August/September 2005 Volume 6, Issue 13
A lack of adequate and appropriate housing for Indigenous communities throughout Australia is a symptom of social inequalities. While this issue has not received the same level of attention as unemployment and other economic, social and political issues, the subject is increasingly discussed and analysed. During the ‘riots’ that occurred in Palm Island in 2004, it became clear that overcrowding — an average of 17 people per household — is a very real problem and is both a result and contributing factor in the level of discontent on the Island. Other Indigenous communities, both urban and regional, have come into the focus of the media as this issue has become more difficult to ignore.
This special edition was the suggestion of Lay Lee Tang of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (‘COHRE’). Her article describes the organisation’s work in promoting and supporting the right to housing internationally. Rita Markwell’s article sets out the international conventions in relation to the right to housing, the rights of Indigenous peoples in particular, and the implications of these rights for Australia.
Bret Thiele and Mayra Gómez reveal the horrors perpetrated against the Mayan people by the Guatemalan Government in its ‘scorched earth’ policy. Dr Chandrakant Puri discusses the importance of community participation in the development of housing in relation to a housing project in India.
Jacqui Wilkinson describes the situation in Redfern-Waterloo, and relates Australia’s international obligations to the needs of Indigenous people in the area. Elizabeth Rice, in collaboration with the Aboriginal Housing Company and the Redfern Aboriginal Authority (formerly the Redfern Organisation of Aboriginal Unity), explains the problems in Redfern as the result of the conflict between the right of Indigenous peoples to housing and the concept of state sovereignty. Geoffrey Turnbull investigates the failure of the Redfern-Waterloo Authority to deliver promised community consultation.
Debbie Kilroy investigates the necessity in Australia for safe and affordable housing for Indigenous women released from prison.
Archives of the Bulletin from Volume 1, Issue 1 (1981) to 6(1) 2004 are available at www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ILB/
Special Focus Edition: The Right to Housing for Indigenous Peoples
Bricks and Mortar: The Work of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions
by Lay Lee TangSegues from the Outside: Sources of Indigenous Housing Rights in International Law
by Rita MarkwellGenocide in Guatemala: The Roles of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank
by Bret Thiele and Mayra GómezParticipatory Self-Help Project for an Indigenous Community in India
by Dr Chandrakant PuriUrban Indigenous Housing Issues in Redfern
by Jacqui WilkinsonThe Two Realities on the Block
by Elizabeth Rice in collaboration with the Aboriginal Housing CompanyActions Speak Louder than Words: Redfern-Waterloo’s Recent Experience of ‘Consultation’
by Geoffrey TurnbullThe Prison Merry-Go-Round: No Way Off
by Debbie Kilroy
Regular
News and Reviews
Recent Happenings August 2005
Recent Happenings September 2005