Reimagining Indigenous Housing, Health and Wealth The Necessary Ecological Response to Unlock the Potential in the Indigenous Estate Kerry Arabena, Chris Holland and Shane Hamilton Reimagining Indigenous Housing, Health and Wealth The Necessary Ecological Response to Unlock the Potential in the Indigenous Estate Kerry Arabena, Chris Holland and Shane Hamilton © Copyright is held by Shelter WA ISBN: 978-0-6488733-2-7 First published October 2020 This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process or in any form by any third party without obtaining prior written consent from Karabena Consulting. Use of material licensed under a Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 Australia licence requires you to attribute the work. Almost any form of words is fine provided that you: + provide a reference to the publication and, where practical, the relevant pages + make clear whether or not you have changed content. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to: Managing Director, Karabena Consulting at: E [email protected] T Toll Free – 1800 We Yarn (1800 939 276) W www.karabenaconsulting.com A PDF version of this report is available at: W www.karabenaconsulting.com/resources W www.shelterwa.org.au/knowledge-hub/latest-reports/ Authors: Professor Kerry Arabena, Chris Holland and Shane Hamilton Managing editor: Jane Yule @ Brevity Comms Design: Svetlana Andrienko @ Studio Elevenses Cover image: Harry Cunningham on Unsplash Suggested citation: Arabena, K., Holland, C. & Hamilton, S. 2020, Reimagining Indigenous Housing, Health and Wealth: The Necessary Ecological Response to Unlock the Potential in the Indigenous Estate, KCT Publishing, Riddells Creek, Vic. Professional disclosure statement This report was commissioned by Shelter WA and completed by Karabena Consulting (Melbourne) and PwC’s Indigenous Consulting (Sydney). It has been prepared in good faith based on the research and information available to us at the date of publication without any independent verification. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or currency of the information. Karabena Consulting and PwC’s Indigenous Consulting do not accept any liability if this report is used for an alternative purpose, nor to any third party in respect of this report. iv KCT Publishing: Indigenous Science & Wellbeing Table of Contents Acknowledgments vii Section 7: National Indigenous Wealth Strategy 43 Abbreviations ix Section 8: The National Indigenous Housing and Health Strategy 51 Preface: Culture, Health, Wealth, The National Indigenous Housing Pool Strategy 51 Housing and Empowerment 1 Health and wellbeing elements of the National Indigenous Housing and Health Plan 53 Part 1: History and Policy Context 3 Connection to sources of wellbeing and Section 1: A tale of two populations 3 culturally aligned housing design 54 Homelessness elements of the National Section 2: Remote Indigenous Australia 8 Indigenous Housing and Health Plan 55 Native title 12 Future-proofing the health of housing 56 Section 3: Urban Indigenous Australia 14 Powering communities 56 Extending the benefits of home ownership to Section 4: Special measures and market communally held land 57 intervention 17 Market interventions 23 Section 9: Towards the Indigenous EcoDistrict – Regional Health and Housing Boards and Regional Housing Part 2: The Proposal 29 and Health Plans 60 Section 5: Rationale/Overview of Housing, Health and Wealth Associations 29 Conclusion: Indigenous Innovation in an Age of Acceleration 65 Wellbeing and housing 30 Health and wealth 31 List of References 66 Health and housing 31 Section 6: National Indigenous Housing, Health and Wealth Authority 37 The Authority rationale 40 Authority models 40 Establishing an Authority 41 Funding 42 Reimagining Indigenous Housing, Health and Wealth v List of figures, tables and text boxes Figures Text boxes Figure 1 ⊲ The three-part ecology Text Box 1 ⊲ Trauma Figure 2 ⊲ A model of social and emotional wellbeing Text Box 2 ⊲ South West Native Title Settlement Figure 3 ⊲ The bridging role of a National Indigenous Text Box 3 ⊲ Indigenous housing and health under Housing, Health and Wealth Authority ATSIC (1990–2005) Figure 4 ⊲ The Indigenous Estate as a fraction of the Text Box 4 ⊲ The rise and fall of Close the Gap strategy Australian continental land mass Text Box 5 ⊲ Goals of a Housing, Health and Wealth ecological approach Tables Text Box 6 ⊲ The Indigenous Land and Sea Table 1 ⊲ Three inter-related social and economic Corporation and Indigenous Business Australia gaps in Indigenous Australia Text Box 7 ⊲ The Indigenous Estate as the location of Table 2 ⊲ Reserve and mission site and associated title innovative green building techniques and materials transfers industry Table 3 ⊲ Land Rights Act land and housing Text Box 8 ⊲ The Indigenous Estate and at-scale arrangements in three jurisdictions renewable energy generation Table 4 ⊲ Indigenous social and community housing Text Box 9 ⊲ Indigenous Housing Pool, 2016–17 sector Text Box 10 ⊲ Strengthening the ICHO sector Table 5 ⊲ Summary of 2020 National Closing the Gap targets relevant to the ecological model recommended Text Box 11 ⊲ Swarm Electrification in this report Text Box 12 ⊲ Community Land Trusts Table 6 ⊲ Summary housing data Text Box 13 ⊲ The United Kingdom’s Public Health Table 7 ⊲ Four communicable diseases and their Act 1848 and Local Boards of Health association with housing in Indigenous Australia Table 8 ⊲ Mapping housing and related challenges and associated health challenges in the health and wellbeing ecologies of Indigenous communities Table 9 ⊲ Developing a National Indigenous Wealth Strategy for the Indigenous Estate Table 10 ⊲ Closing the Gap framework for new builds Table 11 ⊲ Overview of National Indigenous Housing Pool Strategy Table 12 ⊲ Closing the Gap Framework for Connecting Health Services to Housing Table 13 ⊲ Cultural, social and emotional wellbeing considerations for housing Table 14 ⊲ Developments allowing conversion of communally held land to freehold Table 15 ⊲ Example checklist for use in district planning vi KCT Publishing: Indigenous Science & Wellbeing Acknowledgments Shelter WA is the West Australian peak of the innovative work they are doing in support of body for social and affordable housing self-determined and empowered housing and health and ending homelessness. Our vision is outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander that all people living in Western Australia peoples. The people and organisations named here are have housing that enables them to thrive. also recognised as being uniquely well positioned to We believe everybody has the right to a help inform the new models and thinking that will be place to call home. Shelter WA works with required for true innovation in Aboriginal housing and our members and partners to provide a health outcomes to emerge. strong voice to lead the development of Ray Christopher and Nirrumbuk Aboriginal an effective housing system. Corporation: Nirrumbuk assists service members, member communities and Indigenous people within the Kimberley with cultural development, Our work in research, policy advice, engagement, employment, training, sustainable environmental sector development and advocacy is designed to health, and social and economic opportunities. realise our vision. Shelter WA has a seat on the board of Health Habitat: The work of the late Paul Pholeros National Shelter and is part of the State and Territory- and Health Habitat’s Housing for Health projects based shelter network. Further information on our are seminal to the mantra of ‘no survey without work can be found at https://www.shelterwa.org.au/. service’, which embeds community agreement, local Shelter WA received a grant from the Australian employment and service delivery into community Government Department of Health to undertake a survey work. A range of other organisations and review of Indigenous housing policy and programs, institutions delivering health services and conducting reviewing the intersection of housing and health research in rural and remote Aboriginal communities policy, and to provide information on the policy are now using the Housing for Health approach. changes required to deliver better housing and Nattlie Smith and Simon Newport of the Aboriginal health outcomes. We then established a governance Housing Office (AHO) NSW: Through its ‘Services our group in partnership with National Shelter and Way’ approach the AHO provides culturally appropriate the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service coordination, support and capacity building Housing Association to oversee this project. PWC’s for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Indigenous Consulting in partnership with Karabena families experiencing vulnerability. The AHO also Consulting were contracted to undertake this work. administers a collaborative innovation initiative Shelter WA would like to acknowledge and to thank that is pioneering future-focused and cost-effective the Commonwealth and the Department of Health for innovations in culturally and environmentally their support of this project along with all the project appropriate building methods and materials. participants for sharing their knowledge and insights. Darren Smith of Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV): The authors would also like to acknowledge the The AHV’s More than a Landlord life coaching and support and contribution of D. J. Belton (PwC’s wellbeing program supports