“Doing Housing”

A report on housing issues on Palm Island from an Aboriginal perspective
for non-Aboriginal policy makers
Prepared by kalkadoon.org
for the Queensland Greens
March 2006

“inadequate and inappropriate housing is a major factor in all the social problems here. Fixing housing is central to solving our problems”

“toilet blocks up because the pipes are too old and small, or murri goonah too much (ha ha ha) and there’s nobody who can fix it, day after day, week after week, what good is that house? Nothing! You cant live in it! It is just firewood.”
…………Comments from Palm Island Elders

This report is an informed and researched Aboriginal opinion prepared by Kalkadoon.org whose principle research consultant and cultural director is Baganan Theresa Creed. Baganan’s parents were taken as children to Palm Island from their homeland in Nth. West Queensland.
The Queensland Greens are granted (not exclusive) license to use this report on the sole condition that it is not misrepresented as being anything other than the opinion of kalkadoon.org. It has been prepared with the understanding that it may be used and quoted in public by the Queensland Greens

We note that the Queensland Premiers Department has recently produced a report prepared by Scott McDougal with significant input from Palm Island Council. We have avoided duplicating Mr. McDougal’s findings and have operated within very different frameworks to his. We strongly recommend reading the McDougal report as background to this report.

Some recurring words in this report are “outstation” - a camp away from the main town or mission centre and “stand alone housing” – this means the house is self sufficient in water, electricity and waste disposal – it is independent from mains utilities.

Methodology and terms of reference

Confidentiality, privacy and anonymity was promised to all informants who contributed to this report so we have avoided conventional academic research, data collection and referencing paradigms. The methodology has been “Murri Way” within the protocols of Aboriginal culture and it’s oral traditions and methodologies.
We have consulted widely on the Island, to authorities, different families, Murries and Torres Strait Islanders, different age groups and we have heard a diversity of experiences and opinions about housing.
This report has avoided controversial or unresolved issues amongst the Palm Island community. Consequently some of the most important issues about housing are not reported here. Land title options is one such issue. We have focussed on areas of 1/consensus on the Island and 2/our own analysis of these issues. We make clear distinctions between the two by separating them in the report. We have reported community consensus by anonymously quoting things that were said to us that generally explain the issue.
Kalkadoon.org takes full responsibility for the recommendations as well as the judgements about what constitutes consensus. Although the recommendations are based on what has been told to us by Palm Islanders, we make no claims that the recommendations have any support or credibility from the Island. Such consultation and mandates should be done properly in designing housing programs, not wasting time of authorities and the democratic process seeking input into yet another report for white-fellas on housing on Palm Island.
We have avoided political or historical analysis of the Island in this report – though it is very relevant to housing, town planning and social policy. This report simply tries to get a feeling for what Palm Island Residents have to say about housing and present a discussion for non-Aboriginal policy development based on that.

Contents

*Overall Housing Issues
*Analysis of current housing
*Infrastructure Issues
*Housing networks and co-ordination
*Visions for future housing
*Recommendations and key issues for policy discussion
*Broader policy issues for consideration
*Conclusion

Overall housing Issues

Area of consensus
“There’s not enough houses”
“You know, the difference between a black man and a white man is this, when a white man dies his family gets his house. When a black man dies the government gets it”
“until we get land title fixed we can’t do anything”
“inadequate and inappropriate housing is a major factor in all the social problems here. Fixing housing is central to solving our problems”
“too many in the house – you’ve got to get away sometimes”

Our analysis
In the light of the recent water shortage on the Island, the absence of water tanks on most buildings is an obvious observation to make.
Another unavoidable observation is the poor state of maintenance of many houses

Traditional public housing, including on Palm Island has developed, and is still designed today, for nuclear families – mum and dad in one room and their children in the rest. Aboriginal life does not fit into this scheme. Extended families, not nuclear families should be the starting point for housing design. Recent new houses on Palm Island are better than the old ones – in that they have taken the standard nuclear family model – and made it bigger. These houses have some very good practical elements such as up to 6 metres of kitchen bench space, solar hot water systems and big verandas. They also have bigger bedrooms to sleep more people and bigger kitchens and dining areas to feed more people. However this development has resulted in institutionalising large groups of people living in one house – because they can. Stress related to overcrowding is not addressed with these models As an example of extended family housing, traditional Aboriginal housing saw every individual , group and subgroup with their own private space. Humpies were the main option if residents had to be inside for some reason. These spaces were near each other and connected in daily life, but they facilitated isolation and escape as much as togetherness. Forcing bigger families into bigger nuclear family based design is inappropriate and can escalate and institutionalise overcrowding problems.

The town centre, or “mission” has been designed as a high density suburban housing development. We received many comments that yards were too small. This mission area is now full to capacity. Any attempt to simply extend the boundaries of high density housing areas will simply reproduce an inadequate model and reinforce many of the present social problems associated with too many people and families living too close together. One resident’s problem very quickly and easily become’s their neighbours – spreading and compounding daily stresses.

Analysis of current housing

Consensus
“There’s no-one to fix the houses. If we don’t do it ourselves it doesn’t happen”
“The humidity makes them (the interiors of older houses) mouldy, damp and fall apart”
“Those concrete boxes don’t belong on an Island in a hot place”
“We have to have a fan on all the time when we are inside”
“The yards are too small for kids and when they do plonk a new house down there is no landscaping.”

Our analysis
There appears to be no viable system of housing management and maintenance on the Island.
Old brick houses are too small and too hot. Mould and dampness was an obvious problem in them all. They are dependant on (and perhaps designed for) air conditioning as the ceilings are too low for fans. None of the houses we visited, old and new had a working air conditioner though many had an old broken one around the house somewhere.

Newer houses have higher ceilings and fans but do not seem to have been designed to catch cool breezes. In all cases the houses are unbearably hot inside without the ceiling fans on, yet their verandas enjoy a nearly constant sea breeze
In most cases the purpose of external roof extraction fans (whirly-gigs) has been counter-acted by internal ceiling fans. The exhaust vents have been positioned above or very near to internal ceiling fans, drawing hot roof cavity air from the ceiling into the house rather than allowing it to escape in the vacuum caused by the roof fans. . The exhaust fans on the roof compete with the down draft of the ceiling fans inside, which can be significant when 5 or more fans are on at once on a hot day.
Another example of poor planning undoing architectural design features is the floor level windows in some new houses. While these may help with airflow in the house, they are very dangerous to children when they are in houses raised on stumps off the ground – as is common on the Island. This is a small but clear example how home design features can increase or decrease stress levels for residents. Adults must constantly police these windows to protect children or lock the window shut making the windows useless and the house hot.

In all cases of new houses windows were either sliding aluminium – which blocks half of the possible open window space with glass or horizontally hinged swinging windows which similarly block airflow.

Many residents maintain their own houses completely (and pay full rent too) and some have built their own extensions e.g. verandas, new rooms etc. Many of these extensions have been built with recycled, untreated softwoods or plys which deteriorates rapidly in the humid weather. This can cause safety issues such as floors collapsing or handrails not being able to support bodyweight.

Infrastructure Issues

Consensus
“The water and sewage is old and will collapse soon if it’s not fixed”
“yeah the council has already got a compost toilet as a test case…..it works”
“the generator’s not up to it”
“the dams been dry”
“toilet blocks up because the pipes are too old and small, or murri goonah too much (ha ha ha) and there’s nobody who can fix it, day after day, week after week, what good is that house? Nothing! You cant live in it! It is just firewood.”

Our analysis
Until the sewage, water and electricity utilities are upgraded, extending the present village is not an option for more houses. Outstations are the obvious answer to immediate housing needs. Stand alone, autonomous houses or clusters are very appropriate for delivering good quality housing within an outstation framework.
Water tanks and recycling, Decentralised electricity, Bores/wells and Compost toilets all reduce demand, and cost, on centralised utilities and water reserves.

However stand alone houses are not, and should not be considered as a solution to the problems of mains systems which presently serve most of the community. These systems are old and deteriorating. A comprehensive repair or replacement program for major infrastructure is urgently needed.

Water collection tank options are limited because of the prohibitive transport costs to the Island. The Island was once supplied by wells which have been filled in. Mains sewage, provides a significant pollution risk to bore and well options, especially given the age and quality of the sewage system.

Housing networks and coordination

Consensus
“The government wont listen to us. They just do what they do”
“meetings, meetings, meetings! And nothing happens”
“the govt workers don’t socialise with us, they don’t mix in the community. They fly in and they fly out and they haven’t got a clue what is important here”

Our analysis
Government culture
It has been perhaps the loudest point of consensus on the Island that state agencies are neither listening to the will of the democratically elected shire council and grass roots community, nor are they delivering meaningful housing solutions to a desperate housing shortage.. There is a very clear obstacle to positive developments in housing in the culture and institutional relationships between the three levels of government and their service delivery, especially with housing. As a result of never ending meetings and negotiations with state authorities (9-5 most days), elected councillors are too busy meeting government authorities to deal with their own constituents – their primary obligation.

Business and politics on Palm Island is, to an outsider, a confusing entanglement of customary law, “black politics”, cultural protocols and family power blocs. It is important that non-Aboriginal people do not mistakenly identify these strange cultural elements as “dysfunctional”. They are in fact key institutions in a vibrant political democracy – murri way. There is no shortage of opinions and dynamic friction to drive any democratic process on the island. It is up to Palm Islanders to work out how this interfaces with mainstream agencies and structures The representatives of government structures from different cultural law and protocols must not be arrogant.
They must realise that they do not know what is best for the Island. They need, in the same way as local authorities, to develop working cross cultural relationships and mandates. For public servants to be able to increase their productivity in service delivery they need assistance to interface with the Islands black political structure. They need to build respectful mutual business relationships with local consultants who are experienced practitioners of business and politics on Palm Island - elders. These people are “the experts” whose skills and experience is crucial to harmonious relationships between local and mainland authorities.

Vision for future housing

Consensus
“We need outstations, to get away from the grog and live in the bush”
“We need all sorts of houses, for singles, old people, temporary accommodation. Not just ordinary family homes and fit us all into that”
“We need houses that won’t pollute things”
“in mission times we had vegie gardens,I don’t know why we don’t now”
“The council estimates an immediate need for 50 new houses”

Our analysis
Housing is about lifestyle – good or bad.
Outstations and stand alone housing provide cultural and lifestyle benefits, not just solutions to town planning problems. Positioning of homes in relationship to each other can accommodate extended family reality within Aboriginal cultural frameworks.
Creative landscaping based on permaculture principles and integrating gardens into the the housing systems offers great possibilities for fresh fruit and vegetables. (they are very expensive in the store) Recycled water can feed these gardens, even in times of drought.
There are all sorts of people, relationships and lifestyles on Palm Island, so there needs to be all sorts of housing options to match. The present “one size fits all” housing is very limiting of lifestyle options.

Recommendations and key issues for policy discussion

Public service delivery and policy should be designed within the following principles……

*Local capacity/local solutions

* Protocol – speaking to appropriate authorities – men’s business, women’s business and elders

*Need for lateral and long term thinking rather than patching up town plan and infrastructure

*Support and facilitate outstation, stand alone housing and a variety of housing options for single people, old people and short term visitors as well as family units.

*Develop maintenance and management system for housing incorporating local training and employment programs.

*Introduce integrated sustainability planing in new houses and modify present housing.

*All buildings should have water tanks. Water bores can be used to supplement tank and present mains water supply.

*Explore options for bulk transport, subsidies or local manufacture of water tanks for the Island.

*Home fittings should be designed with comfort and energy conservation in mind such as door and window styles and positions to catch breezes.

*High rooves with unrestricted hot air vent access should be incorporated into future house designs

*Recently built housing stock should be modified for safety as well as to allow ventilation and cooling features to work.

*Public housing plans for each individual house should undergo basic safety, energy efficiency and comfort audits before the house is built.

*home renovators and builders need access to appropriate, long lasting, affordable building supplies.

Broader policy issues for consideration

*For the purpose of stimulating public service cultural change and facilitating innovation and better value for money for all stakeholders, we recommend that private sector housing suppliers should be explored for more appropriate, cost efficient and innovative housing options to compete in the market place with government agencies.

*Best world, and local, practice private sector consultants should be also be included in designing houses for indigenous and public housing programs to encourage public service innovation especially in design appropriate for extended and flexible families.

* Future housing design should focus on town planning and appropriate densities as well as simply architecture, in particular planning should accommodate outstation and decentralised housing developments. .

*Stand alone housing should be facilitated for ecological reasons, reducing demand on existing utilities, cost benefits, acceptance by community – including compost toilets, it’s town planning flexibility and suitability to outstation developments.

*Land title and management issues must be resolved before any further housing plans can be implemented properly.

Conclusion
A brief word touching on historical context and culture.
Palm Island sociology, town planning and governance culture is a direct result of the Islands history as a mission. One white man was responsible for governing everything and making all decisions. All labour was compulsory work by residents. That one man took his orders from the state department. The Palm Island village has evolved around this political structure. The transition to a community council has just put an elected committee into the managers chair – in charge of absolutely everything. The difference is this Aboriginal council is insisting on making decisions instead of taking orders from head office. Consequently local authorities spend all their time and energy negotiating conflicting agendas with mainland authorities and have no capacity to govern their own jurisdictions and represent their own constituents.
There are many complicated aspects to housing on Palm Island. Housing is just one of many other issues Yet they all have 2 things in common. 1/There is poor communication and mutually little respect between the Palm Island community – as a whole – and mainland government authorities. And 2/ mutual respect from all parties and open mindedness from non-Aboriginal authorities would quickly create appropriate housing programs.
Unfortunately things like respect and open mindedness cannot be imposed by policy. The institutional culture of both post-mission Island authorities and the state public service alike need to evolve into efficient and effective business systems, cooperating with each other and integrated with the private sector to replace or upgrade the current dysfunctional colonial service delivery.
If we were to make any umbrella recommendation for policy development based on our findings it would simply be – “good will”. Such a policy would achieve great results.

And for the future
The mainstream housing industry is now focusing on sustainability. Step by step building and development laws around the nation are insisting that new paradigms in water, energy and waste systems be incorporated into house design. Palm Island has a unique opportunity, born of it’s sad history, to be global innovators in sustainable housing. The challenge for the people of Palm Island is to build a new system of democracy and town planning as they take the next step out of colonial administration and mission planning.
The challenge for most government jurisdictions is how to replace polluting old systems with new sustainable, cleaner systems. The people of Palm Island, through their shire council are now in a position to make long term plans about housing and town planning from scratch, giving them an advantage to many other municipal authorities in creating these new Australian ways of “doing housing”.

kalkadoon.org

*Principle research officer – Baganan Kurityityin Theresa Creed
*Research assistant and report coordinator – Sean (John) Tracey
email kurityityin@yahoo.com
website http://kalkadoon.org

copyright Kurityityin-du March 2006

see also Scott McDougal’s
“Future Directions” report