork and incentives for prepay households to install solar. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531850/original/file-20230614-4630-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="northern territory remote community" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531850/original/file-20230614-4630-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531850/original/file-20230614-4630-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531850/original/file-20230614-4630-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531850/original/file-20230614-4630-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531850/original/file-20230614-4630-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531850/original/file-20230614-4630-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531850/original/file-20230614-4630-exhvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No solar to be seen: remote communities in the Northern Territory often lack reliable power.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just as in the cities, encouraging solar will require financial incentives to offset the upfront cost, with <a href="https://www.highwaylearning.com/translation/powerstory/videos/PowerStory-Luritja.mp4">culturally appropriate</a> resources available in First Nations languages to explain the process. </p>
<p>Feed-in tariffs have long driven demand for solar for many homeowners. Ensuring remote communities are eligible will be vital. </p>
<p>Australian households are world leaders in taking up solar. But for too long, the ability to generate your own power from the sun has been off limits to many of the people who would benefit the most. </p>
<p>This year is an excellent time to correct this, as the federal government works towards a co-designed <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/government-priorities/energy-and-climate-change-ministerial-council/priorities/national-energy-transformation-partnership/first-nations-clean-energy-strategy">First Nations Clean Energy Strategy</a> and the NT government’s plans for <a href="https://territoryrenewableenergy.nt.gov.au/strategies-and-plans/electricity-system-plans#Remote-power-system-strategy">better power solutions</a> in remote communities. </p>
<p>As Frank Jupurrurla says: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’d like to see government fund […] panels on homes. Especially in the Community Living Areas [Town Camps] in places like Alice Springs, Tenant Creek, and Katherine.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-is-turning-remote-indigenous-houses-into-dangerous-hot-boxes-184328">How climate change is turning remote Indigenous houses into dangerous hot boxes</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204032/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Quilty is affiliated with a community project, Wilya Janta, that is progressing better housing design with greater Indigenous agency in Tennant Creek. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brad Riley is a Research Fellow at the ANU Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research working on the ANU Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific Grand Challenge.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Some of the data referenced in this article (specifically mapping locations where prepayment is not prohibited) was collected as part of a project funded under grant ARFEB22001 by Energy Consumers Australia Limited (<a href="http://www.energyconsumersaustralia.com.au">www.energyconsumersaustralia.com.au</a>) as part of its grants process for consumer advocacy projects and research projects for the benefit of consumers of electricity and natural gas. The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the views of Energy Consumers Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norman Frank Jupurrurla does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s 2023 and residents in remote First Nations communities still suffer from regular power disconnections. The fix is simple: put solar on every roof. But there are challenges to overcome first.Simon Quilty, Senior Staff Specialist, Alice Springs Hospital. Purple House Medical Advisor. Honorary ANU., Australian National UniversityBrad Riley, Research Fellow, Australian National UniversityLee White, Fellow, Australian National UniversityNorman Frank Jupurrurla, Warumungu Elder and Director of the Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation, Tennant Creek, Indigenous KnowledgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1944472022-11-15T19:08:37Z2022-11-15T19:08:37ZCountless reports show water is undrinkable in many Indigenous communities. Why has nothing changed?<p>Tap water in more than 500 remote Indigenous communities isn’t regularly tested and often isn’t safe to drink, according to a <a href="https://www.wsaa.asn.au/news/gaps-fill-ensure-safe-drinking-water-first-nations-communities">water industry report</a> released last week. In some communities, drinking water contained unacceptable levels of uranium, arsenic, fluoride and nitrate. </p>
<p>While these findings are dire, they aren’t news to us. There have been myriad reports over the years on the poor status of safe drinking water in Australia’s remote communities all pointing to inequity of essential services with implications for health. But little has been done to rectify this. </p>
<p>Safe drinking water is a basic human right, no matter where people live. First Nations communities have campaigned for decades for clean water on their Country. As Alyawarre Elders, Jackie Mahoney and Pam Corbett, from Alpurrurulam community in the Northern Territory explained during the report’s launch:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>That’s why we’re fighting for this water. It’s not only for us, it’s for them too […] For our old people who fought before us and our kids’ future.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A bureaucratic inquiry cycle</h2>
<p>The new report, by Water Services Association of Australia, is the latest to detail this <a href="https://s3.treasury.qld.gov.au/files/Service-delivery-Final-Report.pdf">ongoing health crisis</a>. Water can be both unsafe to drink (unpotable) and unacceptable to drink due to taste, colour and feel (unpalatable).</p>
<p>Its findings are consistent with a report by the <a href="https://audit.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Report-25_Delivering-Essential-Services-to-Remote-Aboriginal-Communities-%E2%80%93-Follow-up.pdf">Western Australian Auditor General</a> last year. It found 37 communities had an unfit drinking water supply due to contamination by microbes (bacteria and viruses), nitrates or uranium – and there had been no improvement since the issue was reported in 2015. </p>
<p>Similarly, a research paper published earlier this year found drinking water supplied to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-022-00174-1">25,000 people in 99 small communities</a> in 2018-19 didn’t pass <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-drinking-water-guidelines">Australian guidelines</a>. </p>
<p>Numerous other reports have delivered similar findings. For example, <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/review-water-report-case-study-communities">a report in 1994</a> by the Australian Human Rights Commission examined ten communities and the condition of water and sanitation services, highlighting specific areas of concern. </p>
<p>In 2018, a <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/sdg-voluntary-national-review.pdf">review</a> of Australia’s progress on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals confirmed that many remote communities don’t have the same level of access to water and sanitation services as urban centres, with flow-on effects to human health. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-voices-are-missing-from-the-murray-darling-basin-crisis-110769">Aboriginal voices are missing from the Murray-Darling Basin crisis</a>
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<p>And in 2020, a <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/water-reform-2020/report">Productivity Commission report</a> proposed new objectives to deliver safe and reliable drinking water in remote communities, noting the additional stressor of climate change. </p>
<p>These earlier reports show the drinking water crisis was identified decades ago. Last week’s report reveals not much has changed. </p>
<h2>Not every tap delivers safe water</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:eb2c434">reasons for undrinkable water</a> in remote communities are multiple and interlinked. We can group them into four broad areas.</p>
<p>The first is <a href="https://iwaponline.com/washdev/article/9/3/429/67784/Challenges-of-WASH-in-remote-Australian-Indigenous">physical</a>. This is when the original water source (from the surface or groundwater) may be contaminated with excess levels of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1745-5871.12308?casa_token=3KUBp-eu0SwAAAAA%3AVG2wfQ7_eu4nUs3tCHwRxet4_atlntf335x6mAqBmXvldzyp8hHFgE1ftTHPemny3IMU7lydnptUXsh7">chemicals</a>, such as agricultural or industrial chemicals. </p>
<p>The water may also have biological contaminants due to <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085856">hot weather</a> or faeces from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13241583.2021.1932280">birds and other animals</a>, increasing microbial growth. </p>
<p>And freshwater may become contaminated with salt as the <a href="https://www.tsra.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/12372/TS-Regional-Adaptation-and-Resillience-Plan-Final.pdf">sea level rises</a> and affects natural freshwater wells. This is a major issue for some Torres Strait islands. </p>
<p>The second issue is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1745-5871.12308?casa_token=3KUBp-eu0SwAAAAA%3AVG2wfQ7_eu4nUs3tCHwRxet4_atlntf335x6mAqBmXvldzyp8hHFgE1ftTHPemny3IMU7lydnptUXsh7">technical</a>. Local water operators are located remotely, and don’t always get appropriate resources, training and support. </p>
<p>Third, there are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13241583.2021.1932280">financial</a> issues. It’s very expensive to deliver essential services, including water, to remote community councils within large states. For example, in Queensland’s <a href="https://www.yarrabah.qld.gov.au/deed-of-grant-in-trust-dogit/">remote Indigenous councils</a>, these services are typically funded sporadically via short-term grants. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/some-remote-australian-communities-have-drinking-water-for-only-nine-hours-a-day-86933">Some remote Australian communities have drinking water for only nine hours a day</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>The final issue is <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0036/918918/Remote-community-water-management-Beal-et-al-2019-Final-Report-1.pdf">social</a> and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/11/2410">governance</a>. Water needs and practices on a cultural level are often poorly understood by service providers.</p>
<p>For example, during the recent drought, <a href="https://theconversation.com/some-remote-australian-communities-have-drinking-water-for-only-nine-hours-a-day-86933">severe water restrictions</a> left remote communities without treated and accessible water for hours on end, every day. This not only limited water available for drinking, but also for cultural events such as sorry camps (when the community mourns a loss).</p>
<h2>A system that’s fit for purpose, place and people</h2>
<p>A feature of successful sustainable water in remote communities is to <a href="https://www.rrh.org.au/journal/article/6565">tailor initiatives</a> for each location. Such initiatives would be <a href="https://iwaponline.com/washdev/article/9/3/429/67784/Challenges-of-WASH-in-remote-Australian-Indigenous">shaped by</a> available local staff, water sources, cultural and governance structures and types of pollutants. </p>
<p>All external partners should aim to build <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13241583.2022.2083052">long-term working relationships</a> with the communities to avoid the “new face syndrome”. This is a common experience where different representatives visit communities without consistency, inhibiting long-term and trusted working relationships. </p>
<p>Sufficient funding will also be crucial for ongoing, sustainable delivery, with the ambition that water quality is the same as urban supplies. </p>
<p>And additional stressors, especially water insecurity <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Climate-Council-Water-Security-Report.pdf">due to climate change</a>, need to be incorporated into water supply and related energy and sanitation planning. </p>
<p>Importantly, all remote essential service delivery and management actions, including water, need to be undertaken <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/427">collaboratively</a>. They should be led and authored by <a href="https://globalwaterforum.org/2022/10/27/remote-indigenous-community-water-and-sanitation-efforts-by-the-australian-water-sector-efforts-to-close-the-equity-gap/">First Nations researchers</a>, and draw from community strengths and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14486563.2019.1650837">knowledge</a> wherever possible. </p>
<p>This shifts water service efforts being <em>for</em> communities, to being <em>with</em> communities. Indeed, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13241583.2022.2083052">cultural sensitivity and guidance</a> is essential to ensure mutual respect and learning forms the basis of all supply delivery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ipcc-reports-still-exclude-indigenous-voices-come-join-us-at-our-sacred-fires-to-find-answers-to-climate-change-178045">IPCC reports still exclude Indigenous voices. Come join us at our sacred fires to find answers to climate change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In keeping with this cultural awareness is an action-based commitment by water suppliers to develop and thoroughly implement “<a href="https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation-action-plans/">Reconciliation Action Plans</a>”. These are plans in organisations aimed at embedding meaningful actions to advance relationships, respect and opportunities with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.</p>
<p>These plans should include Indigenous-led, co-designed solutions throughout the process. They should be achievable and place-based, however challenging that may be for water utilities and organisations.</p>
<h2>Walking the talk</h2>
<p>The Water Services Association of Australia’s report was launched by Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney in Parliament this month. This was a powerful call to action on safe drinking water for all Australians to protect health, uphold human rights and implement sustainable development. </p>
<p>It is the responsibility of water service providers and their industry advocates to step up beyond their Reconciliation Action Plan obligations and “walk the talk” to collaborate with communities. </p>
<p>Let’s hope the next report on remote drinking water provision will describe successful and sustainable outcomes. </p>
<p><em>This article was co-authored with Charles Agnew, a water scientist.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bradley J. Moggridge is affiliated with the University of Canberra, is a Governor with WWF Australia and a Member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cara Beal receives funding from the Australian Research Council for research in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities. She is a member of the Australian Water Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nina Lansbury is an IPCC Lead Author and receives funding from the NHMRC for environmental health research in remote communities.</span></em></p>A new report finds tap water in more than 500 remote Indigenous communities isn’t regularly tested. But here’s why this isn’t news to us.Bradley J. Moggridge, Associate Professor in Indigenous Water Science, University of CanberraCara D. Beal, Associate Professor/ Principal Research Fellow, Griffith UniversityNina Lansbury, Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1888002022-08-25T02:07:17Z2022-08-25T02:07:17ZNot all of us have access to safe drinking water. This clever rainwater collector can change that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480511/original/file-20220823-16-3y940v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=730%2C0%2C2724%2C2658&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Igor Batenev/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Access to clean drinking water is fundamental to our health and wellbeing, and a universal human right. But almost 200,000 Australians are still forced to use <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-11/remote-water-quality-doesnt-meet-health-guidelines-indigenous/101318826">water contaminated with unsafe levels</a> of various chemicals and bacteria. The situation is especially dire in remote areas.</p>
<p>To tackle this issue, we have developed an <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214714421004050">integrated rainwater harvesting unit</a> at Western Sydney University (WSU).</p>
<p>This simple system can produce safe drinking water for households and communities in remote areas. It’s cheap, easy to use, and could improve the lives of thousands of people.</p>
<h2>Far from city life</h2>
<p>In large Australian cities, we are used to turning on the tap – clean, plentiful water is always there, coming from the central water supply. We also take for granted the use of potable water for other uses, such as car washing, gardening and laundry.</p>
<p>But in rural and remote Australia, communities must develop <a href="https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/444616/safe-water-rural-properties.pdf">private water supply systems</a> to get safe drinking water from other sources. These can be rainwater, groundwater, surface water and “carted water” – treated water from a supplier.</p>
<p>Among these sources, harvested rainwater is considered to be the second-safest option after mains supply, according to the private water supply <a href="https://www.health.vic.gov.au/water/private-drinking-water">risk hierarchy chart</a>. So, many residents in rural and remote Australia are using rainwater for their needs.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Chart showing water source risk, in order from lowest to highest: mains water, rainwater, deep groundwater, shallow groundwater, and surface water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480979/original/file-20220825-22-4t8j0t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480979/original/file-20220825-22-4t8j0t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=291&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480979/original/file-20220825-22-4t8j0t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=291&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480979/original/file-20220825-22-4t8j0t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=291&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480979/original/file-20220825-22-4t8j0t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480979/original/file-20220825-22-4t8j0t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480979/original/file-20220825-22-4t8j0t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sources of drinking water can be charted according to the health risk level they pose.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Victorian Department of Health</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But rainwater isn’t always safe to drink without adequate treatment, as it <a href="https://www.health.vic.gov.au/water/rainwater">can be contaminated</a> from various sources, including air pollution, runoff chemicals, animal droppings, and more.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bushfires-threaten-drinking-water-safety-the-consequences-could-last-for-decades-129353">Bushfires threaten drinking water safety. The consequences could last for decades</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Unknown water quality</h2>
<p>In Australia, <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/remote-australians-lack-access-to-quality-drinking-water">roughly 400 remote or regional communities</a> don’t have access to good quality drinking water, and 40% of those are Indigenous communities.</p>
<p>According to a 2022 drinking water quality report by Australian National University researchers, at least 627,736 people in 408 rural locations have drinking water that doesn’t meet at least one of the standards set by the <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-drinking-water-guidelines">Australian Drinking Water Guidelines</a>.</p>
<p>Although the <a href="https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/profiles/australia/indicators">2022 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals progress report</a> declares that 100% of the Australian population has access to safe and affordable drinking water, it seems this report <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-022-00174-1">excluded about 8% of the population</a> living in regional and remote areas.</p>
<p>The issue could be <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-11/remote-water-quality-doesnt-meet-health-guidelines-indigenous/101318826">even more widespread</a> due to lack of adequate testing.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/your-drinking-water-could-be-saltier-than-you-think-even-if-you-live-in-a-capital-106054">Your drinking water could be saltier than you think (even if you live in a capital)</a>
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<h2>Better options are available</h2>
<p>Our low-cost <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214714421004050">rainwater harvesting unit</a> can produce safe drinking water that meets Australian guidelines, particularly maintaining <em>Escherichia coli</em> and nitrate levels below the recommended limits.</p>
<p>Most importantly, the system is integrated, which means it both collects rainwater, and treats it to be safe for household use. </p>
<p>The system is sustainable, uses locally available materials (such as gravel, sand, charcoal, limestone and stainless steel wire mesh or even cheesecloth), needs minimal maintenance, and is simple to operate. Communities can be trained to use these water systems regardless of technological skill level.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480496/original/file-20220823-14-sl89yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A wire diagram of how the various materials can be layered to make a filter, and a photo of a grey cylinder with a long tube coming out the top" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480496/original/file-20220823-14-sl89yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480496/original/file-20220823-14-sl89yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480496/original/file-20220823-14-sl89yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480496/original/file-20220823-14-sl89yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480496/original/file-20220823-14-sl89yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480496/original/file-20220823-14-sl89yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480496/original/file-20220823-14-sl89yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A filtration unit can be attached to an existing rainwater harvesting tank or integrated into a new system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s also affordable. The cost of the drinking water produced through this system would be just over 1 cent per litre, according to a recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652620324847">technical and financial feasibility analysis</a>.</p>
<h2>Ready to use, with improvements on the way</h2>
<p>Despite their simplicity, these rainwater filter systems don’t even have to be confined to individual households – we can scale them up so entire communities can benefit.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480517/original/file-20220823-3901-lg55ej.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Schematic showing how individual houses can be linked to a large common tank that uses the water filtering system" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480517/original/file-20220823-3901-lg55ej.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480517/original/file-20220823-3901-lg55ej.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480517/original/file-20220823-3901-lg55ej.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480517/original/file-20220823-3901-lg55ej.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480517/original/file-20220823-3901-lg55ej.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480517/original/file-20220823-3901-lg55ej.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480517/original/file-20220823-3901-lg55ej.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An example of scaling the integrated rainwater collecting system to community level.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/11/1763">case study</a> has proved this in both developed and developing countries. Our collaborators in Bangladesh made the first move to adopt this technology, supplying safe drinking water to student accommodation at the Khulna University of Engineering & Technology.</p>
<p>We are also working on improvements. For example, we are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102542">building an automated system</a> that can monitor the water quality from the unit regularly and adjust disinfectant dosing to keep it safe for drinking. We’re also developing a method for the system to sense when the filter materials need cleaning, and even start this process automatically.</p>
<p>In Australia, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6988377/">there is a clear need</a> to improve water quality in remote communities. Adopting our simple rainwater filtering system would help communities to produce safe drinking water at minimum cost, and the WSU team is ready to work with local shire councils and groups from different remote communities to transfer the knowledge.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-clean-drinking-water-into-remote-indigenous-communities-means-overcoming-city-thinking-106701">Getting clean drinking water into remote Indigenous communities means overcoming city thinking</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188800/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ataur Rahman received funding from Halal Australia NSW Pty Ltd to carry out the initial experimental study. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Md Abdul Alim and Zhong Tao do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rainwater is a vital resource in many communities, but it’s not always safe to use. This sustainable and cheap invention could help many households in remote areas.Md Abdul Alim, Associate lecturer, Western Sydney UniversityAtaur Rahman, Professor, Western Sydney UniversityZhong Tao, Professor, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1722432021-12-03T00:42:19Z2021-12-03T00:42:19ZSafe, respected and free from violence: preventing violence against women in the Northern Territory<p>The Northern Territory has the <a href="https://territoryfamilies.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/464775/Domestic,-Family-and-Sexual-Violence-Reduction-Framework.pdf">highest rates</a> of domestic, family, and sexual violence in Australia. </p>
<p>Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory are among the most <a href="https://territoryfamilies.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/464775/Domestic,-Family-and-Sexual-Violence-Reduction-Framework.pdf">victimised groups</a> of people in the entire world.</p>
<p>Programs and services in the Northern Territory attempting to address these unacceptable levels of violence must do so with little support and funding.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/project/safe-respected-and-free-from-violence-an-evaluation-of-primary-prevention-projects/">A recent report</a> evaluated two community projects that aim to prevent violence against women by changing attitudes towards women and girls.</p>
<p>It found these Indigenous-led community projects were having some success in helping to shift attitudes about gender stereotypes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/womens-police-stations-in-australia-would-they-work-for-all-women-165873">Women's police stations in Australia: would they work for 'all' women?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Community-driven prevention projects</h2>
<p>The Tangentyere women’s group, a group of senior Aboriginal women from Alice Springs town camps that campaigns against family violence, has run two prevention projects that were recently evaluated: <a href="https://www.tangentyere.org.au/girls-can-boys-can">Girls Can Boys Can</a> and <a href="https://www.italkstudios.com.au/oldwaysarestrong/">Old Ways Are Strong</a>. These projects aimed to increase positive strength-based representations of Aboriginal children and families.</p>
<p>Both of these projects were developed in partnership between the <a href="https://www.tangfamilyviolenceprevention.com.au/">Tangentyere Family Violence Prevention Program</a>, Larapinta Child and Family Centre, and iTalk Studio. The projects were also co-designed with Town Campers in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.</p>
<p>These prevention projects focused on the drivers of violence against Aboriginal women, such as:</p>
<p>• gendered factors, including gender inequality</p>
<p>• the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal people, families and communities</p>
<p>• the power imbalance between non-Indigenous people and Aboriginal people, including systemic and structural inequalities. </p>
<p>Girls Can Boys Can developed gender-equitable messaging and resources for early childhood educators to be used in classroom and playgroup settings. This messaging aimed to help structure conversations around gender equality and challenge gender stereotypes. </p>
<p>Old Ways Are Strong developed animations to challenge the racist attitude that violence is a part of traditional Aboriginal cultures. </p>
<p>The messages and resources from these projects were distributed throughout the community through workshops, merchandise and posters, as well as across social media and local television networks. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-nations-kids-make-up-about-20-of-missing-children-but-get-a-fraction-of-the-media-coverage-171666">First Nations kids make up about 20% of missing children, but get a fraction of the media coverage</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How the programs were evaluated</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/project/safe-respected-and-free-from-violence-an-evaluation-of-primary-prevention-projects/">The evaluation</a> of these programs involved 60 surveys with local community members and 16 interviews with project staff. There were also 110 social media surveys, 18 animation audience surveys and 36 training feedback surveys. </p>
<p>The data from the surveys and interviews was compared to the data collected before the projects began (the baseline) to see whether they had any impact on people’s attitudes, beliefs and/or knowledge about gender, violence and Aboriginal cultures. These are three key findings:</p>
<p><strong>1. Violence prevention staff lacks training and funding</strong></p>
<p>The evaluation showed workforce capacity grew considerably through the projects. Most project staff were early childhood educators or working in learning centres, while some worked in specialist domestic, family, and sexual violence services. </p>
<p>Staff knowledge about violence against women, its drivers, and how to prevent it increased dramatically through their work on the projects. </p>
<p>However, the evaluation also found Northern Territory primary prevention work (which focuses on the causes of violence) receives limited funding, and there is also no funding for the workforce itself.</p>
<p>As a result, the staff do this prevention work on top of their usual roles. They were continuing to teach their classes or support women experiencing violence, while also planning and delivering primary prevention workshops. </p>
<p>As an analogy, this is akin to a doctor in the emergency department dealing with car crash casualties while also producing resources that explain the importance of wearing a seat belt. </p>
<p>The project staff essentially learned about violence prevention on the job. They received little or no prior training and received no support outside of the partner organisations. They also reported high levels of burnout and vicarious trauma, and felt unsupported in their primary prevention work. </p>
<p>One key participant reflected:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>That’s generally how the roles transpire is that you do end up in a crisis response mode, rather than being given the tools to (actually do) that work.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1371717694882410499"}"></div></p>
<p><strong>2. Explicit direct messaging could shift people’s attitudes</strong></p>
<p>A small number of the survey participants, who were mostly from Alice Springs Town Camps, were surveyed at the beginning and end of the evaluation. Although the sample size was small, there was a shift in their attitudes towards gender roles. </p>
<p>In the baseline survey, the respondents said things such as “girls can’t play footy” or “boys can’t cry”. In the survey at the end, 90% of the respondents demonstrated at least one positive shift toward the idea that girls/women and boys/men can do the same things.</p>
<p>The most positive changes were found among respondents who had a high level of participation in the projects. This perhaps shows repeated and intensive messaging is needed for messages to resonate among people.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-all-mens-violence-prevention-programs-are-effective-why-womens-voices-need-to-be-included-167639">Not all men's violence prevention programs are effective: why women's voices need to be included</a>
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<p><strong>3. How ‘jealousing’ is used to justify violence</strong></p>
<p>The surveys also showed a high proportion of respondents justified violence against women in certain situations (44% in the baseline group, and 52% in the post-project group). It’s important to note these groups were made up of mostly different people. </p>
<p>The justification of violence was linked to jealousy or “jealousing”. Respondents were more likely to justify violence in cases or situations associated with real or imagined sexual misconduct, for example, if a woman comes home late or looks at another man. Said one participant:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s not alright (to use violence), but a lot of (jealous violence) does happen. A woman shouldn’t be texting another man if they have feelings for her.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The surveys showed how this concept of “jealousing” plays out in gendered ways. For men in particular, perceived sexual entitlement might play a role in justifying violence and coercive and controlling behaviour. </p>
<p>Although the projects were not targeted at the problem of “jealousing”, this finding could provide direction for future work.</p>
<h2>How can we improve violence prevention programs?</h2>
<p>The evaluation showed the importance of explicit and direct messaging – or “talking straight” as it’s called in Central Australia. Messaging about gender-based violence that was implied but not explicitly stated had less of an impact. </p>
<p>In future projects, explicit and accessible messaging should be used to challenge highly entrenched attitudes and beliefs, such as the misconception that traditional Aboriginal cultures condone violence against women. </p>
<p>The link between “jealousing” and justification of violence highlighted the need for education about healthy relationships in schools and communities. Explicit messaging must challenge the notion that possessiveness is “normal”, acceptable or even “desirable” in a partner.</p>
<p>This is one of the most important and urgent issues for the domestic, family, and sexual violence sector to tackle in the Northern Territory.</p>
<p>Funding for dedicated primary prevention workers is also important. These workers need a commitment from different levels of government to adequately fund, resource, and support their work. </p>
<p><em>Carmel Simpson, co-coordinator of Women’s Family Safety Group, Tangentyere Council, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chay Brown receives funding from ANROWS and the Gender Institute at the Australian National University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shirleen Campbell is affiliated with
tANGENTYERE WONEMS SAFETY GROUP.</span></em></p>The Northern Territory has the highest rates of domestic, family, and sexual violence in Australia. The Tangentyere women’s group shows how prevention projects can address gender inequality.Chay Brown, Research and Partnerships Manager, The Equality Institute, & Postdoctoral fellow, Australian National UniversityShirleen Campbell, Co-coordinator of Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group, Indigenous KnowledgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1645512021-08-16T04:26:12Z2021-08-16T04:26:12Z‘Don’t leave the esky in the sun’: how to get cold vaccines to hot, remote Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416139/original/file-20210814-27-iq6h8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C4%2C997%2C658&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/off-road-track-outback-683939944">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s a <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-update-nsw-pfizer-covid-vaccine-shipment-for-walgett-and-other-regional-towns-in-lockdown/78193137-f185-420e-b6d1-88a3f18aa7a2">rush to vaccinate</a> vulnerable remote Aboriginal communities in New South Wales after spread of the coronavirus out of metropolitan areas has led to a state-wide lockdown.</p>
<p>So focus is turning to how quickly we can get COVID-19 vaccines over vast distances, far from vaccine warehouses in the cities, into remote Australians’ arms.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1425758379201290246"}"></div></p>
<p>But transporting vaccines to remote Australia isn’t new. Nor are the challenges that must be overcome to keep vaccines at the right temperature on the long and bumpy journey to remote clinics. </p>
<p>Here are some of the practical issues nurses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners, community health workers, pharmacists and others face when vaccines are transported vast distances by road, air or on water.</p>
<h2>It’s a long way</h2>
<p>The vast distances and isolated communities of remote Australia pose significant challenges to transporting vaccines. Then there are the environmental extremes, with freezing winter nights and scorching summer days, plus monsoonal rains and cyclones often interrupting transport services and making regions inaccessible for weeks. </p>
<p>Keeping vaccines at the right temperature over large distances, over days and weeks, can be challenging. But vaccines are temperature-sensitive products, and their effectiveness is dependent on correct storage. If a vaccine is too hot or too cold it may be damaged and not work as well.</p>
<p>So it’s critical to keep vaccines at the right temperature to ensure their safety and efficacy.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1403230641064497153"}"></div></p>
<p>For non-COVID vaccines and the <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/vaccine/Pages/az-refrigerator-to-administration.aspx">AstraZeneca COVID vaccine</a>, the recommended cold chain — between 2°C and 8°C — must be maintained from the place of manufacture to administration in the community.</p>
<p>However, transport and storage requirements for the Pfizer COVID vaccine are different. Unopened vials of the vaccine <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/media-release/wider-storage-and-transportation-conditions-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-now-approved">need to be stored</a> and transported at domestic freezer temperatures, between -25°C and -15°C, for up to two weeks. </p>
<p>Unopened vials may also be stored at domestic refrigerator temperatures, between 2°C to 8°C, for up to five days. Once a Pfizer vaccine has thawed it should not be re-frozen.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cracking-the-cold-chain-challenge-is-key-to-making-vaccines-ubiquitous-99329">Cracking the cold chain challenge is key to making vaccines ubiquitous</a>
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<p>Keeping vaccines <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-vaccine-storage-guidelines-strive-for-5">in the recommended temperature range</a> over long distances often means styrofoam boxes and regular eskies are inadequate, particularly when the transit time is likely to be three to four days. Transporting vaccines to remote Australia requires special infrastructure, including dedicated <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/immunisation/health-professionals/storing-handling-and-administering-vaccines">vaccine fridges and insulated containers</a>.</p>
<p>If there’s a cold-chain breach, when vaccines are exposed to temperatures outside the recommended range, the vaccines may become damaged and might need to be thrown away and replaced. </p>
<p>Such breaches are estimated to have cost the Australian health system <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/tip-of-the-cold-chain-iceberg-vaccines-worth-26-mi">at least A$25.9 million</a> in replacement vaccines over a five-year period. This estimate is pre-COVID, so the figure is likely higher if we take into account any cold-chain breaches with COVID vaccines.</p>
<p>There is a significant risk <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-842X.1996.tb01084.x">of this happening</a> in remote Australia.</p>
<h2>All staff need to be aware</h2>
<p>All staff involved in the vaccination process, from manufacture to transport to administration, must understand the need to <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-vaccine-storage-guidelines-strive-for-5">maintain the cold chain</a> and the risks associated with cold chain breaches. </p>
<p>This includes knowing the correct way to pack the vaccines in an insulated container (such as a vaccine cold box, esky or styrofoam box), using temperature monitors, and what to do when there’s a cold-chain breach.</p>
<p>However, there are few training materials dealing with vaccine cold chain in remote Australia. And with high staff turnover, it’s difficult to know everyone in the chain has the right training.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-nations-people-urgently-need-to-get-vaccinated-but-are-not-being-consulted-on-the-rollout-strategy-164067">First Nations people urgently need to get vaccinated, but are not being consulted on the rollout strategy</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>We made a video</h2>
<p>A team at Flinders University collaborated with Irene Nangala — a Pintupi elder and director of Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation (<a href="https://www.purplehouse.org.au">Purple House</a>), an Aboriginal community controlled organisation in Alice Springs — to make a short educational video called Vaccine Story.</p>
<p>The video depicts the journey a vaccine takes from a supply centre to a remote Australian community in a culturally appropriate manner. </p>
<p>This freely available video is especially useful for non-clinical staff, who may not otherwise receive professional training or updates.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/338754911" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Vaccine Story follows an esky full of vaccines from the city to remote Australia.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Transport is important</h2>
<p>The video also looks at the importance of transport in maintaining the cold chain, especially in the “last mile” of <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2100574">vaccine logistics</a>. </p>
<p>For remote Australia, variable and unreliable transport add extra logistical challenges. Freight to remote communities is often limited with infrequent or non-existent services. </p>
<p>So local clinics and supply centres need to be adaptable and resourceful to ensure vaccine supply. The right transport option for one day might not be the best for another. Staff need to ask:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>is there a bus travelling to the community today?</p></li>
<li><p>can the visiting specialist team take the esky with them on the plane?</p></li>
<li><p>can the patient-transport driver pick up the vaccine from the pharmacy?</p></li>
<li><p>how are the roads today?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Each of these options presents new challenges. Non-clinical staff may have to be trained in how to handle vaccines and the importance of maintaining the cold chain. </p>
<p>For example, the esky needs to be safely secured in the car. If it bounces around, the ice bricks may come into direct contact with the vaccines, which can cause them to freeze (the vaccines are generally separated from the ice with packing materials).</p>
<p>Staff will have to consider the temperature in a car, bus, the hull of a plane or on a barge. Vaccines will have to be handed over to the right person, not left on the runway or on the clinic doorstep in the sun.</p>
<p>There must be good lines of communication so everyone knows where the vaccines are.</p>
<h2>The electricity’s out</h2>
<p>Vaccines need to be stored in dedicated vaccine fridges when they reach the clinic in remote Australia.</p>
<p>However, challenges in maintaining the cold chain don’t stop there. It’s common in remote communities for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/04/power-outages-leave-aboriginal-people-on-nt-islands-with-no-food-fuel-or-phones-for-three-days">electricity outages</a> that mean vaccine fridges go off. Clinic staff <a href="https://www.remotephcmanuals.com.au/">need to be trained</a> in <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/04/national-vaccine-storage-guidelines-strive-for-5.pdf">how to manage</a> these situations.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-manage-your-essential-medicines-in-a-bushfire-or-other-emergency-127516">How to manage your essential medicines in a bushfire or other emergency</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>It’s a long road</h2>
<p>Despite these significant logistical challenges, vaccines have been successfully shipped to remote Australia for years before COVID vaccines became urgently needed.</p>
<p>But with the latest COVID cases in remote NSW, we’re reminded just how different the vaccine cold chain is in the bush compared with the city.</p>
<p>So all eyes are on looking after this precious cargo, including maintaining the cold chain.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164551/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tobias Speare received funding from Northern Territory PHN to create Vaccine Story video.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzanne Belton is employed by CARPA to evaluate the Vaccine Story film. </span></em></p>Millions of dollars worth of vaccines are thrown out each year because they are not transported or stored at the right temperature. We made a video to help prevent that.Tobias Speare, Lecturer, Pharmacy Academic, Rural and Remote Health NT, Flinders UniversitySuzanne Belton, Associate professor, Menzies School of Health ResearchLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1541422021-02-18T14:18:00Z2021-02-18T14:18:00ZTech giants need to step up to help close Canada’s digital divide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384774/original/file-20210217-13-eloch8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1327%2C4923%2C2354&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Those in remote communities struggle with connectivity issues due to having to rely on satellites to go online. Big tech companies can help them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tatiana Syrikova/Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6946816/canadians-internet-coronavirus-providers/">the extent</a> to which we all rely on the internet in our day-to-day lives. It’s also highlighted the unfortunate fact that many Canadians in remote northern communities <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-highlights-urban-rural-digital-divide-1.5734167">cannot depend on reliable internet</a> for essential tasks such as downloading homework or conducting business meetings by video, or for leisure activities like watching Netflix and keeping up with friends on Facebook. </p>
<p>There is, in short, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2014.891633">deep digital divide</a> between remote communities and the rest of the country.</p>
<p>Historically, network service providers have been the primary stakeholders tasked with ensuring that Canadians are well-connected. However, service providers have so far struggled to provide adequate internet service to remote communities, and it is only getting more difficult with the increasing requirements and complexities of modern web content and applications. </p>
<p>To solve this problem, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2020.3028611">we argue</a> that other technical stakeholders, including major content providers and application developers like Netflix, YouTube and Facebook, must now lend a hand as well.</p>
<h2>Satellite-dependent</h2>
<p>To understand why remote communities pose a unique challenge to network service providers, it’s important to understand how these communities get online. Due to their isolation, remote communities <a href="https://crtc.gc.ca/cartovista/fixedbroadbandandtransportye2018_en/index.html">depend on satellite</a> to access the internet and other telecommunication services. In most of the country, network links are largely built alongside pre-existing, wired TV and telephone infrastructure.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384762/original/file-20210217-21-ln1wy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A satellite dish on a roof with bare tree limbs in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384762/original/file-20210217-21-ln1wy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384762/original/file-20210217-21-ln1wy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384762/original/file-20210217-21-ln1wy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384762/original/file-20210217-21-ln1wy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384762/original/file-20210217-21-ln1wy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384762/original/file-20210217-21-ln1wy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384762/original/file-20210217-21-ln1wy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Satellite internet is notoriously unreliable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pixabay)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Satellite-based internet connections have several challenges that limit their performance relative to wired connections. </p>
<p>First, satellite connections have very high latency (the time it takes for an individual data packet to travel between the two end points of a connection) due to the distance at which a satellite orbits the Earth. </p>
<p>Next, due to costs, they have limited bandwidth, restricting the amount of data that can be sent over a given instance. </p>
<p>Lastly, the bandwidth must be shared by all users served by the same satellite. These limitations result in slow website load times and low quality video streams, making for an overall inconsistent and frustrating online experience.</p>
<h2>Adding bandwidth</h2>
<p>Bridging the digital divide is about providing remote users with the same quality of experience as users elsewhere, despite satellite limitations. </p>
<p>To accomplish this, service providers can try to add more bandwidth to the satellite link, but bandwidth is very costly and limited. They can also use shared web caches so that when users download content it can be saved in the community, allowing future users who request the same content to access it locally instead of via the satellite link. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-back-better-during-and-after-covid-19-with-faster-broadband-149592">Building back better, during and after COVID-19, with faster broadband</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Additionally, service providers can use <a href="https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC3135">specific protocols</a> on the satellite link to better manage latency and data rates.</p>
<p>Why, then, are large content providers and app developers needed to help? </p>
<p>First, there is a trend towards <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2014.6894465">richer web content and more complex applications</a>, such as high-resolution multimedia <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSE.2015.32">and advertisements</a>, which demand more and more bandwidth. Second, websites and apps are increasingly adopting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3098822.3098842">deeper levels of encryption</a> to hide not only private user data, but connection-related data as well, making it impossible for service providers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2674005.2674991">to use caches</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/NetSys.2019.8854494">specific protocols</a> on the satellite link. </p>
<h2>Delivering content differently</h2>
<p>That all means major content providers and app developers, which <a href="https://www.sandvine.com/press-releases/sandvine-releases-covid-19-global-internet-phenomena-report">dominate internet traffic today</a>, have direct influence over how successfully service providers can manage their networks and improve service to remote users.</p>
<p>If the digital divide is to be successfully bridged, content providers and application developers must deliver content to remote communities differently than they do elsewhere.</p>
<p>They should continue providing rich content to users as long as it’s useful, but make connections “lighter weight” by foregoing unnecessary data that wastes bandwidth. This includes a lot of advertisements, which have questionable relevance to individuals in hard-to-reach locations. </p>
<p>They should also scale back deep encryption that prevents service providers from employing caches and specific protocols. Encryption is still necessary to protect users, but it must not be too deep for service providers to continue relying on the tools they’ve conventionally used to efficiently manage the satellite link.</p>
<h2>Special status needed</h2>
<p>Some content and application providers may be motivated to adopt this approach out of goodwill — indeed, <a href="https://www.youtubego.com">both YouTube</a> <a href="https://connectivity.fb.com/free-basics">and Facebook</a> have previously adopted lightweight approaches in some developing regions of the world. Nonetheless, we cannot rely on their good will alone since it may conflict with their business interests. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384775/original/file-20210217-23-zzcp5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A circuit board" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384775/original/file-20210217-23-zzcp5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384775/original/file-20210217-23-zzcp5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384775/original/file-20210217-23-zzcp5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384775/original/file-20210217-23-zzcp5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384775/original/file-20210217-23-zzcp5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384775/original/file-20210217-23-zzcp5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384775/original/file-20210217-23-zzcp5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A remote status needs to be created for those in rural communities who cannot access high-speed internet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lars Kienle/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For this reason, it’s time to create a special remote status for communities with unique connectivity challenges. This status could be controlled by the United Nations <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/about/Pages/default.aspx">International Telecommunication Union</a>, and content providers and application developers could be mandated by governments to recognize remote communities and help them accordingly. The UN, after all, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/un-says-internet-access-is-a-human-right-2016-7">declared internet access a human right five years ago.</a></p>
<p>It’s realistic to expect that large content providers and application developers would be receptive to this proposal. They’ve willingly helped developing regions in the past, and they would only have to change their practices for the most disadvantaged communities — meaning it’s a win-win for both big tech giants and citizens alike.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Rosenberg a reçu des financements de NSERC, Cisco Canada, Rogers, Safran. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Lappalainen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s time to create a special remote status for communities that struggle with connectivity challenges and lack access to high-speed internet.Catherine Rosenberg, Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Canada Research Chair in the Future Internet, University of WaterlooAndrew Lappalainen, MASc Candidate, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of WaterlooLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1439852020-09-03T16:09:45Z2020-09-03T16:09:45ZAir Canada’s cancellation of regional flights will gut remote communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356204/original/file-20200903-20-1r2kvx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C2011&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The view out the window during a flight from Vancouver to Calgary in June 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Like the global aviation industry, Air Canada has been hit hard <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sandramacgregor/2020/08/02/air-canada-posts-loses-of-175-billion-urges-easing-of-travel-restrictions/#7160ad4449bc">by the COVID-19 pandemic</a> and was forced to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air-canada-service-cuts-1.5632874#:%7E:text=Air%20Canada%20is%20indefinitely%20suspending%2030%20domestic%20regional%20routes%20and,a%20result%20of%20COVID%2D19.">abandon 30 regional routes</a> earlier this summer.</p>
<p>More cuts could be announced in the coming months.</p>
<p>This is a catastrophe for several remote Canadian communities, as it threatens their right to be connected to the national transportation system and severely impairs regional economic development. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 crisis is providing an opportunity to rethink transportation policy in our country. It also forces us to evaluate the extent to which the free market economy is the best mechanism to structure air transport in a country characterized by great distances and low population density.</p>
<h2>Began under Jimmy Carter</h2>
<p>The deregulation of air transport started <a href="https://www.airlines.org/blog/40-years-later-how-the-airline-deregulation-act-came-to-pass-part-ii/">under President Jimmy Carter</a> in the United States at the end of the 1970s. Canada did not escape this movement: Air Canada remained a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/what-are-crown-corporations-and-why-do-they-exist-1.1135699">Crown corporation</a> until 1988, when it became a publicly traded company. </p>
<p>It’s remarkable that in spite of the drastic change in its ownership structure, Air Canada is seen as the national airline in the hearts of many Canadians. However, the cavalier way in which the company <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cancelled-air-canada-flights-significant-blow-atlantic-1.5634173">announced regional service suspension</a> — with some local authorities <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/northbay-airport-mcdonald-reax-1.5634329">learning the bad news in the media</a> — was a sharp reminder that Air Canada’s <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-70818-6_14">only social responsibility is towards its shareholders</a>. Regional development is no part of its mission. </p>
<p>In fact, Air Canada’s shareholders were probably pleased with the decision to cut regional routes and would welcome additional suspensions if they’d limit financial losses.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman uses an Air Canada self-service kiosk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356193/original/file-20200903-22-1wa94of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=736%2C57%2C3356%2C2651&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356193/original/file-20200903-22-1wa94of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356193/original/file-20200903-22-1wa94of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356193/original/file-20200903-22-1wa94of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356193/original/file-20200903-22-1wa94of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356193/original/file-20200903-22-1wa94of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356193/original/file-20200903-22-1wa94of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A passenger uses an Air Canada self-service check-in kiosk at Trudeau International Airport in Montréal on July 31, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Air travel deregulation resulted in the creation of the <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/airline3.htm">hub-and-spoke system</a>: large legacy carriers operated from main airports (the “hubs”), fed by several regional flights carrying passengers from secondary airports (the “spokes”). The hub-and-spoke system protected legacy carriers from new entrants mainly because their passengers had access to seamless multinational networks.</p>
<p>Despite the threat that <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022916/economic-analysis-lowcost-airline-industry-luvdal.asp">low-cost carriers</a> started to pose in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the hub-and-spoke model is alive and well today. The main reason why a carrier like Air Canada offers connections between Québec’s Magdalen Islands and Montréal or between Newfoundland’s Deer Lake and St. John’s, for example, is to feed its Montréal or Toronto hubs. </p>
<h2>Willing to lose money</h2>
<p>In periods of economic growth, when international flights are profitable, large carriers are willing to lose money on regional routes in the hopes of snagging regional traffic heading for international destinations. </p>
<p>However, the COVID-19 pandemic made it financially impossible for Air Canada to continue to offer all its regional connections. The pandemic has therefore shed light on the limits of a deregulated air transportation market in a country like ours.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Air Canada Express aircraft sit on a tarmac with covered windshields." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356198/original/file-20200903-24-ppcpy1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5845%2C3695&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356198/original/file-20200903-24-ppcpy1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356198/original/file-20200903-24-ppcpy1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356198/original/file-20200903-24-ppcpy1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356198/original/file-20200903-24-ppcpy1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356198/original/file-20200903-24-ppcpy1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356198/original/file-20200903-24-ppcpy1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The windshields of Air Canada Express aircraft are covered as they sit parked at the Ottawa International Airport in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We conducted major research projects for the Québec Department of Transport <a href="http://www.bv.transports.gouv.qc.ca/mono/0964863.pdf">in 2008</a> <a href="http://www.bv.transports.gouv.qc.ca/mono/1235137.pdf">and 2019</a>, in addition to helping the Québec government prepare for the <a href="http://www.fil-information.gouv.qc.ca/Pages/Article.aspx?idArticle=2602023653">2018 Regional Air Transport Summit</a>. So we’re very familiar with regional air transport challenges in our country, which are exacerbated by the quasi-monopoly position enjoyed by Air Canada. </p>
<p>Like any provincial government, Québec does not have regulatory authority over air transit in the province. However, the province offers a number of programs to mitigate the negative impact of the quasi-monopolistic situation. </p>
<p>These programs have had mixed results.</p>
<p>For example, only six per cent of those from remote communities who we surveyed in 2019 indicated that they had travelled on a regional flight and benefited from the <a href="https://www.transports.gouv.qc.ca/fr/aide-finan/usagers-transports/programme-reduction-tarifs-aeriens/Pages/reduction-tarifs-aeriens.aspx">Québec Fare Reduction Program</a>, an initiative designed to make regional flights more affordable to users.</p>
<h2>Policy recommendations</h2>
<p>Our research work led us to formulate a number of policy recommendations, including putting in place conditions that would allow small entrepreneurial carriers to thrive and weaken Air Canada’s monopoly position. </p>
<p>It has become clear while surveying or interviewing people in remote communities that the travelling public is often <a href="http://www.cjrs-rcsr.org/V33/2/6DOSTALER-TOMBERLIN.pdf">unaware that other options exist beyond Air Canada</a>. It would be relatively easy for provincial governments to organize marketing campaigns to promote regional tourist attractions together with the air service offered by small entrepreneurial carriers.</p>
<p>Participants in the consultations conducted in preparation for the 2018 Regional Air Transport Summit even suggested setting up a regional loyalty program or the creation of an umbrella brand (similar to airline partnerships such as the Star Alliance) under which regional carriers could be grouped. </p>
<p>Fixing a <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1113906/transports-deplacements-aeroports-billets-avions">floor price</a> to prevent Air Canada from engaging in price wars that small regional carriers can never win, as well as removing provincial sales taxes on flights offered by small carriers, could also have a positive impact on the sustainability of the regional air transportation network.</p>
<h2>Trying to make their regions attractive</h2>
<p>Some remote communities we heard from when conducting our research stood out for their efforts to stimulate their local economies and develop tourism in order to make their region attractive to air carriers. </p>
<p>Other communities argued that regional air transport should be considered a public service and subsidized the same way urban public transportation systems are. But a fully subsidized regional air transport system is unrealistic, because travelling to and from remote communities is expensive and those costs cannot be entirely borne by taxpayers.</p>
<p>However, the free market is currently threatening the right to transportation of those living in remote communities, as well as their economic vitality. Sound federal, provincial and municipal policies that create synergies between economic and tourism development, as well as sustainable mobility, are greatly needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143985/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isabelle Dostaler received funding from the ministère des Transports du Québec.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:khomsi.mohamed_reda@uqam.ca">khomsi.mohamed_reda@uqam.ca</a> receives funding from Ministère du transport du Québec. </span></em></p>A disaster is looming for remote Canadian communities after Air Canada cancelled 30 regional routes. It threatens the rights of all Canadians to be connected to the national transportation system.Isabelle Dostaler, Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, Memorial University of NewfoundlandMohamed Khomsi, Professor, Tourism Governance, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1437412020-07-31T05:56:38Z2020-07-31T05:56:38ZThere are 3 new Closing the Gap education targets: here’s what they miss<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350564/original/file-20200731-29-1pb85px.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aboriginal-child-australian-bush-novembre2019-yuendumuaustralia-1782087101">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government this week unveiled the <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/national-agreement-ctg.pdf?q=0720">National Agreement on Closing the Gap</a>. Under the strategy, all Australian governments committed to 16 targets, three of which are directly related to early childhood and school education.</p>
<p>They are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>to increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enrolled in early childhood education to 95% by 2025.</p></li>
<li><p>to increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children assessed as developmentally on track in all five domains (physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, communication skills and general knowledge) of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to 55% by 2031. </p></li>
<li><p>to increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (aged 20-24) with a year 12 or equivalent qualification to 96% by 2031.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These new targets have been determined by Aboriginal people <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-closing-the-gap-targets-will-cover-attachment-to-land-and-culture-143636">themselves</a>. But there are some things they miss, including the way success is measured.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-closing-the-gap-targets-will-cover-attachment-to-land-and-culture-143636">New 'Closing the Gap' targets will cover attachment to land and culture</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A blunt instrument</h2>
<p>The population-level data the AEDC provides is supposed to tell us about the school readiness of all Australian children across the five developmental areas outlined earlier. In <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/what-the-16-new-closing-the-gap-targets-will-actually-mean-for-indigenous-australians">2018</a>, 35% of Indigenous children were deemed to be developmentally on track, compared with 57% of non-Indigenous children. </p>
<p>Yet we know the display of developmental traits is complex, situational and subject to cultural bias. Some items in the in the census are subject to individual teacher judgements — such as, “Would you say this child is interested in mathematics?”</p>
<p>These have been critiqued for their focus on “<a href="https://www.aedc.gov.au/resources/aedc-news">culturally white concepts </a>”. We could improve the learning experience for students by <a href="https://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/images/KLowe_article%20(2).pdf">recognising their knowledge, culture and language</a> and incorporating this within teaching. </p>
<p>In measuring mathematical abilities within the AEDC for example, using the natural environment to assess concepts (rather than, say, building blocks) would see more Indigenous children score highly on this indicator.</p>
<h2>Early childhood education</h2>
<p>The enrolment target for preschool is high and some might say, optimistic when we look at the current statistics. In 2018, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/what-the-16-new-closing-the-gap-targets-will-actually-mean-for-indigenous-australians">84.6% of Indigenous children were enrolled</a> in early childhood education compared with 88.8% of non‑Indigenous children. Based on these figures, not even non-Indigenous children are meeting the target.</p>
<p>Yet continued focus on preschool enrolment is welcome. We know quality early childhood education and care is one of the most effective ways to <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/research/LiftingOurGame.PDF">remediate disadvantage</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-have-16-new-closing-the-gap-targets-will-governments-now-do-whats-needed-to-meet-them-143179">We have 16 new Closing the Gap targets. Will governments now do what's needed to meet them?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A lack of access to quality preschool in remote communities is an ongoing issue. We must ensure high-quality preschool is accessible for families if we are to expect them to attend consistently. Mobilising preschool and school services to communities has been shown to be a <a href="https://www.menzies.edu.au/icms_docs/312411_Mobile_Preschool_Evaluation_Summary_Report.pdf">sound strategy</a> at increasing attendance.</p>
<p>Enrolment in preschool does not guarantee attendance, much less engagement. It matters more than mere enrolment that children and their families are welcomed and included as partners in building children’s success at school.</p>
<h2>Wins must be sustained</h2>
<p>The new targets miss primary school and middle school (Years 6-9) education altogether. Yes, they focus on the all important years before a child turns five and again what happens in the senior years of schooling, but early childhood and economic research shows that “<a href="https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/24456/Outcomes-of-ECE-Literature-Review.pdf">facilitating environments have to follow facilitating environments</a>” to be most effective. </p>
<p>The cumulative effects of early childhood investment can only be maximised if the attention and investment is continued. According to the <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/equity-in-education_9789264073234-en">OECD</a>, this becomes especially important in disadvantaged circumstances.</p>
<p>At Charles Darwin University and the Menzies School of Health Research, we have been looking at what happens to Indigenous students in the NT as they move through school. In this yet unpublished study, we have recently discovered almost one-third of Aboriginal children in remote and very remote areas that attended preschool did not participate in Year 3 NAPLAN. </p>
<p>The data suggests this is the same group of children that had poorer preschool literacy and numeracy skills at age 5 on the AEDC. So somewhere, we are missing them. There is little point having a target for school attainment if we have lost them along the way. </p>
<p>To make progress, we need to better understand and address the complexity of factors that undermine educational attainment. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-teachers-look-for-when-kids-start-school-116523">Here's what teachers look for when kids start school</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Schools and preschools must be more than a place to learn by being more responsive to, and inclusive of, <a href="http://familyschool.org.au/files/5113/7955/4822/parents-as-partners-in-indigenous-childrens-learning.pdf">families and elders</a>. They can do this by valuing the learning and teaching they bring to build on what the children already know. </p>
<p>Supporting <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/food-boxes-help-bring-aboriginal-children-to-school/news-story/59a31bcbaa79da4e299bce9de791eacd">the provision of basic needs</a> where necessary, such as access to healthy food and transport to and from school, helps achieve the new targets by recognising that closing the gaps is not possible by one strategy alone.</p>
<p>We also need an approach that integrates services, such as education, health and housing. For example, previous research found that Aboriginal children living in communities with <a href="https://www.menzies.edu.au/icms_docs/293936_Early_Pathways_to_School_Learning_%E2%80%93_Lessons_from_the_NT_data_linkage_study_-_Summary.pdf">overcrowded housing missed seven weeks of schooling each year</a>. </p>
<p>Before we see these targets being met, and the gap truly narrowed, we must address the root causes of the existing inequity and the factors that undermine the educational attainment, engagement and success for Indigenous Australian children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143741/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vincent He is supported by the ‘Child and Youth Development Research Partnership’ (CYDRP)' funded by the Northern Territory Departments of Health, Education, Territory Families, Housing, Treasury, Chief Minister, Police, and Attorney General and Justice. Previously, Vincent was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Partnership Grant (#1091491) in which the Northern Territory departments of Health, Education and Territory Families, the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT) and the Menzies School of Health Research
were organisational partners.The funding body had no involvement in the study design, data analysis, interpretation of data, or preparation and publication of research papers.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Graham and Georgina Nutton do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The new closing the gap targets are ambitious, especially in the area of early childhood education. But this doesn’t mean they can’t be met, with the right approach.Amy Graham, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UNSW SydneyGeorgina Nutton, Senior Lecturer in Education (Early Childhood), Charles Darwin UniversityVincent Yaofeng He, Senior Research Officer, Menzies School of Health ResearchLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1369532020-05-14T20:01:58Z2020-05-14T20:01:58ZFriday essay: voices from the bush – how lockdown affects remote Indigenous communities differently<p>What does self-isolation mean when you live in one of Australia’s most remote Aboriginal communities? What does social distancing mean when the average household holds 12-15 people? How do you think through viral vulnerability when people in your community already die too young and too frequently? </p>
<p>These are just a few of the questions that might be asked of Aboriginal people living in remote parts of Australia as the COVID-19 pandemic swirls around them and other Aboriginal communities across the nation. </p>
<p>We work with the communities of Barunga, Beswick, Manyallaluk and Borroloola in the Northern Territory. We have worked with the same communities for up to 30 years. We have recorded many <a href="https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=VSwlddVCxWYC&pg=PA56&dq=Country+kin+and+Culture&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Country%20kin%20and%20Culture&f=false">changes through time</a> and come to learn something about life in remote communities from Aboriginal people. We have learnt from <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=tegaBgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=cultural+wounding+and+healing&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLkZjs7aDpAhXW7HMBHbmDDVgQ6AEIKzAA#v=onepage&q=cultural%20wounding%20and%20healing&f=false">elders, mid and younger generations</a>. </p>
<p>Our new research comes from regular phone conversations with community members about the impact of COVID-19. These phone calls bridge the remote and urban divide, as we discuss what is known about the virus and how long before things get back to normal. By sharing the experiences of Aboriginal families who live in remote NT communities, more voices will find a place in the national conversation. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1252048379439243266"}"></div></p>
<h2>Safe in the bush</h2>
<p>Aboriginal people have talked about feeling safe out bush, about following the rules of lockdown. Locals like Garrwa/Waanyi woman and Borroloola resident Gloria Friday praise their communities for “abiding by the rules, not running around, keeping an eye out and being really careful”. They are fully aware of the threat COVID-19 poses to their old people and those who are sick.</p>
<p>At a time when travel to and from these communities is prohibited, contact with the outside world is important. Barunga Elder and <em>Junggayi</em> (custodian) Narritj, says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Phone call. You on that side, us on this side. We need that, too. We want to know what is happening in other places. We want to know the truth about that virus. (April 30 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For people living in Borroloola, the spread of information has been rapid. As Gloria Friday explains: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Everyone with TV knows what’s going on. And I listen to news all the time, I’ve got a little radio and I listen to the news about the virus and what’s going on in the world.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-aboriginal-people-face-unique-challenges-in-the-fight-against-coronavirus-136050">Urban Aboriginal people face unique challenges in the fight against coronavirus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333938/original/file-20200511-31175-oi8614.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333938/original/file-20200511-31175-oi8614.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333938/original/file-20200511-31175-oi8614.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333938/original/file-20200511-31175-oi8614.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333938/original/file-20200511-31175-oi8614.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333938/original/file-20200511-31175-oi8614.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333938/original/file-20200511-31175-oi8614.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333938/original/file-20200511-31175-oi8614.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Official health messaging for Indigenous communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/key-updates-for-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-communities-29-april-2020">Dept of Health</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Vulnerable communities, new babies</h2>
<p>Humans are vulnerable to disease for many reasons including age, gender, society, environment and ancestry. We know the COVID-19 risks are <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-will-devastate-aboriginal-communities-if-we-dont-act-now-133766">magnified for Aboriginal people</a> in remote communities. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/advice-for-people-at-risk-of-coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples-and-remote-communities">is due to</a> higher rates of other health issues, limited access to health care, greater reliance on outreach services and movement between communities. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 situation has brought specific health challenges to Aboriginal women in remote areas. For years it has been common for women to leave their communities to give birth in regional or major hospitals. This can bring sadness and a sense of <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:339527">dislocation from family, country and ceremony</a>.</p>
<p>Because of COVID-19 lockdowns, women and their newborns are away longer from family and culture. They have to be quarantined before returning to country. An alternative approach is to restrict the mother’s movements when she is away from home. Bangirn, a young woman from Barunga who recently gave birth in Darwin, says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I couldn’t go anywhere when in Darwin because I have recently had a baby. I wasn’t allowed to go out shopping to buy baby clothes or things for the baby. The doctors rushed me into Katherine hospital but I wasn’t allowed to go and buy baby things. My sister had to give me her daughter’s baby old clothes over the fence. Doctors gave me a paper saying that I didn’t go anywhere while in Darwin and Katherine. The paper shows that me and my partner could go back in the community. I couldn’t do food shopping while leaving Katherine or baby clothes. Barunga store hasn’t got anything for the baby. (May 5 2020)</p>
<p>It’s hard. Right now she’s got no warm clothes and this weather is cold. We’re keeping her warm with a big blanket. We’re safe but it’s hard, really hard. (May 11 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We hope to understand these experiences and how they shape families, culture and connections into the future. This can help us to plan for any future pandemics and its impact on Indigenous communities.</p>
<p>Recognition of vulnerability for remote Aboriginal communities prompted fast action by <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-resources-for-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people-and-remote-communities">Australian governments</a>, <a href="https://healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/learn/health-topics/infectious-conditions/covid-19-updates-and-information/">research and information networks</a> and <a href="http://www.amsant.org.au/covid-19/">Aboriginal organisations</a>. In addition to regional lockdowns there was a <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-resources-for-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people-and-remote-communities">multi-million dollar information campaign</a>. </p>
<p>This included <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvzNtphHxtRwgyiz1zQf7AZibMGOMJb6x&fbclid=IwAR2TIdbJPqyw6MCS_arv9G-XSg1pixUO3Mk_aF9SejcJ5di1Y-lOh--URjc">YouTube videos</a> in many different Aboriginal languages by the NT government and a <a href="https://www.nlc.org.au/media-publications/nlcs-aboriginal-language-videos-about-coronavirus">video series in 18 languages</a> by the Northern Land Council.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 crisis adds to existing pressures on remote communities. Families already live with regular loss of life, frequent funerals and an overhanging grief that contributes to <a href="https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/the-wound/intergenerational-trauma/">intergenerational trauma</a>. Yet among these hardships communities also display incredible resilience. While COVID-19 poses a threat, this needs to be understood in relation to the hardships and the strengths of remote community life. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-will-devastate-aboriginal-communities-if-we-dont-act-now-133766">Coronavirus will devastate Aboriginal communities if we don't act now</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Responses to being ‘locked up’</h2>
<p>Little attention has been paid to the lived experience of social distancing across cultures. We need to understand how different peoples think about social distancing and isolation. For Graham and Gloria Friday, the best strategy for social distancing is “going out bush”, rather than staying in your house … because country is home. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you out bush, you might find that bush medicine to fight it. Also out bush, you don’t have to worry about food in the shops, you can live off your land, fish, dugong, turtle, goanna, you can live off that. (April 9 2020) </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similarly in Barunga, one community member says their first response to being “locked up” was to go out bush and sit down on country. Anne Marie Lee, chair of the board of the <a href="https://www.sunrise.org.au/">Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation</a> says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>More people are going out camping and fishing. People spend maybe a week out there. It’s a really good thing, eating that bush tucker again. People are looking more healthy. (May 11 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Going bush has had the added effect of strengthening families. As people hunt and fish, they are away from the worries of town. They are well fed and access to alcohol is limited. Young people learn traditional survival skills. The <a href="https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/%7E/media/Files/Corporate/general%20documents/Aboriginal%20health/PDF/12853_WA_Aboriginal_Health_and_Wellbeing_Framework.pdf">health and well-being</a> effects of being out bush are part of long-standing and culturally defined preventative health-care strategies. </p>
<p>Some aspects of Aboriginal people’s experiences of lockdown are familiar to all Australians: the importance of socialising with extended family for mental and emotional well-being. Also, people seem to be more conscious of their health. Some community medical clinics report an influx of people getting flu vaccinations. </p>
<p>Yet another factor that shapes the COVID-19 experience for Aboriginal people in remote areas is the historical experience of being “locked up” on missions and in prison. </p>
<p>The NT has the highest imprisonment rate of any state or territory. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2018%7EMain%20Features%7ENorthern%20Territory%7E27">comprise 84% (1,477 prisoners) of the adult prisoner population</a>. In 2018, the national average was 28%. Families in Borroloola have called for people to be returned home during the pandemic to ensure they are safe and away from the threat of virus infection in prison. The investment in family and making sure everyone is safe has been a driving focus for many in these communities.</p>
<h2>Some good things, too</h2>
<p>Perhaps unexpectedly, there have been some positives from the COVID-19 crisis. </p>
<p>One of the first actions was for states and territories to nominate designated biosecurity areas. Travel to these areas was restricted to essential workers. Returning community members have to go into quarantine. This shutdown was sudden but it made some community members feel reassured. Beswick Traditional Owner, Esther Bulumbara says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Suddenly everything stopped. It was a great shock to the Northern Territory. We thought only that overseas mob would get that. But police said everything had to close. Government mob, shire. It was lucky it was quick. If they didn’t know about it, it would have gone through the Northern Territory. (April 24 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The lockdown bolstered trust in government and Aboriginal organisations. Graham Friday is among those “talking with all those big mob government officials” as community in Borroloola are consulted about when and how things might open up again. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331067/original/file-20200428-110757-7x9fy9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331067/original/file-20200428-110757-7x9fy9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331067/original/file-20200428-110757-7x9fy9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331067/original/file-20200428-110757-7x9fy9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331067/original/file-20200428-110757-7x9fy9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331067/original/file-20200428-110757-7x9fy9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331067/original/file-20200428-110757-7x9fy9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331067/original/file-20200428-110757-7x9fy9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Designated biosecurity areas near Katherine, Northern Territory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://coronavirus.nt.gov.au/community-advice/remote-work-and-travel/maps">NT Govt.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>People feel safe because their exposure to COVID-19 has been controlled. Reflecting on the situation in Borroloola, Gloria Friday says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s amazing cause the virus never hit the community yet or nothing, and it was good because everyone was abiding by the rules. And because they limited the grog sale to six can, six can a day, everything was quiet and there’s been no problems in the town, everyone’s just been go out fishing and hunting. It’s been good. (May 1 2020).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In some cases, COVID-19 has deepened relationships between Aboriginal people and the wider community. There has been unanticipated support. In the Katherine East region, large quantities of clothing were donated by <a href="https://www.rockmans.com.au/new-arrivals?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxO2_gN6K6QIVyzUrCh0WvQ1ZEAAYASAAEgKGxfD_BwE">Rockmans</a>. Boxes of food were donated by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asOFh53GQKI">Coles</a>. <a href="https://outbackstores.com.au/">Outback Stores</a> issued food vouchers. Community members were surprised and pleased, reports Esther Bulumbara. She says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Fiona from <a href="https://aiggroup.org.au/">AIG</a> donated all the boxes of clothes to Barunga and Beswick and Manyallaluk. It made people feel good. All the ladies they all came and got some clothes. Long sleeved shirts, woolly jumpers and coats. All new. And we got that <a href="https://www.facebook.com/barungaNT/">Mob’s Choice in Bagala Store</a> at Barunga now. Low prices, like at Woolies. (May 14 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Rachael Kendino of Manyallaluk adds:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Every house at Manyallaluk got two boxes of food and a $50 voucher from Beswick store […] I like what the <a href="https://ropergulf.nt.gov.au/">Roper Gulf Shire</a> are doing. They pick up [people] every Thursday for shopping from Manyallaluk to Barunga store. Before we had to get taxi to go to Katherine to buy food […] Going in and return is $300 each way. She told me about <a href="https://barunga-store.myshopify.com/">online shopping</a>, too. (May 8 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333687/original/file-20200508-49579-1vbiclk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333687/original/file-20200508-49579-1vbiclk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333687/original/file-20200508-49579-1vbiclk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333687/original/file-20200508-49579-1vbiclk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333687/original/file-20200508-49579-1vbiclk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333687/original/file-20200508-49579-1vbiclk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333687/original/file-20200508-49579-1vbiclk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Food vouchers from Beswick Community Store.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rachael Kendino</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>People are appreciative of the efforts made by local police to keep them safe and connected. The mail is taken 50 kilometres to the Central Arnhem Highway turn-off. It is handed over to police and taken to <a href="https://pfes.nt.gov.au/police/police-station-profiles/maranboy">Maranboy police station</a>, 10 kilometres from Barunga. A community representative comes to the police station to collect it. The letters are wiped down. Jessala McCale of Barunga reports:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Police officers must make sure that letters, mails are clean before handing it over the person who handles the mail. (May 5 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Jawoyn Elder Jocelyn McCartney says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The policeman are camping out there at the Barunga turnoff. Turn and turn. All day and all night. To make sure people don’t come out of community. People not allowed to come into our community because they might have that virus. (May 12 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Getting the right information</h2>
<p>Elsewhere in the world it has been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/technology/parking-lots-wifi-coronavirus.html">noted</a> “living without broadband has gone from a mild inconvenience to a near impossibility”. For remote communities, the problem can be how to get information on a global pandemic without internet. </p>
<p>Crisis communication must be tailored to different needs and in many forms. While Indigenous youth are savvy with social media, many older people watch television or listen to the radio to get information. Our community contacts spoke about President Trump and laboratories in Wuhan. Like all of us, Aboriginal people judge leaders and feel sadness for those who have died. As one community member made clear:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He’s a real mongrel that Trump, he just sits there while those bodies all pile up. (May 1 2020) </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Aboriginal people in remote communities are well aware of what is happening across the world. The sense this problem is big and concerns all of us is not lost on them. Another community member from Borroloola reveals: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve got family all round – Doomadgee, Normanton, Mt Isa, Townsville, Borroloola – and we really worry for all of them. We all worry about each other and ring each other all the time. All of them, everybody is quarantined all over the world, from Burketown, Mt Isa, Mornington Island, Italy, even America … the lot. (May 1 2020) </p>
</blockquote>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B-MZu4rAIh4","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>White man’s disease</h2>
<p>Remote communities are not all the same. While many challenges are shared, each community has its own history and culture which shapes the present. Our preliminary research suggests COVID-19 messages are understood slightly differently across communities. </p>
<p>In some communities, <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-reasons-the-coronavirus-hit-italy-so-hard-134636">reports from Italy</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-24/spain-elderly-people-dead-in-beds-coronavirus-worsens/12084892">Spain</a> seem very distant and of little relevance. In others, Aboriginal people of all ages watch television and trawl social media, sad for the “poor Italians” and “bodies piling up in the United States”. </p>
<p>Some talk about COVID-19 as a “white man’s disease”. Others, such as Graham Friday and members of his family (Gloria Friday and Adrianne Friday), see it as “everybody’s problem and everybody’s responsibility”. </p>
<p>One shared factor has been the pressure of acute <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/08/stores-in-remote-indigenous-communities-ask-city-dwellers-to-stop-hoarding">food shortages in community stores</a>. In the early days, some people responded by breaking quarantine restrictions to access local towns via back roads and dirt tracks. This placed their community at increased risk. The community and police responded in tandem. A Barunga community member says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A couple of young boys tried to go into town. The policeman came and warned them. They going to get a fine. I told that boy ‘You got to stop that. No more. I can’t pay that fine for you’. (April 24 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Police also set out clear social distancing expectation in Borroloola, as Gloria Friday explains: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Well the police only went and said they didn’t want to see no gambling, like ten people only in one place. But in the community they’re bored, they got nothing to do. Policeman went and told them once, and I think everybody listened. (May 1 2020).</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A bullet dodged</h2>
<p>At this time, Aboriginal people in the NT seem to have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-04/coronavirus-nt-aboriginal-outcomes-show-lessons-for-future/12188762">dodged a bullet</a>. This is because swift and culturally appropriate action was taken <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/coronavirus-covid-19">by governments</a>, Aboriginal organisations and communities themselves. The <a href="https://www.nlc.org.au/">Northern Land Council</a> and the <a href="https://www.clc.org.au/">Central Land Council</a>, in particular, provided outstanding coordinated leadership in the fight against COVID-19. </p>
<p>There is a lesson for Australia’s efforts to <a href="https://ctgreport.niaa.gov.au/">Close the Gap</a>: trusted Aboriginal leadership is essential to successful outcomes for Aboriginal communities. </p>
<p>COVID-19 is the <a href="https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">first global pandemic caused by a coronavirus</a>. It may not be the last. This crisis presents a unique opportunity to learn what success looks like in Aboriginal remote community health. </p>
<p>The United Nations has called for all member states to include the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/covid-19.html">specific needs and priorities of Indigenous peoples</a> in COVID-19 response planning. Population-based approaches are logical scientific steps to prevent the spread of a virus. However, they need to be compatible with the everyday cultural lifeways of remote Aboriginal communities. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic is a watershed moment. Old and enduring problems can be reassessed. The current crisis can be mined for fresh, action-oriented perspectives of Aboriginal people’s needs in preventative health care. This time of calamitous infection and threat of illness is not foreign to remote Aboriginal communities and culture bearers. Many have lived through previous flu epidemics and live with the scourge of chronic conditions. </p>
<p>While COVID-19 is presented as a health and an economic problem, it is also a social and a cultural challenge. Our research calls for attention to understanding Aboriginal people’s knowledge of the pandemic and their vulnerability and strengths at this time. Remote communities are full of intellectuals and people coming to terms with a challenge we all face. Yet they are making sense of this global crisis in their own local and culturally nuanced ways.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333945/original/file-20200511-49569-rvi912.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333945/original/file-20200511-49569-rvi912.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333945/original/file-20200511-49569-rvi912.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333945/original/file-20200511-49569-rvi912.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333945/original/file-20200511-49569-rvi912.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333945/original/file-20200511-49569-rvi912.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333945/original/file-20200511-49569-rvi912.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333945/original/file-20200511-49569-rvi912.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/AMSANTMedia/photos/a.101082387910226/224205175597946/?type=3&eid=ARAGG3iN7wuAA-Jlfiw_YEhXo2iwJQ_FIdZx8rV-zfPFRMSMp9mIxrlSMVPWZ_EPPHFT-3DCsHPi8aYK&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCT_EuWsMLuxFHvxJ0-usQviOou0zfhppmRbLu7wfPmt6ctjjTVKDH6UV1RNVxHU2R1Km5NhaBQ4DAmBqK9jkud0nwEaegpsEij9gwQtbyPEcMnIMc4pWL4FlCGHfoQjMxhbUXM6ZeKQDBshaxXOAGjr5XLdq94Gp44HNQHCg0wTwE_UNbJlVblRN74XGJIgPFxpgIgm7NQyLkxPMpIt9J3tW0v_ctW77CG6OQ9jXZDU8jECxTA0hpaQj5_Mu9dN6RXX9rnRUL6714PGSw3PkUoSprcCGpWYp-9l7UG4D0wxAAKgsVu9vp0pa2djFEwMclY78fZbQC5RedjLVvdNZ2YGfonG-cHQlIS2FJnbjJZGz5dhAsAO6nSTcwhKXTIbk7uftO_RzxOjXPNUhZxV4AB12FAPt0lnsyKeZLAZ2qKrGDAMYHrUZtH17wT1KVMImqv2UUrGk2sTLezDSkiZ8sCJ4Vv4YViF3reeGYjRZtvEORq3Ck&__tn__=EEHH-R">Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While we have focused on remote communities, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are at risk.</p>
<p>Community wisdom and cultural strengths are powerful starting points for effective and empowering health promotion. We need to identify <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axhRTPGI4qc">local innovations and community solutions</a> for dealing with COVID-19, and harness their drivers and logic. We need to develop <a href="http://kams.org.au/covid19-resources/">culturally-driven, community-specific</a> tools and strategies that can help protect Aboriginal communities from pandemics and provide lasting benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136953/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Smith receives funding from the Australian Research Council and received funding from Flinders University for this research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Kearney receives funding from the Australian Research Council and received funding from Flinders University for this research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Wilson receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Centre for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Grant receives funding through approved disbursements from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Rapid Applied Research Translation Program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Jasmine Willika, Kellie Pollard, and Udoy Saikia do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Researchers report on how COVID-19 is affecting isolated Indigenous communities. Their voices bridge the urban divide, reveal challenges and describe some unexpected bonuses.Claire Smith, Professor of Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders UniversityAmanda Kearney, Matthew Flinders Fellow, Professor of Australian and Indigenous Studies, Flinders UniversityAnna M. Kotarba-Morley, Lecturer, Archaeology, Flinders UniversityChristopher Wilson, Senior Lecturer, Flinders UniversityJulian Grant, Professor of Nursing, Charles Sturt UniversityKellie Pollard, Research lecturer, Charles Darwin UniversityUdoy Saikia, Associate Professor, College of Humanities Arts and Social Social Sciences, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1355942020-04-16T15:24:24Z2020-04-16T15:24:24ZHousing is health: Coronavirus highlights the dangers of the housing crisis in Canada’s North<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326172/original/file-20200407-18916-1n7estv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C3872%2C2376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A housing crisis combined with inadequate access to health care in many communities makes Canada's North vulnerable to COVID-19.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Julia Christensen)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What do you do when the government’s number 1 strategy for slowing the spread of a global pandemic is virtually impossible to implement where you live? What do you do when you have already been living in a crisis for decades without anywhere near the same level of urgency or priority? </p>
<p>These are the questions currently facing communities across the Canadian North. A persistent housing crisis has led to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3448538/">a high prevalence of respiratory disease among northerners</a>, and <a href="https://www.ccnsa-nccah.ca/docs/determinants/FS-Housing-SDOH2017-EN.pdf">compounds additional social determinants of health</a>. </p>
<p>Combined with a threadbare health-care system that leaves <a href="https://doi.org/10.20999/nam.2016.b008">many communities without even a resident nurse</a>, the northern housing crisis significantly underscores the vulnerability of northern residents in the face of a global pandemic. </p>
<p>I was born and raised in Yellowknife, N.W.T., and have spent the past 14 years engaged in academic research related to housing insecurity, health and home in collaboration and partnership with communities across the Canadian North. As Canada Research Chair in Northern Governance and Public Policy, I lead the <a href="http://athomeinthenorth.org">At Home in the North</a> partnership: a network of northern and Indigenous communities, governments, NGOs and researchers working in Northern Canada to share community-led strategies to address chronic housing need. </p>
<h2>Northern housing crisis</h2>
<p>A housing crisis has arguably been underway in the Canadian North since state-sanctioned housing programs were first unrolled in the Arctic in the <a href="https://www.qtcommission.ca/sites/default/files/public/thematic_reports/thematic_reports_english_igluliriniq.pdf">mid-20th century</a>. Since 2004, the crisis has only deepened as the annual federal support for social housing has been <a href="https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/inuit-nunangat-housing-strategy-offers-little-hope/">gradually phased out</a>. That support has been replaced by sporadic housing funding packages that leave northern communities and governments grappling to take advantage of funding opportunities on a piecemeal basis. </p>
<p>Moreover, the bulk of current funding goes toward maintenance and retrofitting of existing units, and not to the addition of the new housing units so badly needed across the Canadian North. In fact, in 2018, <a href="https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/nunavut-housing-corp-seeks-ways-to-trim-costs/">Terry Audla, CEO of the Nunavut Housing Corporation</a>, stated that <a href="https://nunavutnews.com/nunavut-news/editorial-solving-housing-crisis-requires-outsized-courage/">over 10,000 Nunavut residents were without housing of their own, translating to a deficit of 3,500 housing units</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the $240 million earmarked by the federal government as part of its National Housing Strategy, intended to support housing in Nunavut over 10 years, would translate into a mere <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nunavut-housing-corporation-units-1.5073024">48 new housing units each year</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326154/original/file-20200407-147360-8s9q4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326154/original/file-20200407-147360-8s9q4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326154/original/file-20200407-147360-8s9q4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326154/original/file-20200407-147360-8s9q4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326154/original/file-20200407-147360-8s9q4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326154/original/file-20200407-147360-8s9q4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326154/original/file-20200407-147360-8s9q4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fort Providence, N.W.T.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Julia Christensen)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2019, the <a href="https://www.itk.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-Inuit-Nunangat-Housing-Strategy-English.pdf">Inuit National Housing Strategy</a> underlined that “over half (51.7 per cent) of Inuit in Inuit Nunangat live in crowded housing compared to 8.5 per cent of non-Indigenous Canadians.” </p>
<p>That same year, the <a href="https://www.statsnwt.ca/recent_surveys/2019NWTCommSurvey/2019%20NWT%20Community%20Survey%20Housing%20Indicators.pdf">N.W.T. Community Survey</a> revealed that 42.7 per cent of households across the territory were in <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/data-and-research/core-housing-need">core housing need</a> — a national measure of housing affordability, suitability and adequacy — up from 15.5 per cent in the <a href="https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/chn-biml/index-eng.cfm">2016 federal census</a>. </p>
<p>In addition to the housing crisis, health inequities place northern communities at increased risk in the face of COVID-19. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/dene-nation-caps-coronavirus-1.5511110">A survey completed by the Dene Nation</a> found that one-fifth of its membership were at risk of severe complications if infected with COVID-19 as a result of compounding factors including chronic housing need and high rates of asthma, diabetes and other health conditions. </p>
<p>Nunavut’s chief medical officer of health <a href="https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/stay-home-and-healthy-says-nunavuts-chief-medical-officer/">warned the impact of the virus on the territory could be especially harsh</a> due to a landscape of housing need and the prevalence of respiratory illness, with Inuit <a href="http://theconversation.com/inuit-infants-need-access-to-medication-to-prevent-respiratory-illness-129204">children experiencing the highest rates of chronic respiratory disease in the world</a> and <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/documents/services/first-nations-inuit-health/diseases-health-conditions/tuberculosis/tuberculosis-resources-first-nations-inuit-aboriginal-health-health-canada/map-tuberculosis-inuit-nunangat/map-tuberculosis-inuit-nunangat.pdf">a tuberculosis rate that is 300 times that of non-Indigenous Canadians</a>. </p>
<p>The strategies employed to slow the spread of the virus in much of southern Canada <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-indigenous-communities-and-covid-19-the-virus-may-not-discriminate/">are privileges not enjoyed by many northern communities</a>. Overcrowded and inadequate housing makes physical distancing or self-isolation virtually impossible. Water insecurity poses a challenge for frequent hand washing or cleaning hard surfaces, and a lack of access to soap, hand sanitizer and disinfectant cleaner due to transportation challenges and high cost of living mean these essential products may be out of reach. </p>
<h2>Northern response</h2>
<p>In response to the pandemic, the leadership displayed across the Canadian North has been swift and remarkable at both the community and regional levels, with a series of containment strategies implemented at various scales. </p>
<p>On March 20, the N.W.T. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-travel-ban-covid19-1.5505505">shut its borders to non-essential travel to control spread of the virus</a>, and implemented a mandatory 14-day self-isolation for all travellers to be completed in one of the four largest communities before onward travel to smaller settlements would be permitted. A few days later, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/nunavut-winnipeg-quarantine-covid19-1.5514824">the Nunavut government released the tightest travel restrictions in Canada</a> with a ban on travel for everyone except residents and critical workers, and <a href="https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2020/03/31/covid-19-and-inuit-nunangat-research-responsibility-infrastructure-inequality/">mandatory 14-day pre-boarding self-isolation</a>. </p>
<p>Indigenous governments like the Dene Nation have also responded by encouraging members to head out on the land to distance themselves from COVID-19. </p>
<p>“Elders and knowledge keepers have always told us ‘a day will come, when we will need to go to the land’ and now is that time,” wrote <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-first-nations-federal-on-the-land-funding-covid-19-1.5514738">Dene Nation Chief Norman Yakeleya in a news release</a>. “With the closing of the schools, this is also an opportunity for families and their children to learn more about our culture and traditions and what has sustained us as Dene people for thousands of years.” </p>
<p>Community-based organizations like Hotıì ts'eeda and FOXY (Fostering Open Expression among Youth) <a href="https://nwtspor.ca/news/hotii-tseeda-and-foxy-launch-social-distancing-campaign-our-home-our-camp">also launched the “Our Home Is Our Camp” social media campaign</a> to promote social distancing in a culturally safe and contextually relevant way. </p>
<h2>Federal government response</h2>
<p>Federal responses to the pandemic in Northern Canada have come through <a href="https://aptnnews.ca/2020/03/18/over-300m-earmarked-for-indigenous-communities-as-justin-trudeau-unveils-covid-19-relief-measures/">a $305-million National Indigenous Community Support Fund</a>, part of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/economic-aid-package-coronavirus-1.5501037">a broader $82 billion aid package</a> to help Canadians and businesses deal with the fallout from COVID-19. A further <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/federal-government-money-north-covid-19-1.5531591">$129.9 million specifically for Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories is allocated to help bolster their health-care systems’ responses to COVID-19 and provide financial support for northern airlines and other businesses</a>. </p>
<p>How communities and governments are using those funds differs. Following direction from Indigenous leadership, the N.W.T. government implemented the “At Home on the Land” program to support northerners to wait out the lockdown on the land. </p>
<p>Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the Inuit land claims organization, is channelling some of these funds towards promoting water and food security. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nunavut-inuit-see-new-money-for-water-security-during-pandemic-1.5513252">NTI president Aluki Kotierk said</a>, “We know that many Inuit live in overcrowded housing units and that conservation of water is something that is a daily mentality. But this is a time we need to be liberal with our water use.”</p>
<p>Yet while the funding announcements have been positively received by northern and Indigenous leadership, they are nevertheless emergency measures intended to help communities weather this storm. They do very little to sustainably and effectively address the underlying disparities and social determinants that have led to such health and infrastructural inequities in the first place. As NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq recently wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/the-benefits-of-isolation-nunavut-doesnt-have-a-single-confirmed-case-of-covid-19">it is time to close the health infrastructure gap</a> in the Canadian North. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, if containment policies and land-based programs are not successful, COVID-19 will surely cast an unforgiving light on the persistent infrastructural disparities experienced across the North, and namely the housing crisis. This also begs the question: can we continue to call the northern housing crisis a crisis if it has become the status quo? </p>
<p>The global pandemic we currently face brings the ongoing neglect of northern housing and health infrastructure into sharp focus. There is no time greater than the present to acknowledge that housing is health care.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135594/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Christensen receives funding from the Canada Research Chair program, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and ArcticNet. </span></em></p>Despite chronic housing need and persistent health and infrastructural inequities, northern communities are turning to the land and each other to prevent the spread of COVID-19.Julia Christensen, Canada Research Chair in Northern Governance and Public Policy, Memorial University of NewfoundlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1291872020-01-14T03:40:43Z2020-01-14T03:40:43ZVirtual reality may be the next frontier in remote mental health care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309862/original/file-20200114-103959-10ltck4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=42%2C36%2C3463%2C2564&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Remote workers, particularly in the fields of mining and construction, are at greater risk of mental health problems. And accessing quality mental health care can be difficult for them. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rural-road-passing-through-hawker-town-1157110915">SHUTTERSTOCK</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent years, experts have focused on finding better ways to improve remotely delivered mental health care. </p>
<p>Now, virtual reality (VR) may pave the way for myriad new opportunities.</p>
<p>Using VR for remote therapy involves conducting “face-to-face” sessions in a virtual environment. This mode of treatment could make counselling more accessible to those living and working remotely.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I published <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756321930442X?via%3Dihub">a paper</a> exploring VR’s potential in providing counselling for people in regional areas.</p>
<p>While face-to-face therapy remains the optimal treatment method, we discovered VR-based therapy was more effective than Skype-based counselling.</p>
<h2>Taking advantage of available tools</h2>
<p>We compared the experiences of 30 participants aged 21 to 63, who participated in both VR-based and Skype-based mock counselling sessions.</p>
<p>To deliver the VR sessions, the participants and trained therapists used the <a href="https://www.oculus.com/go/?locale=en_US">Oculus Go head-mounted display</a> and <a href="https://vtime.net/">vTime social networking app</a>. This provided them with a <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-4020-3803-7_1">multisensory and interactive</a> VR experience.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/use-this-app-twice-daily-how-digital-tools-are-revolutionising-patient-care-99456">'Use this app twice daily': how digital tools are revolutionising patient care</a>
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<p>We used cartoon-like avatars to represent the two therapists, modelled closely to how they looked in real life.</p>
<p>We then compared participants’ responses in both settings to determine which type of therapy was more engaging, less stressful and preferred overall.</p>
<p>Results were compiled based on factors including a perceived level of “presence” (being there), “co-presence” (being together with the therapist), “social presence” (engaging with each other) and “realism”.</p>
<h2>Virtual environments bring real results</h2>
<p>On almost all accounts, participants responded greatly in favour of VR-based therapy sessions. The use of VR generated high levels of engagement between client and therapist, without causing stress or feelings of sickness.</p>
<p>Participants reported their virtual experience was consistent with what they might expect from a face-to-face experience. This heightened sense of realism made the interaction more meaningful.</p>
<p>Using a VR avatar also encouraged most participants (22 out of 30) to more freely express themselves without fear of judgement. This was observed in both introverted and extroverted participants.</p>
<p>Our results suggest VR-based <a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/e-health-telehealth">telehealth</a> sessions could greatly reduce dropout rates for clients and produce positive clinical outcomes.</p>
<h2>Moving beyond standard practice</h2>
<p>In Australia, <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/0c0bc98b-5e4d-4826-af7f-b300731fb447/aihw-aus-221-chapter-5-2.pdf.aspx">around 7 million people</a> live in rural and remote areas. Many either can’t access face-to-face counselling, or have to travel large distances for it. </p>
<p>Remote workers <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.5694/mja17.00950?casa_token=WVppFsFvg4MAAAAA%3A8ZO8AjoxVkY7s4d1LtFqVKX6M7amSzkPvRa4WbFdGNfAm5VPvu1QndiA7oEtsoIxb38wPUguTuKFvaM">such as mining and construction workers are at greater risk of mental health problems</a>, usually <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/da.22574?casa_token=4Qn9K1MEu3AAAAAA%3AfrEq1qzuKXTmopehRQZZDM_58bLBhNUjbrJZ-ulE8SoXxTYh5bqOheZMW11Q0AFTcbzLKIbNonZCRyI">requiring ongoing counselling or psychotherapy</a>.</p>
<p>These individuals often work long hours in harsh climates, and some have to live far from family for extended periods. Accessing quality mental health care can be particularly difficult under such circumstances.</p>
<p>Currently, it’s common to use mobiles and video conferencing to deliver telehealth sessions remotely using programs such as Skype, Zoom and Facetime.</p>
<p>However, one of the biggest challenges with this is that clients <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1440-1584.2011.01205.x?casa_token=YeRsBwjvjXgAAAAA%3Aq4EERzToNNqLkBWx_SzzaDUecxfo28n-sNlPkCTDhsGa96FtaOxIbSpUudHhC8nHtCdczDcpRb-wH8k">are often unmotivated to commit to the treatment</a>.</p>
<p>A phone session using audio without video doesn’t convey important non-verbal cues. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-virtual-reality-wont-replace-cadavers-in-medical-school-67448">Why virtual reality won't replace cadavers in medical school</a>
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<p>Even with video, the physical distance between a therapist and client can prevent clients from being fully engaged. In this context, engagement refers to the client’s commitment to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1049731508314505">willingly disclose their thoughts, feelings, problems and history</a>.</p>
<p>This is essential for successful psychological treatment, as past research has found <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-008-0476-0">clients displaying lower levels of engagement are more likely to discontinue treatment</a>.</p>
<p>A successful program delivering VR-based mental health services to remote areas would have a far-reaching impact. </p>
<h2>Further testing</h2>
<p>So far in clinical psychology and psychiatry, the primary focus of VR has been its role in treating <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10879-015-9306-3">anxiety and stress-related disorders</a>, <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/15295147">specific phobias</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1071581911000656">panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder</a>. </p>
<p>Soon, VR may be the next major avenue for remote mental health care delivery.</p>
<p>Moving forward with this technology, one important consideration will be assessing an avatar’s capacity to act and move in a believable manner. </p>
<p>In virtual environments, the use of hyper-realistic avatars can generate cold and eerie feelings (known as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563219300251">Uncanny Valley (UV) effects</a>). </p>
<p>Similarly, avatars that are too unrealistic and cartoon-like could negatively impact a client’s experience. </p>
<p>In the next phase of our research, we will conduct clinical interviews via both VR and face-to-face methods, and measure participants’ physiological responses. This will include monitoring their heart rate, skin conductance (how much they sweat) and reported experiences. </p>
<p>We hope further trials will bring us closer to providing a world-leading VR-based therapy option for Australians living and working remotely. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-do-you-know-that-we-arent-in-virtual-reality-right-now-98832">Curious Kids: How do you know that we aren't in virtual reality right now?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129187/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shiva Pedram receives funding from Mines Rescue Coal Services, Mines Insurance Coal Services and UOW Advantage SME Tech Voucher program, as part of NSW Treasury Boosting Business Innovation program.</span></em></p>Participants of both virtual reality-based and Skype-based therapy sessions voted greatly in favour of using VR, reporting high levels of engagement and realism.Shiva Pedram, Associate Research Fellow, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1229412019-09-05T18:49:13Z2019-09-05T18:49:13ZBugs and bores: a source of dangerous bacteria in remote communities’ water supply<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291064/original/file-20190905-175691-teqoga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C613%2C344&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bores with high iron content can be a haven for disease-causing bacteria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirjam Kaestli</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A study of three remote community water supplies in northern Australia, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0007672">published today in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases</a>, revealed that bores with high levels of iron were more likely to harbour <em>Burkholderia pseudomallei</em>, the bacterium that causes the potentially fatal disease melioidosis in both <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/nmicrobiol20158">humans</a> and <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1204699">animals</a>, than bores with low iron levels.</p>
<p>The study, by researchers from Charles Darwin University and <a href="https://www.menzies.edu.au">Menzies School of Health Research</a>, reveals the challenge of delivering safe water to remote communities in Australia’s wet-dry tropics, many of which rely on bore water from shallow aquifers. But we also found that treating water with chlorine is an effective way to improve its safety.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-clean-drinking-water-into-remote-indigenous-communities-means-overcoming-city-thinking-106701">Getting clean drinking water into remote Indigenous communities means overcoming city thinking</a>
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<p>Based on a modelling study, melioidosis causes an estimated <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/nmicrobiol20158">89,000 deaths worldwide</a>, and people with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21152057">diabetes, chronic lung or renal disease or hazardous alcohol use</a> are particularly at risk. Deaths due to contaminated drinking water have been documented in <a href="http://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.2001.65.177">Northern Australia</a> and <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/20/11/14-0832_article">Thailand</a>, where <em>B. pseudomallei</em> is endemic.</p>
<p><em>B. pseudomallei</em> is found naturally in soil and surface water in rural areas around Darwin. Around <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3381386/">one-third</a> of tested unchlorinated residential bores were positive for this bacterium, and it has also been found in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10653571">aerator sprays and tank sludge from water treatment plants</a>.</p>
<p>Water can usually be made safe by treating it with chlorine, although in laboratory experiments some <em>B. pseudomallei</em> strains can <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/9078159_The_effect_of_free_chlorine_on_Burkholderia_pseudomallei_in_potable_water">tolerate higher chlorine levels</a> than others.</p>
<p>There is also an association between <em>B. pseudomallei</em> and increased <a href="https://researchers.cdu.edu.au/en/publications/association-of-the-melioidosis-agent-burkholderia-pseudomallei-wi">iron levels in bore water</a>. Naturally occurring iron-cycling bacteria can metabolise the iron, producing bacterial films inside pipes that contribute to corrosion and reduce bore yield. The problem with biofilms is that opportunistic pathogens in water supplies such as <em>Legionella pneumophila</em> or <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em> can also colonise the biofilms, protecting the bacteria from chlorination.</p>
<p>Many aquifers in Northern Australia contain naturally high levels of iron, and some are also shallow and prone to inundation with surface water during the wet season. This iron-rich source water potentially compromises the water in the distribution system. </p>
<h2>Putting bores to the test</h2>
<p>The problem is that we know very little about the microbiology of drinking water in remote communities. To learn more, we studied three remote water supplies in the Top End with varying iron levels: one low, one medium, and one high. </p>
<p>The “high iron” community had water with an average of 0.8mg of iron per litre – more than double the threshold of 0.3mg/L suggested by the <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-drinking-water-guidelines">Australian drinking water guidelines</a> above which the taste of water is affected. </p>
<p>The “medium iron” community had water with average iron concentrations of 0.25mg/L, while the figure for the “low iron” community was 0.05mg/L. </p>
<p>All three communities had reported melioidosis cases over recent decades: three cases since 1994 in the high-iron community; 11 in the medium-iron community; and four in the low-iron community. It is not known where these patients acquired the melioidosis bacteria.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291065/original/file-20190905-175678-bgtf0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291065/original/file-20190905-175678-bgtf0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291065/original/file-20190905-175678-bgtf0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291065/original/file-20190905-175678-bgtf0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291065/original/file-20190905-175678-bgtf0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291065/original/file-20190905-175678-bgtf0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291065/original/file-20190905-175678-bgtf0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291065/original/file-20190905-175678-bgtf0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Sampling a high-iron bore.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirjam Kaestli</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>For each community, together with collaborators<a href="https://www.powerwater.com.au/">Power and Water Corporation</a>, we sampled water from five points along the drinking water distribution system, of which three were unchlorinated (bores and tanks), and two were from the chlorinated reticulation system. We then used genetic sequencing to survey the bacterial communities in water.</p>
<p>We found that the geochemistry of the groundwater had a substantial impact on the types of bacteria in untreated water, particularly in the case of bacteria that can metabolise iron. </p>
<p>We found <em>B. pseudomallei</em> in bores with high iron levels, and in a bacterial biofilm inside a bore pipe which also contained iron-oxidising <em>Gallionella</em>, nitrifying <em>Nitrospira</em>, and free-living <em>Hartmannella</em> amoebae, which <a href="https://iai.asm.org/content/68/3/1681.short?cited-by=yes&legid=iai;68/3/1681">may be able to harbour <em>B. pseudomallei</em></a>. </p>
<h2>Growing challenge</h2>
<p>If <em>B. pseudomallei</em> occurs inside amoebae growing in remote communities’ source water, this could make it harder to <a href="https://cmr.asm.org/content/17/2/413">successfully target the bacteria using chlorination</a>. Second, the interaction with <em>Gallionella</em> bears further scrutiny because this iron-oxidising bacterium is increasingly used in biological iron-removal filters.</p>
<p>In our samples we detected three pathogen groups: non-tuberculous mycobacteria, <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em>, and <em>B. pseudomallei</em>. Importantly, <em>B. pseudomallei</em> was found in water with scarce nutrients. This highlights the fact that this bacterium can <a href="https://aem.asm.org/content/82/24/7086.short">thrive under nutritionally poor conditions</a> (it has been known to survive even in distilled water for up to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21764093">16 years</a>). This in turn means when water providers routinely monitor the water supply integrity by using heterotrophic bacteria counts, they might not suspect the presence of <em>B. pseudomallei</em> as the former cannot survive under such nutrient scarce conditions.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, we also found <em>B. pseudomallei</em> in a bore accessing a deeper aquifer. We will need to investigate further across all seasons to determine whether this bacterium does indeed live in deeper, confined aquifers, or whether it is mainly linked to intrusions of surface water during the wet season. The latter would be easier for water providers to manage. </p>
<p>We detected no <em>B. pseudomallei</em> in treated water, although we did find abundant DNA of another opportunistic pathogen group: non-tuberculous mycobacteria.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/some-remote-australian-communities-have-drinking-water-for-only-nine-hours-a-day-86933">Some remote Australian communities have drinking water for only nine hours a day</a>
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<p>Our study provides a first snapshot of the bacteria in a selection of remote water supplies, and can hopefully contribute to improved management of water supplies in the wet-dry tropics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122941/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mirjam Kaestli has received funding from Power and Water Corporation (NT), the ARC and the NHMRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Gibb has received funding from Power and Water Corporation (NT).</span></em></p>Many remote communities in Australia’s north rely on bore water. But a new microbiology analysis suggests that the chemistry of untreated water can allow disease-causing bacteria to grow unchecked.Mirjam Kaestli, Research Fellow, Charles Darwin UniversityKaren Gibb, Professor, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1211792019-08-04T20:06:26Z2019-08-04T20:06:26ZIndigenous art centres that sustain remote communities are at risk. The VET sector can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286697/original/file-20190802-169676-32x2iq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most Indigenous art works are produced in around 90 Indigenous art centres located in very remote regions of Australia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cameliatwu/9399321912">CameliaTWU/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Among the many touching gifts following the March 2019 shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-26/aboriginal-community-gives-gifts-of-sorrow-after-christchurch/11137812">were two paintings</a> by artists from South Australia’s remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. </p>
<p>The paintings showed a honey grevillea shrub, a native Australian plant that produces long spikes of striking yellow and green flowers in winter. These canvasses depicted the sorrow of a people separated by sea and culture, but united in humanity.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1133310835760046081"}"></div></p>
<p>Artworks such as these are an important source of <a href="https://nintione.com.au/resource/CW010_ArtEconomiesProject_LiteratureReview.pdf">creativity and identity</a> for <a href="https://apo.org.au/taxonomy/term/52231">Indigenous Australians</a> (a term used here to refer to Australia’s First Peoples or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples). </p>
<p>They <a href="https://apo.org.au/taxonomy/term/52231">date back</a> around 40,000 years and <a href="http://www.oric.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/06_2013/11_0327_Corp_Visual_Arts_Sector_v3-3.pdf">include paintings</a>, drawings, etchings, sculptures, screen printing, weaving, pottery, jewellery and other traditional artefacts such as spears, boomerangs, canoes and fish traps.</p>
<p>Indigenous art also provides important economic benefits. When the art market peaked in 2007, Indigenous art was <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/indigenousarts/report/index">estimated</a> to generate some A$400-500 million a year. This supported 110 Indigenous art centres and about 5,000 art workers (artists). </p>
<p>Most Indigenous artworks are produced in around 90 art centres <a href="http://www.nintione.com.au/resource/PB009_AboriginalTorresStraitIslanderArtEconomies.pdf">located in very remote regions</a> of Australia. These centres represent a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.02.003">viable pathway</a> to address the extreme economic exclusion experienced by residents of Australia’s remote Indigenous communities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286711/original/file-20190802-169672-lw2o3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286711/original/file-20190802-169672-lw2o3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286711/original/file-20190802-169672-lw2o3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286711/original/file-20190802-169672-lw2o3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286711/original/file-20190802-169672-lw2o3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286711/original/file-20190802-169672-lw2o3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286711/original/file-20190802-169672-lw2o3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286711/original/file-20190802-169672-lw2o3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Indigenous artworks date back 40,000 years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>A 2012 government <a href="http://www.oric.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/06_2013/11_0327_Corp_Visual_Arts_Sector_v3-3.pdf">report noted</a> “art sales (were) the primary or only source of non-government income” for remote Indigenous communities.</p>
<p>The art centres also provide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2018.1528556">meaningful employment opportunities</a> for Indigenous women – who make up around 70% of artists.</p>
<p>But Indigenous art centres are facing significant challenges. Due to <a href="https://nintione.com.au/resource/CR004_AEVC_Synthesis.pdf">issues including</a> the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0392192112452081">global financial crisis</a> and quality control, average prices for paintings have <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/desert-artists-draw-a-line-in-the-sand-20130503-2iyew.html">almost halved</a> since their peak. The Indigenous Australian art market is still rebuilding.</p>
<p>There is also a lack of appropriate apprenticeship programs for Indigenous artists, and effective management and salesmanship. The vocational education and training (VET) sector must work together with key members of remote Indigenous communities and the art sector to deliver training that addresses the needs of remote Indigenous artists.</p>
<h2>Staffing issues and culture clashes</h2>
<p>Remote <a href="https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/145184/1/Altman_Myer_2005_0.pdf">Indigenous art centres are typically incorporated organisations</a> whose members are artists. Members elect a governing body that employs staff. There is limited commercial experience among members. </p>
<p>This fact, combined with the nature of the Indigenous art market, which is volatile and reliant on one-to-one agreements between art centres and city galleries, means the board normally employs <a href="http://www.nintione.com.au/resource/CRC-REP_ExitReport.pdf">non-Indigenous managers</a> to manage art centres.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-aboriginal-artists-personal-stories-matter-113029">For Aboriginal artists, personal stories matter</a>
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<p>Most Indigenous art centres are in remote regions. The <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/">Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)</a> <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4714.0Main+Features12008">classifies</a> “remote” as four hours’ drive or more from an urban centre and “very remote” as more than four hours’ drive from a range of services with restricted accessibility by ordinary vehicles.</p>
<p>This poses challenges for attracting, <a href="http://www.nintione.com.au/resource/DKCRC-Report-21-Staff-Attraction-and-Retention.pdf">retaining and training suitably qualified art centre managers</a>. Most managers work for around two to three years before leaving. </p>
<p>They are mainly young women with fine arts degrees who have lived most of their lives in urban settings. They find it <a href="https://nintione.com.au/resource/WhittleM_ManagersNon-IndigenousBackgroundsWorkinginRemoteAustralia.pdf">challenging to work across cultures</a>. And these managers are often ill-prepared for their role, which includes many non-art-related tasks like developing viable business models.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286710/original/file-20190802-169672-1p3ah4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286710/original/file-20190802-169672-1p3ah4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286710/original/file-20190802-169672-1p3ah4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286710/original/file-20190802-169672-1p3ah4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286710/original/file-20190802-169672-1p3ah4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286710/original/file-20190802-169672-1p3ah4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286710/original/file-20190802-169672-1p3ah4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286710/original/file-20190802-169672-1p3ah4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most Indigenous art centres are located hours away from an urban centre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Art centre managers are also responsible for <a href="http://www.crc-rep.com.au/resource/CR013_DesertPerspectivesAboriginalArtsWorkers.pdf">training Indigenous artists</a>. A small minority of Indigenous artists do formal, vocationally related training with certificates in arts administration or visual arts. </p>
<p>But artists are more likely to do non-formal, on-the-job training and participate in workshops and artist-in-residence programs. </p>
<p>Much of this training adapts traditional skills of Indigenous Australians to produce commercial artworks. For example, artists from the <a href="https://tjanpi.com.au/">Tjanpi Desert Weavers</a> adapt traditional women’s skills such as spinning human hair to weaving in contemporary materials. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-tjanpi-desert-weavers-show-us-that-traditional-craft-is-art-30243">The Tjanpi Desert Weavers show us that traditional craft is art</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How VET can help</h2>
<p>Indigenous Australian artists are still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.02.003">heavily connected to traditional knowledge systems and practices</a> and serve long cultural apprenticeships. But these are often not compatible with, nor recognised by, mainstream education or training systems. </p>
<p>Research <a href="https://nintione.com.au/resource/CR015_AEVC_ArtCentreFinances_Update.pdf">shows the overwhelming majority</a> of Indigenous artists receive irregular incomes and, over the course of their careers, small returns. For instance, only just over 5% of Indigenous artists receive A$100,000 or more over the length of their careers. </p>
<p>The often lengthy time it takes to make art, sell it and get paid for it also means some Indigenous artists have had <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2016/04/apo-nid75766-1178096.pdf">negative experiences</a> of the art market. This includes being exposed to exploitative art dealers who promise dubious incentives outside of the art centre system.</p>
<p>While most of the training of Indigenous artist is non-formal, governments and Indigenous art peak bodies have also recognised the importance of formal learning. </p>
<p>Most states offer VET-level qualifications in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts but mainly at the certificate level. And not all these courses are available in remote communities and <a href="https://www.myskills.gov.au/courses/details?Code=CUA30515">not all states</a> subsidise students. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rise-of-indigenous-art-speaks-volumes-about-class-in-australia-23032">Rise of Indigenous art speaks volumes about class in Australia </a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2018.1528556">small number of artists</a> aspire to become art centre managers. So they need more formal training in higher-level administrative and management positions. The VET sector should <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-keeps-talking-about-revamping-vet-but-is-it-actually-doing-it-117743">collaborate</a> with various stakeholders to <a href="https://www.esperanceexpress.com.au/story/3658976/indigenous-art-project-a-huge-success/">help more artists</a> upgrade their skills via diploma and degree programs. </p>
<p>Over time, these artists can move into management positions in art centres (or other arts and cultural organisations). This would also help reduce the turnover problems experienced by the sector.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286709/original/file-20190802-169710-12hzmkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286709/original/file-20190802-169710-12hzmkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286709/original/file-20190802-169710-12hzmkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286709/original/file-20190802-169710-12hzmkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286709/original/file-20190802-169710-12hzmkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286709/original/file-20190802-169710-12hzmkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286709/original/file-20190802-169710-12hzmkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286709/original/file-20190802-169710-12hzmkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Indigenous art market generates millions of dollars a year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXAmXpPBDvM">Arnhem Land Aboriginal Injalak Arts & Crafts Centre (Screenshot)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A <a href="https://pmc.gov.au/domestic-policy/vet-review">recent review</a> of the Australian vocational education and training sector recognised the challenges Indigenous Australians face when engaging with vocational education, particularly in rural and remote areas. Some factors in this included low levels of basic literacy and numeracy, and training methods not tailored to meet the needs of some Indigenous Australian learners, particularly in remote areas.</p>
<p>Without waiting for the government to carry out the <a href="https://pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/domestic-policy/vet-review/strengthening-skills-expert-review-australias-vocational-education-and-training-system">review’s recommendations</a>, some Indigenous arts bodies have already implemented innovations, working with art centres and the VET sector to reconcile accredited and non-accredited training. </p>
<p>One example is <a href="https://desart.com.au/">Desart</a> (Alice Springs, NT), a peak body for Central Australian Indigenous art centres, which facilitates the <a href="https://desart.com.au/what-we-do/training-and-employment/">Aboriginal Arts Worker Program</a>. This coordinates training and provides support for artists in the area. </p>
<p>Desart’s Art Worker Program offers these artists a customised program that includes accredited training co-designed and delivered in partnership with the <a href="https://www.batchelor.edu.au/">Batchelor Institute</a> over four weeks per year. This is supplemented by non-accredited training, which includes workshops delivered at the art centre.</p>
<p>Initiatives such as these, which involve collaboration between the Indigenous art industry, the VET sector and government, are ideal examples for government-funded <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/cash/delivering-world-class-vocational-education-and-training-system">pilot programs in remote Indigenous communities</a>. These models will be increasingly important if we want to help keep remote communities afloat.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Tim Acker, Principal and Lead Consultant with Tracker Development, was also a co-author for this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121179/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pi-Shen Seet receives funding from the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP) which was managed by Ninti One.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janice Jones receives funding from the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP) which was managed by Ninti One.</span></em></p>Most Indigenous art works are produced in around 90 Indigenous art centres located in very remote regions. But there are staff and management issues, which can be solved by better VET programs.Pi-Shen Seet, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Edith Cowan UniversityJanice Jones, Associate Professor, College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1167372019-06-16T20:01:24Z2019-06-16T20:01:24ZCaring for Country: how remote communities are building on payment for ecosystem services<p>The <a href="https://www.iied.org/markets-payments-for-environmental-services">payment for ecosystem services</a> (PES) model is supporting a new wave of self-determined construction on Aboriginal homelands. </p>
<p>With <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/IndigLawB/2009/35.html">no secure strategy</a> for government infrastructure investment in homelands, particularly in <a href="https://dlghcd.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/151793/HomeLands_Policy_QA_30_April.pdf">new housing</a> or <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AUIndigLawRw/2015/4.pdf">new homelands</a>, PES provides an alternative approach to support meaningful livelihoods on Country. Importantly, revenue from PES can support self-determined and appropriate building there.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-in-ways-that-meet-the-needs-of-australias-remote-regions-106071">Building in ways that meet the needs of Australia’s remote regions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>PES can attract funding from government, such as for ranger programs, and from private sources, in the form of carbon credits and <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-corporate-social-responsibility-and-does-it-work-89710">corporate social responsibility</a> funds. <a href="http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/(httpPublications)/27529D10F92E00DFC12579F200553BAF?OpenDocument">Research</a> suggests it’s also “crucial for improving social outcomes for Indigenous communities”.</p>
<p>Other <a href="https://www.academia.edu/38523845/Reconceptualising_Ecosystem_Services_Possibilities_for_cultivating_a%20%20%20%20nd_valuing_the_ethics_and_practices_of_care_Jackson_S._and_Palmer_L._">researchers argue</a> that PES is “most effective” on remote Aboriginal homelands and outstation settlements where it fundamentally values cultural knowledge and where the vastness of the landscape allows for economies of scale. </p>
<p>Indigenous PES enterprises can harness both traditional Indigenous knowledge and contemporary science for land management that improves environmental quality. Examples include activities like carbon abatement, feral animal management and biodiversity conservation and restoration.</p>
<p>On remote Aboriginal land, PES is often one of the few enterprise opportunities. That’s due to such restrictions as distance from economic centres, poor access, skilled labour shortages and <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00178">limitations</a> on Aboriginal land tenure, in particular the limited capital and security held. <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00111">Commonwealth</a> <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00178">laws</a> prevent the buying and selling of this land. </p>
<h2>The example of Kabulwarnamyo outstation</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277775/original/file-20190604-69059-1h5mme1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277775/original/file-20190604-69059-1h5mme1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277775/original/file-20190604-69059-1h5mme1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277775/original/file-20190604-69059-1h5mme1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277775/original/file-20190604-69059-1h5mme1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277775/original/file-20190604-69059-1h5mme1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277775/original/file-20190604-69059-1h5mme1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277775/original/file-20190604-69059-1h5mme1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kabulwarnamyo outstation is a remote settlement of about 50 people on Nawarddeken Country in West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson (2015)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277831/original/file-20190604-69075-1opj14s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277831/original/file-20190604-69075-1opj14s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277831/original/file-20190604-69075-1opj14s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277831/original/file-20190604-69075-1opj14s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277831/original/file-20190604-69075-1opj14s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277831/original/file-20190604-69075-1opj14s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277831/original/file-20190604-69075-1opj14s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277831/original/file-20190604-69075-1opj14s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kabulwarnamyo is a remote community in West Arnhem Land.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Maps</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Kabulwarnamyo outstation displays how PES activities simultaneously cause and provide a way of meeting the demand for buildings on remote Aboriginal land. And often this happens in ways that are more responsive to the local context than current government-provided alternatives.</p>
<p>Kabulwarnamyo is a small outstation of about 50 people on Warddeken Country in West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, about an eight-hour drive from Jabiru. It is extremely remote and cut off for up to five months of the year during the wet season. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mca.com.au/artists-works/artists/bardayal-lofty-nadjamerrek/">Established in 2002</a>, Kabulwarnamyo is managed by the not-for-profit company <a href="https://www.warddeken.com/">Warddeken Land Management</a>. This followed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission’s (ATSIC) <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AUIndigLawRw/2015/4.pdf">moratorium on creating new homelands</a> due to the Australian government no longer funding the building of houses on them. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-decides-a-question-at-the-heart-of-meaningful-reconciliation-41752">Who decides? A question at the heart of meaningful reconciliation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277785/original/file-20190604-69095-wjlp76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277785/original/file-20190604-69095-wjlp76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277785/original/file-20190604-69095-wjlp76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277785/original/file-20190604-69095-wjlp76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277785/original/file-20190604-69095-wjlp76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277785/original/file-20190604-69095-wjlp76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277785/original/file-20190604-69095-wjlp76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277785/original/file-20190604-69095-wjlp76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The self-built office at Kabulwarnamyo includes doors painted with totems in the traditional X-ray style.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson (2015)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>PES activities – namely <a href="https://www.warddeken.com/about">carbon abatement and biodiversity conservation</a> – are the core business of Warddeken. However, it also built 14 dwellings on the outstation using an A$80,000 grant from the NT government and PES funds from the sale of carbon credits to multinational energy company ConocoPhillips. </p>
<p>The flexibility of the carbon credit funds meant Warddeken could build in ways that directly responded to the needs of the people, rather than adhering to centrally determined regulations, which typically drive up building costs.</p>
<p>To establish Kabulwarnamyo, the Warddeken rangers, who are traditional owners and residents of the outstation, self-built an office and 14 balabbala (traditional Warddeken shade shelters). A number of versions have been developed over time. Each balabbala consists of a raised timber platform floor on steel rails with local cypress pine posts and two trucking tarpaulins as a roof. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277778/original/file-20190604-69051-kxje0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277778/original/file-20190604-69051-kxje0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277778/original/file-20190604-69051-kxje0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277778/original/file-20190604-69051-kxje0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277778/original/file-20190604-69051-kxje0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277778/original/file-20190604-69051-kxje0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277778/original/file-20190604-69051-kxje0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277778/original/file-20190604-69051-kxje0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An early version of the balabbala at Kabulwarnamyo. The double-layered tarpaulin shades provide cross-flow ventilation and reduce passive heat gain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson (2015)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dome or safari tents are pitched on the platforms to provide sleeping spaces and privacy for occupants. The structures have solar-powered electricity and hotplates for cooking using bottled gas. A creek-fed pump provides water. A separate structure houses a shower and long-drop toilet. </p>
<p>Excluding wages for construction staff, each balabbala costs A$15,000. These simple structures do not adhere to public housing standards, but do meet crucial local needs. The balabbala project has allowed Warddeken rangers to conduct PES activities and maintain cultural connections to Wardekken Country in the absence of government funding for services support.</p>
<h2>Evolving to meet local community needs</h2>
<p>As Warddeken’s business has developed, so too have the building typologies. In 2015, Warddeken <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-22/remote-nt-indigenous-community-opens-own-school/6639220">self-built a school</a> to enable children to also return to living on Country. The school is a modified and extended balabbala, built using Warddeken Land Management core funds. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277783/original/file-20190604-69087-1j0wmus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277783/original/file-20190604-69087-1j0wmus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277783/original/file-20190604-69087-1j0wmus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277783/original/file-20190604-69087-1j0wmus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277783/original/file-20190604-69087-1j0wmus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277783/original/file-20190604-69087-1j0wmus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277783/original/file-20190604-69087-1j0wmus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277783/original/file-20190604-69087-1j0wmus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Kabulwarnamyo school is a modified balabbala with a central truss that eliminates the need for a central pole.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson (2015)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A crowdfunding campaign raised ongoing teaching funds. Financing the running costs of the school remains a challenge. Unlike remote non-Indigenous townships, there is little NT government support for homeland education. </p>
<p>The school, like the balabbalas, represents this community’s reinvestment of PES-derived funds to meet their crucial needs in innovative ways. The <a href="https://www.nawarddekenacademy.com/projects">Nawarddeken Academy</a> was formally registered as an independent school in December 2018. It is clear these unconventional buildings are fit for purpose and satisfy the registration requirements of the NT Department of Education.</p>
<p>PES-enabled balabbala are not the ideal solution for building development on homelands. But here they are appropriate because they are simple and largely suited to the environment and the cost of building them matches available funds. Warddeken CEO Shaun Ansell has said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What we do at Kabulwarnamyo is appropriate for our resourcing, environment and capacity, but it’s not proper housing. If we had the capacity to build beautiful mud brick houses for everyone we would.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are long-term plans to improve the balabbala using locally sourced stone for half-walling. This will retain the structures’ passive ventilation properties while improving protection during the wet season and cold weather. The structures can therefore be seen as staged projects, improved as resources become available.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277780/original/file-20190604-69063-1k1jjfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277780/original/file-20190604-69063-1k1jjfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277780/original/file-20190604-69063-1k1jjfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277780/original/file-20190604-69063-1k1jjfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277780/original/file-20190604-69063-1k1jjfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277780/original/file-20190604-69063-1k1jjfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277780/original/file-20190604-69063-1k1jjfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277780/original/file-20190604-69063-1k1jjfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A newer version balabbala under construction. The rails are now steel so the structure lasts longer and the white tarp has higher reflectivity than the darker versions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson (2015)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most importantly, the balabbala provide significant social returns to local Nawarddeken. A <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/Warddeken%20SROI.docx">2014 report by Social Ventures Australia</a>, commissioned by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, documented significant social, environmental, economic and cultural benefits as a result of PES investments at Kabulwarnamyo. It estimated the value of these outcomes at A$55.4 million for the financial years 2009-15 – a return on investment of $3.40 for every dollar invested.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-boost-aboriginal-financial-capability-spend-time-in-communities-99210">Want to boost Aboriginal financial capability? Spend time in communities</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Lessons from the Warddeken experience</h2>
<p>The Warddeken experience shows us the policy conditions that could support building and PES enterprises on other remote Aboriginal lands. These are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>implementing government policies that recognise, or at least do not inhibit, self-driven building initiatives</p></li>
<li><p>loosening restrictions on using PES carbon credits and Working on Country funds to support building that directly responds to needs arising from living on Country</p></li>
<li><p>providing incentives for urban-based corporates to support remote PES partners and a widespread environmental strategy</p></li>
<li><p>recognising the value PES creates beyond an environmental return</p></li>
<li><p>continuing government support for PES economies in remote Australia.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As Warddeken has shown, buildings play a critical role in enabling PES. The flip side of this is that PES supports building in response to locally identified needs. </p>
<p>PES provides extensive environmental benefits, but it is the broader social and cultural returns, such as maintaining connections to Country and creating sustainable livelihoods, that are most meaningful on remote Aboriginal land.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The Conversation is co-publishing articles with <a href="http://www.alva.uwa.edu.au/community/futurewest">Future West (Australian Urbanism)</a>, produced by the University of Western Australia’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts. These <a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=%22Future+West%22&type=">biannual collections of articles</a> look towards the future of urbanism, taking Perth and Western Australia as its reference point. The latest series looks at the notion that urbanism is shaped by design enterprise. You can read other articles <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/future-west-30248">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116737/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Robertson works for Monash University.</span></em></p>We now have a proven model for supporting self-determined building on Aboriginal homelands. The next question is how can its reach be extended?Hannah Robertson, Innovation Fellow and Lecturer, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1126192019-03-11T18:49:19Z2019-03-11T18:49:19ZThe summer bushfires you didn’t hear about, and the invasive species fuelling them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263067/original/file-20190311-86707-1ji5xqu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fire has burned through a swathe of the Tjoritja National Park.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In January 2019, fires burned across a 100-kilometre length of the iconic Tjoritja National Park in the West MacDonnell Ranges, from Ormiston Gorge nearly to the edge of Alice Springs.</p>
<p>These fires affected an area comparable to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dry-lightning-has-set-tasmania-ablaze-and-climate-change-makes-it-more-likely-to-happen-again-111264">recent Tasmanian fires</a>, but attracted relatively little national attention. This is partly because the fires in Tasmania were so unusual – but we believe the fires in central Australia were just as unexpected. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dry-lightning-has-set-tasmania-ablaze-and-climate-change-makes-it-more-likely-to-happen-again-111264">Dry lightning has set Tasmania ablaze, and climate change makes it more likely to happen again</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the past, fires of this magnitude have tended to come after heavy rain that powers the growth of native grasses, providing fuel for intense and widespread fires. But our research highlights the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/aec.12039">new danger posed by buffel grass</a>, a highly invasive foreigner sweeping across inland Australia and able to grow fast without much water. </p>
<p>Far from being pristine, Tjoritja and the Western MacDonnell Ranges are now an invaded landscape under serious threat. Our changing climate and this tenacious invader have transformed fire risk in central Australia, meaning once-rare fires may occur far more often.</p>
<h2>Buffel grass in Australia</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au/resource/DKCRC-Report-17-Buffel-Grass.pdf">Buffel grass</a> is tough and fast-growing. First introduced to Australia in the 1870s by Afghan cameleers, the grass was extensively planted in central Australia in the 1960s during a prolonged drought.</p>
<p>Introductions of the drought-resistant plant for cattle feed and dust suppression have continued, and in recent decades buffel grass has become a ubiquitous feature of central Australian landscapes, including Tjoritja.</p>
<p>Buffel grass has now invaded extensive areas in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia and is spreading into New South Wales and Victoria. It was legally <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/epbc">recognised as a key threat</a> in 2014, but so far only South Australia has prohibited its sale and created statewide zoning to enforce control or destruction.</p>
<p>Buffel grass crowds out other plants, creating effective “monocultures” – landscapes dominated by a single species. In central Australia, where Aboriginal groups retain direct, active and enduring links to Country, buffel grass makes it hard or impossible to carry out important cultural activities like hunt game species, harvest native plant materials or visit significant sites.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7gNWkcvRd6I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Buffel grass impacts on Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara communities in central Australia.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But buffel grass isn’t only a threat to biodiversity and Indigenous cultural practices. In January the Tjoritja fires spread along dry river beds choked with buffel, incinerating many large old-growth trees. Much like the alpine forests of Tasmania, the flora of inland river systems has not adapted to frequent and intense fires. </p>
<p>We believe the ability of the fires to spread through these systems, and their increased intensity and size, can be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/aec.12039">directly attributed</a> to buffel grass.</p>
<h2>Fire and buffel grass</h2>
<p>Because of the low average rainfall, widespread fires in central Australia have been rare in the recorded past, only following unusual and exceptionally high rainfall. </p>
<p>This extreme rain promoted significant growth of native grasses, which then provided fuel for large fires. There could be decades between these <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/emr.12104">flood and fire cycles</a>. However, since the Tjoritja (previously West MacDonnell Ranges) National Park was established in the 1990s, there have been three large-scale fires in 2001, 2011 and 2019.</p>
<p>What has changed? The 2001-02 and 2011-12 fires both came after heavy rainfall years. In fact, 2011 saw one of the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/history/La-Nina-2010-12.pdf">biggest La Niña events on record</a>. </p>
<p>Climate change predictions suggest that central Australia will experience <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/uploads/9901f6614a2cac7b2b888f55b4dff9cc.pdf">longer and more frequent heatwaves</a>. And although total annual rainfall may stay the same, it’s predicted to fall in fewer days. In other words, we’ll see heavy storms and rainfall followed by long heatwaves: perfect conditions for grass to grow and then dry, creating abundant fuel for intense fires. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263069/original/file-20190311-86686-m99rge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263069/original/file-20190311-86686-m99rge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263069/original/file-20190311-86686-m99rge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263069/original/file-20190311-86686-m99rge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263069/original/file-20190311-86686-m99rge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263069/original/file-20190311-86686-m99rge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263069/original/file-20190311-86686-m99rge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263069/original/file-20190311-86686-m99rge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The remains of a corkwood tree after an unplanned bushfire in an area heavily invaded by buffel grass near Simpsons Gap. Very few large old corkwood trees now remain in this area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If central Australia, and Tjoritja National Park in particular, were still dominated by a wide variety of native grasses and plants, this might not be such a problem. But buffel grass was introduced because it grows quickly, even without heavy rain. </p>
<p>The fires this year were extraordinary because there was no unusually high rainfall in the preceding months. They are a portent of the new future of fire in these ecosystems, as native desert plant communities are being transformed into dense near-monocultures of introduced grass. </p>
<p>The fuel that buffel grass creates is far more than native plant communities, and after the fire buffel grass can regenerate more quickly than many native species. </p>
<p>So we now have a situation in which fuel loads can accumulate over much shorter times. This makes the risk of fire in invaded areas so high that bushfire might now be considered a perpetual threat. </p>
<h2>Changing fire threat</h2>
<p>In spinifex grasslands, traditional Aboriginal burning regimes have been used for millennia to renew the landscape and promote growth while effectively breaking up the landscape so old growth areas are protected and large fires are prevented. Current <a href="https://dtc.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/632058/DTC_West-Macs-National-Park_Joint-Management-Plan_9_March_LR.pdf">fire management</a> within Tjoritja “combines traditional and scientific practices”.</p>
<p>However, these fire management regimes do not easily translate to river environments invaded by buffel grass. These environments have, to our knowledge, never been targeted for burning by Aboriginal peoples. Since the arrival of buffel grass, there is now an extremely high risk that control burns can spread and become out-of-control bushfires. </p>
<p>Even when control burns are successful, the rapid regrowth of buffel grass means firebreaks may only be effective for a short time before risky follow-up burning is required. And there may no longer be a good time of year to burn.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-invasive-weeds-can-make-wildfires-hotter-and-more-frequent-89281">How invasive weeds can make wildfires hotter and more frequent</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/aec.12039">research</a> suggests that in areas invaded by buffel grass, slow cool winter burns - typical for control burning - can be just as, or more, damaging for trees than fires in hot, windy conditions that often cause fires to spread. </p>
<p>Without more effective management plans and strategies to manage the changing fire threat in central Australia, we face the prospect of a future Tjoritja in which no old-growth trees will remain. This will have a devastating impact on the unique desert mountain ranges. </p>
<p>We need to acknowledge that invasive buffel grass and a changing climate have changed the face of fire risk in central Australia. We need a coordinated response from Australia’s federal and state governments, or it will be too late to stop the ecological catastrophe unfolding before us.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors acknowledge the contribution of Shane Muldoon, Sarah White, Erin Westerhuis, CDU Environmental Science and Management students, and NT Parks and Wildlife staff to the research at experimental sites and ongoing tree monitoring in central Australia.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Schlesinger receives funding from the Hermon Slade Foundation to investigate the impacts of buffel grass on native plants and animals. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barry Judd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tasmania wasn’t the only part of Australia that burned in January. The remote interior near Alice Springs saw a huge blaze, worsened by invasive buffel grass.Christine Schlesinger, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science and Ecology, Charles Darwin UniversityBarry Judd, Professor, Indigenous Social Research, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1060712018-12-19T19:07:41Z2018-12-19T19:07:41ZBuilding in ways that meet the needs of Australia’s remote regions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250125/original/file-20181211-76965-i1rzd5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Doing it locally: workers in the Gumatj timber workshop, Gunyangara.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Remote areas were described as “unused” and/or “underperforming” in a <a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/events/mtalks-rem-koolhaas-and-david-gianotten-on-countryside">2017 address</a> by internationally renowned architects Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA. Similarly, a <a href="http://www.studio-basel.com/publications/books/switzerland-an-urban-portrait.html">2004 territorial study</a> of Switzerland by ETH Studio Basel, led by architecture firm Herzog & De Meuron, painted the entire country as an urban landscape except for the most remote alpine regions. These were classified as “fallow land” and/or “quiet places”.</p>
<p>It follows that building policies typically centralise decision-making, resources and projects in the largest population centres, irrespective of population distribution or remote community needs. The urban perspective through which building policies are largely determined fails to assess the value of remote regions beyond market-oriented economics. </p>
<p>For remote-dwelling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the land, or Country, is entwined with spiritual and cultural identity. It cannot be valued in market terms.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-wont-close-the-gap-if-the-commonwealth-cuts-off-indigenous-housing-support-91835">We won't close the gap if the Commonwealth cuts off Indigenous housing support</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A regional approach to building could meet remote community needs and bring about local economic development. It would also reinforce the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/un-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples-1">United Nations-recognised right of Indigenous peoples</a> to maintain cultural connections to Country.</p>
<h2>What’s different about remote Indigenous settlement?</h2>
<p>Remote Australia cannot be viewed through the same lens as rural Australia. For a start, it has distinct settlement patterns. These are characterised by the presence of large numbers of Indigenous people, a widely dispersed population and, as population geographer <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296839023_Social_Engineering_and_Indigenous_Settlement_Policy_and_Demography_in_Remote_Australia">John Taylor describes it</a>, a “frequent” and “circular” internal mobility.</p>
<p>While just 1.4% of Australia’s population lives in remote areas, <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2075.0Main+Features202016?OpenDocument">18.4% of Indigenous people do</a>. In remote areas, Aboriginal people are more likely to have experienced histories that enabled them to maintain connections to traditional Country. This has resulted in a proportionally greater recognition of Aboriginal land tenure under either the <a href="https://www.clc.org.au/index.php?/articles/info/the-aboriginal-land-rights-act/">Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976</a> or the <a href="https://auroraproject.com.au/what-native-title">Native Title Act 1993</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://empoweredcommunities.org.au/our-regions/north-east-arnhem-land/">Northeast Arnhem Land</a> in the Northern Territory is typical of this pattern. It is extremely remote and has a largely Indigenous population, with 67% identifying as Yolngu. </p>
<p>There are three main settlement types: a largely non-Indigenous mining town of 2,500 people, Nhulunbuy; a mostly Indigenous ex-mission settlement of around 850 people called Yirrkala; and more than 30 homelands across the territory located on traditional family clan lands with populations of up to 150, but typically fewer than 50 people. The people move often from place to place due to seasonal and cultural obligations and/or availability of access to services.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250119/original/file-20181211-76989-1qtidtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250119/original/file-20181211-76989-1qtidtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250119/original/file-20181211-76989-1qtidtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250119/original/file-20181211-76989-1qtidtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250119/original/file-20181211-76989-1qtidtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250119/original/file-20181211-76989-1qtidtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250119/original/file-20181211-76989-1qtidtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250119/original/file-20181211-76989-1qtidtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Northeast Arnhem land is extremely remote and has a largely Indigenous population living in three main settlement types.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Challenges of building remotely</h2>
<p>Physical distance and political marginalisation make it difficult and costly to advocate for building in remote regions generally, but Australia’s remote Indigenous regions face further challenges.</p>
<p>Restrictive Aboriginal land tenure limits opportunities for building and/or economic development. For instance, there is no housing market due to the inability to buy and sell recognised Aboriginal land. This means that, unlike in the rest of Australia, buildings do not represent an economic “improvement” to the land. </p>
<p>Furthermore, in Yirrkala, no houses were built in the first five years of the federal government’s Strategic Indigenous Housing Infrastructure Program (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Indigenous_Housing_and_Infrastructure_Program">SIHIP</a>) – later relabelled the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing (<a href="https://dcm.nt.gov.au/supporting-government/office-of-aboriginal-affairs/national-partnership-agreement-on-remote-indigenous-housing">NPARIH</a>) and then the National Partnership on Remote Housing (<a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/housing/national-partnership-agreements">NPRH</a>). This was because others contested Rirratjingu clans’ traditional ownership of parts of the township, which delayed decisions on where houses could be built.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250134/original/file-20181211-76989-1d42iyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250134/original/file-20181211-76989-1d42iyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250134/original/file-20181211-76989-1d42iyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250134/original/file-20181211-76989-1d42iyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250134/original/file-20181211-76989-1d42iyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250134/original/file-20181211-76989-1d42iyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250134/original/file-20181211-76989-1d42iyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250134/original/file-20181211-76989-1d42iyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Materials are usually shipped in, but the Delta Reef Gumatj have begun building with locally made timber trusses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Economic development and job opportunities are also limited. A special agreement is required to establish an economic venture on Aboriginal land. Obtaining permission is costly and the process slow as extensive legal and anthropological work is required. </p>
<p>The result has been a dearth of local material and construction industries, and jobs, on remote Aboriginal land. Building materials are generally shipped in.</p>
<p>Collectively, these factors contribute to a reliance on government for investment in building. In Northeast Arnhem Land, the Australian or Northern Territory governments provide 95% of building funds.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250127/original/file-20181211-76959-d83srf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250127/original/file-20181211-76959-d83srf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250127/original/file-20181211-76959-d83srf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250127/original/file-20181211-76959-d83srf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250127/original/file-20181211-76959-d83srf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250127/original/file-20181211-76959-d83srf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250127/original/file-20181211-76959-d83srf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250127/original/file-20181211-76959-d83srf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Government-funded housing under construction by DRG, Gunyangara.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Centralisation model dominates</h2>
<p>The policy position of Australian, state and territory governments has long been one of centralisation. Funding is concentrated on the largest population centres where there is a perceived availability of jobs and economies of scale.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250120/original/file-20181211-76971-1ch19ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250120/original/file-20181211-76971-1ch19ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250120/original/file-20181211-76971-1ch19ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=667&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250120/original/file-20181211-76971-1ch19ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=667&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250120/original/file-20181211-76971-1ch19ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=667&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250120/original/file-20181211-76971-1ch19ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=838&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250120/original/file-20181211-76971-1ch19ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=838&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250120/original/file-20181211-76971-1ch19ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=838&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Immediate housing need in Northeast Arnhem Land by number.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This position is upheld irrespective of identified building needs. For instance, in 2015 Nhulunbuy had 250 vacant houses after the Gove alumina refinery closed. There were shortfalls of 56 houses in Yirrkala and 81 houses across the Laynhapuy homelands. Yet 90% of government investment in building was in Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala, despite negligible need in Nhulunbuy and extensive need on the homelands.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250122/original/file-20181211-76956-13hfal9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250122/original/file-20181211-76956-13hfal9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250122/original/file-20181211-76956-13hfal9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250122/original/file-20181211-76956-13hfal9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250122/original/file-20181211-76956-13hfal9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250122/original/file-20181211-76956-13hfal9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250122/original/file-20181211-76956-13hfal9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250122/original/file-20181211-76956-13hfal9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The territorial distribution of capital works investment in Northeast Arnhem Land.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Northeast Arnhem Land experience aligns with that of other remote Indigenous regions. Homelands, in particular, have been chronically underfunded. After the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was abolished in 2005, state and territory governments largely assumed responsibility for infrastructure and services on homelands without allocating further funds for new housing. The Northern Territory government formalised this position in its <a href="https://dhcd.nt.gov.au/news/homelands-policy-review-opportunity-to-provide-your-feedback">Homelands Policy</a> and amendments to it in 2013.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250128/original/file-20181211-76989-18yshdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250128/original/file-20181211-76989-18yshdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250128/original/file-20181211-76989-18yshdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250128/original/file-20181211-76989-18yshdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250128/original/file-20181211-76989-18yshdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250128/original/file-20181211-76989-18yshdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250128/original/file-20181211-76989-18yshdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250128/original/file-20181211-76989-18yshdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The stage structure at Baniyla Homeland is used as a house due to overcrowding.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The situation is unlikely to change. If anything, it has intensified. In 2016, threats from the Western Australian government extended from ending new construction to <a href="https://regionalservicesreform.wa.gov.au/book/resilient-families-strong-communities-0#hb_page_95">ending basic services</a> to <a href="https://regionalservicesreform.wa.gov.au/book/resilient-families-strong-communities-0#hb_page_95">between 100 and 150 of its smallest homelands</a> (more commonly <a href="https://regionalservicesreform.wa.gov.au/p/roadmap">known as outstations in WA</a>).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-decides-a-question-at-the-heart-of-meaningful-reconciliation-41752">Who decides? A question at the heart of meaningful reconciliation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Government building projects in remote Indigenous Australia have not only failed to align with needs but also have limited local economic development. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Queensland Research Centre <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/167">reports</a> criticised the <a href="http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090515044057/http://www.jennymacklin.fahcsia.gov.au/Internet/jennymacklin.nsf/content/new_alliance_09oct08.htm">alliancing procurement</a> methodology used in the SIHIP/NPARIH program because it allocated risk to the contractor. This knocked small-scale local contractors out of the tender process and resulted in limited use of local labour and materials.</p>
<h2>Four steps to better building policy</h2>
<p>Policy reforms could stimulate building in remote Indigenous regions. Reforms should focus on increasing local Indigenous input into decision-making. This is critical for identifying and responding to local needs. </p>
<p>From the most difficult to the easiest to enact, reform options could be:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>alignment with the <a href="https://www.1voiceuluru.org/the-statement">Uluru Statement from the Heart</a>, treaty or constitutional amendment to give Indigenous people “<a href="https://www.whitlam.org/whitlam-legacy-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/">their rightful place</a>”, as Gough Whitlam put it, at a national level with statutory decision-making authority over their lands</p></li>
<li><p>amend legislation to devolve decision-making to Indigenous people at a local regional level, as occurred in 2017 amendments to the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 devolving these powers from the Northern Land Council to the Tiwi Land Council, Ngarrariyal Aboriginal Corporation and Baniyala Nimbarrki Land Authority, for self-determination of townships on their lands</p></li>
<li><p>restructure <a href="https://rda.gov.au/">Regional Development Australia</a> agencies to align with recognised territorial regions, as opposed to general population distribution, to foster best building practice and advocacy for local needs</p></li>
<li><p>do nothing but favour the specification of local suppliers (such as through the <a href="https://supplynation.org.au/">Supply Nation</a> network), materials (in Northeast Arnhem Land the Delta Reef Gumatj have begun building with locally made concrete blocks and timber trusses) and labour (through slow builds and the use of semi-skilled technological systems) at a project-by-project level.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250132/original/file-20181211-76980-1dgcb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250132/original/file-20181211-76980-1dgcb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250132/original/file-20181211-76980-1dgcb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250132/original/file-20181211-76980-1dgcb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250132/original/file-20181211-76980-1dgcb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250132/original/file-20181211-76980-1dgcb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250132/original/file-20181211-76980-1dgcb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250132/original/file-20181211-76980-1dgcb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Self-funded Delta Reef Gumatj-built single men’s accommodation under construction, Gunyangara.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hannah Robertson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-stop-innovating-in-indigenous-housing-and-get-on-with-closing-the-gap-96266">We need to stop innovating in Indigenous housing and get on with Closing the Gap</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These policy options are not necessarily mutually exclusive: where practicable they could be conducted in tandem or implemented in part.</p>
<p>The shift to a regional building approach does not require revolutionary change. Rather, it builds upon a remote region’s existing practices, knowledge and organisational systems by decentralising decision-making. </p>
<p>Building is not the panacea for the economic development challenges of remote Indigenous regions – it cannot employ every job seeker. But if building policy decision-making is regionally determined it can better align with community needs and contribute to local industry.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-communities-are-reworking-urban-planning-but-planners-need-to-accept-their-history-92351">Indigenous communities are reworking urban planning, but planners need to accept their history</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The Conversation is co-publishing articles with <a href="http://www.alva.uwa.edu.au/community/futurewest">Future West (Australian Urbanism)</a>, produced by the University of Western Australia’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts. These articles look towards the future of urbanism, taking Perth and Western Australia as its reference point, with the latest series focusing on the regions. You can read other articles <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/future-west-30248">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106071/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Robertson works for Monash University.
</span></em></p>Centralised policies are not meeting the needs of remote Indigenous settlements. Increasing their decision-making input and the role of local industry can overcome the challenges of building remotely.Hannah Robertson, Innovation Fellow and Lecturer, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1067012018-11-20T18:47:50Z2018-11-20T18:47:50ZGetting clean drinking water into remote Indigenous communities means overcoming city thinking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244984/original/file-20181112-116820-3i6z3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wallace Rockhole, NT. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nina Hall</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many people in Australia do not have access to safe drinking water. It’s particularly difficult in Indigenous communities because they are small, remote and challenged by additional issues to secure essential power and water services. To make sure everyone has access to safe drinking water, we’ll have to get smarter about the way we treat it. </p>
<p>Drinking water contamination can come from <a href="https://gci.uq.edu.au/filething/get/13903/UQ_WASH%20scan%20in%20Indig%20Communities-FINAL-LR-2.pdf">naturally occurring chemicals</a>, such arsenic, cadmium, nitrates, uranium and barium. It can also come from microbes from sewage and animal wastes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/better-boil-ya-billy-when-australian-water-goes-bad-99451">Better boil ya billy: when Australian water goes bad</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are also chemicals in farming areas from pesticides, and from mining areas, and also in defence areas that have leached fire-fighting foam into the groundwater (<a href="https://www.powerwater.com.au/networks_and_infrastructure/water_services/pfas">“PFAS” chemicals</a>). </p>
<p>In our research and conversations with residents and water operators in remote Indigenous communities, we have been told that their water is not safe to drink, and that they have no reasonable or practical alternatives and no help.</p>
<h2>Hearing from the locals</h2>
<p>One Indigenous custodian from Katherine, NT, told us that the levels of PFAS from fire-extinguisher foam were high in their soil and water. Worried locals stopped picking berries or fishing from the river. Despite their protests for action, they said they felt ignored. </p>
<p>Their fears were based on the <a href="http://newsroom.nt.gov.au/mediaRelease/23019">2017 testing of water bores</a> around Katherine’s RAAF base with raised PFAS levels. Defence provided bottled water to 50 homes.</p>
<p>Over in the Kimberley, WA, an traditional owner said, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>our water is contaminated with nitrates … They say the level is … too high for babies under three months and pregnant women … now the whole community (150 people) cart water from this one tap for drinking and cooking. … We feel fear and we don’t know how much damage is being done to us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Data reflects the scope and seriousness of the problem. For example, a <a href="https://audit.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/report2015_08-AbServices.pdf">WA Auditor-General’s report</a> in 2015 found that many communities had unsafe levels of the chemical contaminants nitrates and uranium in the two-year reporting period. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-i-have-to-drink-eight-glasses-of-water-per-day-we-asked-five-experts-93025">Do I have to drink eight glasses of water per day? We asked five experts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In Borroloola, NT, situated neat a zinc mine, the community were told by the mining company that the ground (bore) water on the McArthur River was contaminated with lead and manganese. Community representatives told us, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[We were told] we should not drink it, and then they said it was safe and that the high lead had come from our pipes and not the mine … a monitoring group said that our fish are toxic with lead from the mine, so we stopped fishing and started worrying … We can’t live with this contamination anymore. We need the water to be clean. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The McArthur River Mining Pty Ltd’s own <a href="https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/554659/mrm_overburden_additional_info.pdf">Environmental Impact Statement</a> reflects that values “exceed” the trigger value for further investigation in sulfate, zinc and lead. Recent <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-10/indigenous-protest-lead-contamination-water-borroloola/10103122">statements in the media</a> from the company indicate the levels are safe. </p>
<h2>Safe water for all</h2>
<p>Treating drinking water can be different and difficult in remote locations compared to cities. </p>
<p>There are different types of <a href="https://theconversation.com/some-remote-australian-communities-have-drinking-water-for-only-nine-hours-a-day-86933">drinking water treatments</a> depending on the type of water (freshwater vs saltwater), the cleanliness of the water (lots of sediment vs dissolved chemicals), and the cost of the treatment (remote communities often only use basic chlorine treatment as they are too small to justify the investment for reverse osmosis). Then there are extreme weather events, such as cyclones and flooding, and the “people factor”, including the skills of the water plant operators.</p>
<p>Only now are government agencies and water utilities starting to realise that there are no “one size fits all” or simple technological fixes for treating water in remote areas. Instead, they are beginning to seek <a href="https://www.wsaa.asn.au/news/closing-gap-wsaa-and-awa-policy-stream-ozwater18">water treatment technology specifically designed for these regions</a>. Sometimes the simplest technologies are going to be longest-serving as they can be fixed, will not be damaged in cyclones, and can be operated by one person. </p>
<p>For example, Queensland Health ran a successful <a href="https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/706647/Queensland-Health-Closing-the-gap-performance-report-2017.pdf">pilot project in the outer Torres Strait Islands</a> to reduce microbial contamination of water. They focused on the “people factor” by building the skills of local staff. They addressed the “governance facto” by ensuring that all relevant government agencies collaborated. And they addressed the “technology factor” by upgrading the technology for water disinfection. </p>
<p>Chemicals in water can also be removed with simple technologies that are locally-appropriate. For instance, <a href="https://www.yacwa.org.au/major-events/wa-youth-awards-2018/2018-finalists/">Indigenous teenager and Science Teachers’ Association WA’s Young Scientist of the Year</a> Uriah Daisybell, from the Christian Aboriginal Parent-directed School in Coolgardie, WA invented a water treatment system by burning shells and combining with magnets to create a charcoal filter. Testing of the filtered water found that heavy metals were reduced to safe levels.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-some-tap-water-taste-weird-94661">Why does some tap water taste weird?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australia is a vast country, with naturally-occurring chemicals in water and high risk of man-made contamination. Innovation and attention is required to achieve the <a href="http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/64/292">United Nations’ Resolution to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water</a> and sanitation for all – especially in our remote communities. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>We are bringing together a <a href="https://gci.uq.edu.au/events/safe-water-summit">Safe Water Summit</a> this month in Brisbane, with representatives from Indigenous and farming communities.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nina Lansbury Hall receives research funding for work on remote community water and sanitation issues from Queensland Health, The University of Queensland Global Change Flagship funding, and from the Water Services Association of Australia, and has collaborated with WaterAid Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Hoy receives research funding from The University of Queensland's Global Change Institutes's Flagship Projects Program and Faculty of Medicine's Collaborative Grant Workshop; a National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence in Chronic Kidney Disease; and a grant from Sanofi-Genzyme. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Mott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Drinking water in Australia can be contaminated by natural and manmade processes, especially in communities. Innovation is needed to ensure water is ‘fit for purpose, place and people’.Nina Lansbury, Lecturer, Environmental Health Unit, School of Public Health, The University of QueenslandSusan Mott, Senior Research Officer, The University of QueenslandWendy Hoy, Professor of Medicine; Director, Centre for Chronic Disease, and Director, NHMRC CKD.CRE, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1032012018-10-03T04:19:42Z2018-10-03T04:19:42ZDigitising social services could further exclude people already on the margins<p>Digital or e-government has been prominent on <a href="https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/341419/gov_2_0_taskforce_recommendations_lead_public_service_reform/">Australia’s political agenda</a> for at least a decade. It has led to improvements in e-services that allow you to pay rates online, submit a digital tax return, or claim rebates for medical bills.</p>
<p>But while e-services can make life more convenient for those who have access, there are signs that transacting with the state digitally is fast becoming mandatory. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/my-health-record-the-case-for-opting-out-99302">My Health Record opt-out system</a>, for example, assumes everyone will participate in this digital initiative unless they take deliberate action to do otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10361146.2018.1519064?scroll=top&needAccess=true">Our research</a> suggests those who will not, or cannot, engage with the state online, may find themselves without basic government services – and even more alienated from government in the future.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-government-isnt-working-in-the-developing-world-heres-why-94737">Digital government isn't working in the developing world. Here's why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>People are being left behind</h2>
<p>There are many reasons why citizens may not be able to engage digitally, including poverty, digital illiteracy and lack of digital infrastructure. </p>
<p>Research suggests that the so-called <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10361146.2018.1519064">digital divide is shrinking</a> in Australia, with <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0">97% connectivity</a> among households with children under 15 years. </p>
<p>But the same research shows that an inability to connect digitally is fast become a very serious force for compounding social exclusion. Those who are left behind, are being absolutely left behind – the gap is narrow but deep.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au">Australian Digital Inclusion Index</a> identifies those most likely to be digitally excluded as:</p>
<ul>
<li>people on low incomes</li>
<li>people aged over 65</li>
<li>people with a disability</li>
<li>people with low levels of education</li>
<li>Aboriginal Australians </li>
<li>the unemployed </li>
<li>people living outside capital cities.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Face-to-face services are shrinking</h2>
<p>E-government is supposed to be efficient, cost effective, and according to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8500.2009.00662.x">some scholars</a>, enhance democracy by allowing for greater interaction between citizens and the state.</p>
<p>But e-government isn’t only about increasing the number of ways citizens may transact with government online. It’s also moving services online that have traditionally relied upon face-to-face, empathetic and therapeutic relationships. For example, services such as those offered by the <a href="https://www.jobs.gov.au/future-employment-services">employment services sector</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-australia-can-learn-about-e-government-from-estonia-35091">What Australia can learn about e-government from Estonia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To better understand the likely impact of social service digitalisation, we looked at what it might mean for people living in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. </p>
<p>We conducted interviews with federal public servants working as e-government specialists in a number of social services and Aboriginal services portfolios. We also interviewed federal service providers, NGOs, and a representative from a private telecommunications company.</p>
<h2>Exclusion is structural</h2>
<p>We found a great appetite for digital connectivity among the people we spoke to. Facebook, Instagram, online banking, and online buying and selling websites such as eBay are popular among the communities we engaged.</p>
<p>At the same time, we found the ability to speak to a front line public servant – either face-to-face or over the phone – is diminishing. This is creating a service gap with very real and adverse impacts on the lives of some citizens. One interviewee told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>until a couple of years [ago], you used to get your fortnightly form mailed out to you […] and you took that down to Centrelink and lodge it on its due day. Now you’re expected to remember that you’ve got to go online every second Tuesday and self-report. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>And the penalties for missed engagement can be significant:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a mainstream client would have received a text message telling them that you’ve missed an appointment, please contact your provider immediately. Because our clients don’t get those text messages they don’t find out their allowance has been suspended […] until their next payment day when it doesn’t come. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s the people most dependent on social services, who are least able to easily transition into the digital age. In some cases, they live in a part of Australia that simply does not have internet infrastructure, and perhaps will never get it. We were told:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>there’s no NBN infrastructure, and it’s not going in. One day they’ll get the satellite connections, but at the moment no-one has internet in the homes. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In other cases, there is infrastructure but maintaining digital connectivity is a personal cost that exacerbates the divide. People living in remote parts of Australia do not have a choice of providers, and that is reflected in the costs of monthly plans. </p>
<p>Sometimes the citizen may have access and a working device, but colonial assumptions that permeate the e-government landscape act as a deterrent to engagement. For example, one interviewee told us that when it comes to setting security questions:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>they’re questions like, what is the name of the street you grew up on, which is not applicable. A lot of communities have house numbers, not street names. It’ll ask you the name of your first pet. And again, Indigenous people don’t think of the animals around as pets in the same way that we do.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>It’s not getting better</h2>
<p>Our research suggests that while digital services have great potential, that potential is yet to improve the life chances of the most vulnerable members of our community. And things appear to be getting worse. While the government is focused on e-services as an alternative way to engage citizens, the reduction of much more costly face to face services is problematic. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-digital-divide-is-not-going-away-91834">Australia's digital divide is not going away</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our research also suggests the government is not investing the time, money and effort needed to make sure all Australian citizens are successfully transitioning to the digital world. There is a widening gap, which the not-for-profit sector is graciously filling in many communities, But our concern is while e-government may bring advantages for some, it will further marginalise those who are already seriously disadvantaged. </p>
<p>Supporting an individual’s transition to active digital engagement is just as important as the ongoing development of digital services. As digitalisation progresses it must bring all citizens along with it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103201/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s the people most dependent on social services, who are least able to easily transition into the digital age.Siobhan O'Sullivan, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy, UNSW SydneyChristopher Walker, Head of School, Social Sciences, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1004562018-08-01T20:19:54Z2018-08-01T20:19:54ZA grave omission: the quest to identify the dead in remote NT<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229179/original/file-20180725-194134-pbw5v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A bough shelter made for the funeral of W. Willika in the remote Northern Territory community of Barunga.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Claire Smith</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s hard to believe, but in 2018 the vast majority of graves of Aboriginal people in remote Northern Territory communities are not recorded in any register. When someone dies they are buried, but there’s no written record of which grave belongs to whom.</p>
<p>Virtually every member of the remote Aboriginal community of <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Barunga+NT+0852/@-14.5286773,132.8319454,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x2cb018a7ec6c4319:0x40217a82a254090!8m2!3d-14.520833!4d132.865">Barunga</a> in the NT has a relative lying in an unmarked grave in the local cemetery – but they don’t know exactly where they are. For Jasmine Willika, it is her sister and grandmother. For Joyce Bulumbara, her father. For Isaac Pamkal, his father and grandmother. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229932/original/file-20180731-176683-dlxp0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229932/original/file-20180731-176683-dlxp0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229932/original/file-20180731-176683-dlxp0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229932/original/file-20180731-176683-dlxp0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229932/original/file-20180731-176683-dlxp0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229932/original/file-20180731-176683-dlxp0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229932/original/file-20180731-176683-dlxp0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229932/original/file-20180731-176683-dlxp0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Isaac Pamkal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Claire Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The identity of the person buried in an unmarked grave is remembered by loved ones for some time. Plastic flowers may mark it, until they erode. But there was no cultural tradition of headstones, or money to pay for them even if there had been. (In traditional burials, a person’s bones were put in a <a href="https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/1125509"><em>lorrkon</em></a> and placed in a cave.)</p>
<p>After a while, people forget who is buried where. In time, the remembering generation also dies. So, the identities of people in these graves become more and more blurred. </p>
<p>This makes it difficult to mourn properly, or to care for that person by caring for their grave. And there are other distressing ramifications. In 1998, there were record floods in the region. In the neighbouring community of <a href="http://ropergulf.nt.gov.au/our-communities/beswick/">Beswick/Wugularr</a>, a number of coffins rose to the surface. No-one knew who was in them. </p>
<p>In the past, the dead have also been accidentally unearthed at Barunga by those digging new graves. Today, family members select grave sites after consulting the <em>Junggayi</em>, the senior traditional custodian.</p>
<p>This is a Territory-wide problem: the result of <a href="http://sociology.iresearchnet.com/sociology-of-race/structural-or-institutional-racism/">structural racism</a>. Like the infamous <a href="https://www.monash.edu/law/research/centres/castancentre/our-research-areas/indigenous-research/the-northern-territory-intervention/the-northern-territory-intervention-an-evaluation/what-is-the-northern-territory-intervention">Northern Territory National Emergency Response</a> of 2007, race-based discrimination is enacted through geography. While the graves of people in <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/thousands-of-aboriginal-people-have-been-buried-in-unmarked-graves-in-the-northern-territory/news-story/153cfd29a7ffee12abbfa2edb62683d1">major towns must be registered</a>, it has not been compulsory to record the location of graves of Aboriginal people in remote areas. The situation dates back to 1890s laws enacted when the South Australian government administered the NT. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/thousands-of-aboriginal-people-have-been-buried-in-unmarked-graves-in-the-northern-territory/news-story/153cfd29a7ffee12abbfa2edb62683d1">spokeswoman for the NT government</a> has said new cemeteries legislation is being drafted and will be available for public consultation in October this year. “The new legislation will have similar requirements for urban and regional cemeteries,” she said.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229937/original/file-20180731-176698-1dx174c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229937/original/file-20180731-176698-1dx174c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229937/original/file-20180731-176698-1dx174c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229937/original/file-20180731-176698-1dx174c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229937/original/file-20180731-176698-1dx174c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229937/original/file-20180731-176698-1dx174c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229937/original/file-20180731-176698-1dx174c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229937/original/file-20180731-176698-1dx174c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jasmine Willika (right) with her mother, Rachael Kendino, try to identify graves at Barunga, which include Jasmine’s sister and her grandmother.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Claire Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, remote commmunities need money to employ people to record graves. “The government needs to allocate resources to solve this problem,” says Barunga resident Helen Lee. “It is not going to solve itself. Across the Territory, there has been 150 years of neglect.”</p>
<p>In the meantime, graves must be identified. While some remote communities are tiny and/or recent, others have been around for more than 100 years. The bigger ones could have hundreds of unmarked graves.</p>
<h2>A community calls for help</h2>
<p>In April this year, community elder Guy Rankin called Claire Smith and Gary Jackson asking us to record the Barunga graveyard. We had undertaken this work in 2013, in response to a community request, but the work needed updating. In June, <a href="http://ropergulf.nt.gov.au/">Roper Gulf Regional Council</a>, which has administrative responsibilities for a number of remote communities including Barunga, also contacted us. Our task was to number the graves at Barunga cemetery and record biographical details of the deceased as told to us by community elders.</p>
<p>To ensure this information can be passed on to a local authority, we developed a map and recorded archaeological information about each grave, such as the ornaments left by family members.</p>
<p>The community of Barunga was established in 1951. Prior to that, Aboriginal people in this area were mostly hunter gatherers. Though traditional burial practices, like <a href="https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/1125509"><em>lorrkon</em></a> and rockshelter burials, persisted for many years after Aboriginal people moved into communities, over time cemeteries became the norm. We estimate that the first burials at Barunga occurred in the 1960s. People were wrapped in cloth or calico. Coffins came later. </p>
<p>This year we (and students from the <a href="https://barungafieldschool.wordpress.com/">Community Archaeology Field School</a>) recorded 174 graves. Only 25 of these have plaques identifying them as belonging to a particular individual. Our research team encompasses both university staff and people from the community, including Jasmine Willika, who is studying archaeology. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229378/original/file-20180726-106527-sy5xaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229378/original/file-20180726-106527-sy5xaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229378/original/file-20180726-106527-sy5xaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229378/original/file-20180726-106527-sy5xaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229378/original/file-20180726-106527-sy5xaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229378/original/file-20180726-106527-sy5xaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229378/original/file-20180726-106527-sy5xaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229378/original/file-20180726-106527-sy5xaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gary Jackson records a grave number on a star picket.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Claire Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The first step is to number each grave and mark it with a star picket. We then visit the cemetery with community members, trying to identify who is in the unmarked graves. This complex process is repeated many times, with different people. They will likely remember recent deaths within their family, but after ten or so years it becomes harder to be sure that this person is in this exact grave, not the one next to it — or over a little.</p>
<p>Sometimes, one person’s memory will spark that of another. We record whom identified who with a particular grave. If the same identification occurs a number of times we feel secure in putting a name to it. This cross-checking is essential to the reliability of the data.</p>
<p>So far, we have identified 30 individuals using this process. That leaves 119 still unknown. After identification, we record a deceased person’s moiety, clan and kinship relationships.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229178/original/file-20180725-194131-1x91w6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229178/original/file-20180725-194131-1x91w6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229178/original/file-20180725-194131-1x91w6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229178/original/file-20180725-194131-1x91w6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229178/original/file-20180725-194131-1x91w6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229178/original/file-20180725-194131-1x91w6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229178/original/file-20180725-194131-1x91w6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229178/original/file-20180725-194131-1x91w6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vanessa Wakelin and Rusalka Rubio Perez record grave information on tablets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Dylan Benedetto</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is a challenge to catch everyone, as these are mobile communities. Though there is a small <a href="https://www.katherinetimes.com.au/story/4983111/barunga-store-opens-its-doors/#slide=4">shop at Barunga</a>, it’s expensive. People regularly go to Katherine to shop or deal with government agencies, or travel to other communities to visit relatives — or attend funerals. </p>
<p>We record the dimensions of the grave, its orientation and stylistic features on a tablet, in a form that has the capacity to act as a burial register. We hope to fill in some blanks with information from official death registers. If we are able to “bracket” a grave with the names of people on either side, we can cross-reference the death dates of those people with other community deaths registered at that time. However, it is too late to identify many of those buried in the early graves.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229169/original/file-20180724-194124-1iwyzoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229169/original/file-20180724-194124-1iwyzoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229169/original/file-20180724-194124-1iwyzoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229169/original/file-20180724-194124-1iwyzoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229169/original/file-20180724-194124-1iwyzoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229169/original/file-20180724-194124-1iwyzoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229169/original/file-20180724-194124-1iwyzoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229169/original/file-20180724-194124-1iwyzoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jordan Ralph, Antoinette Hennessy, Nell Brown, Rachael Kendino, Elizabeth Coleman, Claire Smith.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Gary Jackson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So far, we have only identified graves from their surface appearance. Our next step will be using ground-penetrating radar in the older parts of the cemetery. The ground in these sections is mostly flat. However, the radar can identify anomalies where earth has been disturbed. This will make it possible to respect individual graves, even if the people in them cannot be identified.</p>
<p>When our work at Barunga is completed there will be a recording system in place and a burial register managed by local Aboriginal people. This will help in planning the location of future graves. The community plans to place headstones on each grave, with those on unidentified graves perhaps identifying them as belonging to a Barunga elder.</p>
<p>We have also established a research group, called <a href="https://graveconcerns.org">Grave Concerns</a>, and plan to work in other communities, training Aboriginal people across the NT in recording graves.</p>
<h2>Burial practices in Barunga today</h2>
<p>Today, Aboriginal burial practices at Barunga include elements of both traditional and Christian belief systems. Usually, there is a Christian service in the <a href="https://australianindigenousministries.org.au/barunga/">Barunga church</a>.</p>
<p>It is normal practice for a dead person to be brought to the community the day before. The coffin is placed in a bough shelter built for the occasion. It is wrapped in yellow and red cloth. This complies with the cultural rule that the light colours of the Yirritja moiety should be joined with the darker colours of the Dhuwa moiety. During the night and in the morning, family members spend private time with the deceased.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229168/original/file-20180724-194158-1jmv7tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229168/original/file-20180724-194158-1jmv7tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229168/original/file-20180724-194158-1jmv7tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229168/original/file-20180724-194158-1jmv7tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229168/original/file-20180724-194158-1jmv7tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229168/original/file-20180724-194158-1jmv7tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229168/original/file-20180724-194158-1jmv7tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229168/original/file-20180724-194158-1jmv7tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People walking to the Barunga cemetery for the funeral of W. Willika in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Claire Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Barunga has a population of around 350 people. Virtually the entire community walks to the cemetery. People dress in black and white. At the grave, the songs are normally Christian, but Aboriginal in enactment. The songs are sung in <a href="http://maiaponsonnet.com/?p=375">Kriol</a>, accompanied by elegant hand and arm movements that expand on, or embody, their meanings. There may or may not be a pastor.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229182/original/file-20180725-194152-bslwtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229182/original/file-20180725-194152-bslwtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229182/original/file-20180725-194152-bslwtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229182/original/file-20180725-194152-bslwtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229182/original/file-20180725-194152-bslwtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229182/original/file-20180725-194152-bslwtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229182/original/file-20180725-194152-bslwtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229182/original/file-20180725-194152-bslwtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Close family members and friends of W. Willika prior to his burial at Barunga cemetery in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Matthew Ebbs</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For Jasmine Willika, the quest to identify remote graves at Barunga is deeply personal. “This is my family, my blood,” she says.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My grandmother, Lilly Willika, was a very strong cultural woman. When I hear about her, I feel like I can follow in her footsteps. I have cultural knowledge passed down from her. That helps in doing archaeology. </p>
<p>Her grave is at Barunga cemetery, but I don’t know where. I want my children’s children to know where they can find my old grandmother and other family members.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em>Photographs published with the permission of Traditional Owners and Custodians.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100456/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Smith's fieldwork at Barunga has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the Ian Potter Foundation and Flinders University. In the response to the needs outlined in this article, she has established a research service through Flinders University, called Grave Concerns, to identify unmarked graves in remote Aboriginal communities.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Jacksons is working with Claire Smith to provide a service to identify unmarked graves in remote Aboriginal communities.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Ralph receives funding from an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and Flinders University to support his research into modern material culture and graffiti in the Aboriginal community of Barunga, Northern Territory. He is working with Claire Smith to provide a service to identify unmarked graves in remote Aboriginal communities.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jasmine Willika is working with Claire Smith to provide a service to identify unmarked graves in remote Aboriginal communities.</span></em></p>In remote Northern Territory, most Aboriginal people have been buried in unmarked graves. Archaelogists are carrying out painstaking detective work to help communities find their loved ones’ remains.Claire Smith, Professor of Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders UniversityGary Jackson, Research Associate in Archaeology, Flinders UniversityJordan Ralph, PhD Candidate, Archaeology, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/949792018-04-15T05:12:55Z2018-04-15T05:12:55ZHow to solve Australia’s ‘rural school challenge’: focus on research and communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214843/original/file-20180414-543-tx3r3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">To enhance the opportunities for children, we need to ensure we have vibrant and valued rural communities with a strong social and economic future.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent release of the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/independent-review-regional-rural-and-remote-education">report of the independent review into rural, regional and remote education</a> provides a much-needed focus on the unique challenges and opportunities rural, regional and remote communities encounter. Ultimately, this is an issue of the place of these communities in contemporary Australian society.</p>
<p>The review was commissioned in March 2017, with the aim of improving education outcomes for rural students and their access to higher education. It sought to identify new and innovative approaches to achieve this.</p>
<p>The “rural school challenge” has existed since the advent of compulsory education. But this is the first major national report since the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/projects/rural-and-remote-education-inquiry">Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Inquiry into rural and remote education</a> 18 years ago. Sadly, progress towards a more equitable educational experience, outcomes from schooling and access to higher education has been slow in the intervening years.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/educational-disadvantage-is-a-huge-problem-in-australia-we-cant-just-carry-on-the-same-74530">Educational disadvantage is a huge problem in Australia – we can't just carry on the same</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We cannot waste the opportunity this report provides to refocus our attention on Australia’s rural communities and the students in them.</p>
<h2>What does the report say?</h2>
<p>The report makes 11 recommendations, and identifies four priorities:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>establishing a national focus for regional, rural and remote education, training and research to enhance access, outcomes and opportunities</p></li>
<li><p>focusing on research for successful learning and building young people’s futures – school leadership, teaching, curriculum and assessment</p></li>
<li><p>addressing the information communication and technology needs in regional, rural and remote locations, and</p></li>
<li><p>focusing on the transitions into and out of school.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>A national research programme</h2>
<p>The focus of research in two of these four priorities is important and timely. Here, the report highlights as much about what we don’t know as what we do know.</p>
<p>Australia has a vibrant and internationally renowned rural education research community. <a href="http://journal.spera.asn.au/index.php/AIJRE/issue/archive">There have been many studies here in Australia</a>, and overseas, that engage with the issues and ideas put forward in the report. But <a href="http://www.arc.gov.au/grants">research funding</a> has been declining in a tight budgetary environment. It has has also focused on issues of schooling only, including <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au">teacher quality</a>, <a href="https://www.nap.edu.au">NAPLAN</a> and <a href="http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum">national curriculum</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214844/original/file-20180414-127631-o6zgv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214844/original/file-20180414-127631-o6zgv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214844/original/file-20180414-127631-o6zgv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214844/original/file-20180414-127631-o6zgv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214844/original/file-20180414-127631-o6zgv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214844/original/file-20180414-127631-o6zgv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214844/original/file-20180414-127631-o6zgv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We need to take a drastically different approach to attracting and retaining good teachers in rural communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Through this time, much <a href="https://www.spera.asn.au/events/conferences/">rural, regional and remote education research has been highlighting the problem</a> with the “metro-centric” one-size-fits-all approaches preferred in public policy over the last two decades. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/standardised-tests-are-culturally-biased-against-rural-students-86305">Standardised tests are culturally biased against rural students</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Nonetheless, the resulting projects have identified strategies that work: attracting rural students into teaching, specifically <a href="http://www.rrrtec.net.au">preparing teachers for rural schools</a>, embedding curriculum in local contexts, innovative information and communication technology approaches to enhance curriculum access and new resourcing models, to name a few.</p>
<p>A national research focus will facilitate a unique opportunity to scale up innovations that exist in the sector. It will also ensure our focus is broadened from school-centric research to broadly-based rural education and community research. </p>
<p>We need a ten year focus, with significant and guaranteed funding to develop and implement a longitudinal research agenda. That might seem like a long while, but considering that a child is at school on average 13 years puts it in perspective. When we note the report makes recommendations related to early childhood education through to post-secondary education and training, we’re looking at approximately 22 years of a persons life.</p>
<p>A sustained, rigorous and funded national research program will confirm Australia’s leading international position in rural education research. The challenges we face are not unique to us, they are shared, for instance, by Canada, the US and China.</p>
<p>To activate this, we need to build a small group of five to ten specially trained researchers across the country dedicated to rural, regional and remote research. This leading group of researchers would be at the forefront of identifying success and “scaling this up” - using these insights in more communities and with a greater coverage. They can then provide a rolling review of the success of the implementation of the recommendations in the report.</p>
<h2>A return to equity</h2>
<p>The report places equity back in the centre of the educational agenda, rather than equality and resource redistribution. Through the sustained focus on rural, regional and remote, the report highlights these communities have unique needs that go beyond the funding they receive – though that remains important – and the school gate.</p>
<p>In doing so, it highlights the limitations of the “one size fits all” approach to public policy that has dominated until now. While such approaches might work on a national scale when the vast majority of the population live in major cities, the population outside that space get hidden among the averages.</p>
<p>For instance, the report highlights the need to ensure the relevance of the Australian Curriculum and its implementation for rural, regional and remote students. It reminds us there is another dimension beyond the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/review-achieve-educational-excellence-australian-schools">Gonski 2.0 pre-occupation with the distribution of resources</a>. There is also what schools do with those resources, and how they tailor their work to meet the unique needs of their communities. This is where we need sustained and detailed research.</p>
<h2>The staffing challenge</h2>
<p>Meeting the unique needs of the community is only possible if there are appropriate teachers in the schools to do so. It’s not surprising, then, that the challenges of staffing are a major theme. <a href="http://journal.spera.asn.au/index.php/AIJRE/article/view/112">Many approaches have been tried throughout Australia</a> to train, attract and retain appropriate teachers for rural, regional and remote communities. If we’re going to ensure the equitable distribution of skilled teachers in these schools, we need to try something radically different.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-a-radical-rethink-of-how-to-attract-more-teachers-to-rural-schools-83298">We need a radical rethink of how to attract more teachers to rural schools</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Beyond the school gate</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214842/original/file-20180414-127631-tx69y7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214842/original/file-20180414-127631-tx69y7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214842/original/file-20180414-127631-tx69y7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214842/original/file-20180414-127631-tx69y7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214842/original/file-20180414-127631-tx69y7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214842/original/file-20180414-127631-tx69y7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214842/original/file-20180414-127631-tx69y7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Challenges to rural education are largely influenced by factors outside the classroom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While critically important, the challenges of rural education go beyond getting the right teachers into the right school. They are largely influenced by factors outside the school gate, such as the local economy, employment opportunities and <a href="http://www.canberra.edu.au/research/faculty-research-centres/ceraph/regional-wellbeing">community well-being</a>.</p>
<p>This is an area of urgent further research. The report recognises educational achievement exists within the community and the local social and economic issues. But an understanding of how these interrelate in rural, regional and remote contexts remains undeveloped. </p>
<p>To enhance the opportunities for children, we need to ensure we have vibrant and valued rural communities with a strong social and economic future. Such communities are also attractive places for professions to relocate to, have a career and raise a family.</p>
<h2>Rural innovations need to be ‘rural’</h2>
<p>The report makes plain that the needs of rural, regional and remote communities are unique. This is a rural research agenda, not education research with a rural twist. As such, it’s crucial the government’s response, and researchers, heed the theme of the report – each community is distinct, and needs to be considered for what it offers. Then, by recognising this uniqueness, we can explore what innovations are scalable across different communities, and how they need to be tweaked to be successful in each new context.</p>
<p>There is already success in rural, regional and remote schooling. We need the courage to identify this success, understand it, and facilitate collective networking to grow this success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94979/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Roberts receives funding from the Australian Government. He is Chief Editor of the 'Australian and International Journal of Rural Education'. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Hattie is the Chair of AITSL and receives research funding from the ARC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian Piccoli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A government review of regional, rural and remote education tells us we need to recognise the uniqueness of and understand successes in these communities to improve outcomes for these students.Philip Roberts, Associate professor, University of CanberraAdrian Piccoli, Professor of Practice, School of Education, UNSW SydneyJohn Hattie, Professor, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/918352018-02-19T18:48:14Z2018-02-19T18:48:14ZWe won’t close the gap if the Commonwealth cuts off Indigenous housing support<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206708/original/file-20180216-131029-9en0up.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A remote community in the Cape York region of Queensland.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent Closing the Gap <a href="https://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/">report</a> has highlighted the <a href="https://theconversation.com/closing-the-gap-results-still-lag-as-shorten-pledges-compensation-fund-for-stolen-generations-91633">lack of progress</a> in Indigenous affairs since the <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2017/02/13/10-things-you-should-know-about-national-apology">apology</a> to the Stolen Generations a decade ago. Although not a specific target, safe, appropriate and affordable housing is acknowledged to be a fundamental building block for improving the well-being of Aboriginal people and closing the gap on many of the target indicators. For these reasons, it is unfortunate to learn the Commonwealth may be <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/federal-government-backtrack-on-nt-remote-housing-pledge/news-story/25975b1ac83cff7ea93f67cf44da238b#.e7dt9">seeking to withdraw</a> its <a href="http://insidestory.org.au/tactics-undermining-strategy-in-indigenous-housing/">support for remote Indigenous housing programs</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/research-and-policy-bulletins/216">Our research</a> and that of others provides evidence these programs are producing significant improvements. A sustained Commonwealth commitment to remote housing programs is essential for closing the gap. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-why-the-gaps-between-indigenous-and-non-indigenous-australians-arent-closing-91561">Three reasons why the gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians aren’t closing</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Crowding and inadequate housing are linked to poor physical and mental health. They result in higher rates of infectious diseases such as rheumatic fever and eye and ear infections, emotional stress and conflict in the home. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/Publications/housing-health.pdf">A New South Wales study</a> demonstrated that in communities whose housing was improved, the rate of hospital admissions for infectious diseases was 40% less than in communities where no housing improvements had taken place. Other research has shown that poor housing has negative impacts on educational and employment outcomes. </p>
<h2>Job is only half done</h2>
<p>The central role of housing in Closing the Gap was acknowledged in 2007 when the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) established a 10-year A$5.5 billion <a href="https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/implementation-national-partnership-agreement-remote-indigenous-housing-nt">remote Indigenous building and refurbishment program</a>. This aimed to bring living standards in remote Indigenous communities to the same standards as comparable locations elsewhere, and to improve the management and maintenance of houses. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206712/original/file-20180216-131006-15s0ul7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206712/original/file-20180216-131006-15s0ul7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206712/original/file-20180216-131006-15s0ul7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206712/original/file-20180216-131006-15s0ul7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206712/original/file-20180216-131006-15s0ul7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206712/original/file-20180216-131006-15s0ul7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206712/original/file-20180216-131006-15s0ul7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206712/original/file-20180216-131006-15s0ul7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Commonwealth review found houses like this one built under the remote housing program had improved conditions in Indigenous communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Last October, a federal government <a href="https://pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/remote-housing-review">review of the remote Indigenous housing program</a> found crowding has been reduced and housing management is more consistent and effective. But the job remains half done. Importantly, levels of household crowding (no more than two persons per bedroom) in remote communities are still around 37%. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/research-and-policy-bulletins/216">Our research</a> tells a similar story. Crowding remains high in some locations. There are problems of fairness and efficiency in the application of mainstream rent settings. There are also questions about the most effective model of housing delivery and who should be responsible for it. </p>
<p>However, in the five communities we examined in three states, we found the program had led to significant improvements on a range of indicators. This was particularly evident when the housing was managed by an Indigenous housing provider that employed Indigenous people and provided a culturally adaptive service.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-close-the-health-gap-we-need-programs-that-work-here-are-three-of-them-91482">To close the health gap, we need programs that work. Here are three of them</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>The complexities of remote settings mean that for these gains to be maintained and continued, the Commonwealth needs to maintain its commitment. Delivering and maintaining housing in remote locations is costly, so subsidies will be needed in most regions. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206711/original/file-20180216-131024-1rywae9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206711/original/file-20180216-131024-1rywae9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206711/original/file-20180216-131024-1rywae9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206711/original/file-20180216-131024-1rywae9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206711/original/file-20180216-131024-1rywae9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206711/original/file-20180216-131024-1rywae9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206711/original/file-20180216-131024-1rywae9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206711/original/file-20180216-131024-1rywae9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On the road to the APY Lands in South Australia, a remote region where the costs of providing and maintaining housing require subsidies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Commonwealth oversight is also essential to ensure appropriate regulatory frameworks are in place. Monitoring and quality assurance procedures are needed to maintain standards. </p>
<p>The building and refurbishment program was <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/housing/national-partnership-agreements">revised and renegotiated</a> with the states and the Northern Territory in 2016. That program ends this June. To date, there has been no indication of what will replace it. </p>
<p>Most worrying are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/22/indigenous-minister-under-fire-over-funding-for-remote-housing">reports</a> that <a href="https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2017/12/Commonwealth-abandons-indigenous-Australia-axes-remote-housing-deal.aspx">Western Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.premier.sa.gov.au/index.php/zoe-bettison-news-releases/8581-scullion-s-cuts-to-remote-housing-will-put-pressure-on-northern-territory-communities">South Australia</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-31/indigenous-housing-scheme-under-threat-funding-runs-out/9376358">Queensland</a> have been advised that remote Indigenous housing is a state responsibility and that Commonwealth funding may end when the current program ends. Even in the Northern Territory, which had seemed quarantined from these developments because of the extent of the housing crisis in remote communities there, <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/federal-government-backtrack-on-nt-remote-housing-pledge/news-story/25975b1ac83cff7ea93f67cf44da238b#.e7dt9">there are signs that the Commonwealth may withdraw its commitment</a> to addressing this.</p>
<p>If this is true, it’s likely the political commitment to improvement will wane, investment will decline and gains in housing standards will reverse. </p>
<h2>At risk of losing hard-won gains</h2>
<p>In 10 or 20 years’ time, we might once again be looking at a housing crisis in remote Indigenous communities. </p>
<p>To avoid such a policy failure – and its implications for Indigenous well-being – it’s time for governments to recognise that real progress can only be made if they stop turning Indigenous programs off after they have been positively evaluated. They need to accept that improvements will be slow and what’s needed is incremental, consistent and preferably bipartisan commitment over the medium to long term.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206714/original/file-20180216-130997-5b4sr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206714/original/file-20180216-130997-5b4sr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206714/original/file-20180216-130997-5b4sr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206714/original/file-20180216-130997-5b4sr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206714/original/file-20180216-130997-5b4sr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206714/original/file-20180216-130997-5b4sr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206714/original/file-20180216-130997-5b4sr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206714/original/file-20180216-130997-5b4sr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Improvements have been delivered to remote communities, like this playground in the East Kimberley region, but much work remains to be done.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Current arrangements for remote Indigenous housing are not perfect, but our work suggests that, at this stage, a hybrid model is likely to be most effective. This is one that involves a partnership between state housing departments and knowledgeable, preferably Indigenous, third-party providers delivering a culturally appropriate service. </p>
<p>There are also opportunities to explore new models of housing delivery. These could leverage off the Indigenous estate and engage with the Indigenous and non-Indigenous community housing sector. Any model should contribute to the sustainability of communities by maximising opportunities for local partnerships and employment for local Indigenous people. </p>
<p>Without ongoing Commonwealth engagement and investment, remote Indigenous housing policy risks remaining stuck in a depressing cycle of government neglect, public crisis, too-rapid policy development and change, and a return to failure. It will become yet another sorry example of political agendas obstructing good policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91835/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daphne Habibis receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Phibbs receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Henry Halloran Trust at the University of Sydney</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rhonda Phillips is affiliated with the Palm Island Community Company. </span></em></p>Decent housing underpins the Closing the Gap goals, with a decade-long national remote housing program having made measurable progress. If the Commonwealth pulls out now, hard-won gains could be lost.Daphne Habibis, Associate Professor, University of TasmaniaPeter Phibbs, Director, Henry Halloran Trust, University of SydneyRhonda Phillips, Adjunct Research Fellow, Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR), The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.