Mould, overcrowding and housing delays affecting families in Wilcannia
Leetisha Jones says overcrowding is a concern for some families in Wilcannia. (ABC News: Briana Fiore)
In short:
Remote communities are facing lengthy delays for urgent housing maintenance repairs.
A First Nations mother says her rural area has limited housing options for growing families, leading to overcrowding.
What's next?
The Mid Lachlan Aboriginal Housing Management Cooperative [MLAHMC] acknowledges there have been delays and has since approved repair works.
Five mattresses cover much of the living room floor of an outback home where Leetisha Jones is raising her young family.
Ms Jones lives in the outback town of Wilcannia, about 1,000 kilometres north-west of Sydney, and rents a home through the Mid Lachlan Aboriginal Housing Management Cooperative [MLAHMC].
She said mould had made one of the bedrooms unusable and, as a result, five family members had been sleeping on mattresses in the living room.
In addition to concerns about mould, Ms Jones said she also feared for her family's safety because the front door had not closed properly for months.
"It's not really safe; I don't feel safe,"she said.
Ms Jones said she raised her concerns with MLAHMC, but her pleas for help had been met with delays.
The 45-year-old is one of eight family members living under one roof.
Leetisha Jones says parts of her rental home need maintenance. (ABC News: Briana Fiore)
"It breaks us that we have to live like this and they don't care,"she said.
"If we just had a decent home to live in, we'd be happier."
Impacts of overcrowding
Ms Jones said she had lived in the three-bedroom house since 2007, and while it worked when her children were younger, overcrowding had become increasingly difficult over time.
"It's gotten harder through the years because [there's no] stability or privacy in the house … I've never had my own room,"she said.
Ms Jones said her living situation left her feeling frustrated, and she was considering creating a makeshift bedroom on her verandah.
"We can't have our own space … my daughter is 16 and would like to have her own bedroom, it's just hard," she said.
"We just live out here [in the living room], and we can't have my other grannies [grandchildren] stay with us."
Mould in the ceiling of one room made it unusable. (ABC News: Briana Fiore)
She also said the overcrowding had negatively affected her children's education at times.
"Over the years they haven't been able to study in their own rooms … it breaks me,"she said.
MLAHMC acting general manager Charlie Trindall said he acknowledged that there had been a delay in progressing some maintenance works at the Jones's house.
"As with many remote communities, timeframes can be impacted by contractor availability, logistics and access constraints," he said.
"Works have been approved to address water damage and mould … this includes removal and replacement of ceiling materials."
Mr Trindall said the organisation was working with contractors to complete the repairs within the "earliest available timeframe".
"We are actively monitoring progress to ensure completion without further delay,"he said.
Since the ABC put questions to the cooperative, Ms Jones said the maintenance had been completed.
MLAHMC's website says it is the largest Aboriginal Housing management organisation in NSW, managing 800 properties across the state.
Leetisha Jones is considering turning her verandah into a makeshift bedroom for extra privacy. (ABC news: Briana Fiore)
Ms Jones also said the Department of Community and Justice told her there was no housing in Wilcannia and suggested that she move to another town.
"I'm not ready to leave yet. We've always lived here. This is home," she said.
Mr Trindall said MLAHMC did not support relocation in a way that disregarded cultural connection to community.
"Like many remote communities, Wilcannia faces long-standing housing supply constraints, which can contribute to overcrowding and increased pressure on housing and maintenance services,"he said.
"MLAHMC continues to work with partners to respond to these challenges while addressing tenants' immediate needs."
Leetisha Jones and Brenda Riley say lengthy delays are lowering the standard of living in Wilcannia. (ABC News: Briana Fiore )
Ms Jones's mother, Brenda Riley, lives next door and said she had to take in some of her grandchildren to ease the overcrowding.
"[Overcrowding] is in every house … it's a big issue," she said.
"I'm angry because I have had to sit and watch this for years. It's not good."
Ms Riley also said she was unhappy with the standard of her own home, where she said sewage had leaked on multiple occasions.
"As soon as you flush [the toilet], [the sewage] is coming up through the shower," she said.
"That's a health hazard."
Brenda Riley has had to house some of her grandchildren due to overcrowding and maintenance concerns. (ABC News: Bill Ormonde)
Widespread problem
According to the NSW government website, there were more than 54,000 applicants waiting for social housing, with more than 11,000 on the priority list 12 months ago.
The data also shows that Wilcannia has 14 people on the general waitlist and 13 classed as priority placements.
The expected wait time for a two-bedroom property in Wilcannia is five to 10 years, while a three- or four-bedroom house could take anywhere from two to five years.
The social housing wait list for a two-bedroom home in Wilcannia is at least five years. (ABC News: Bill Ormonde)
Paul Memmott, an anthropologist and architecture professor at the University of Queensland, has been working in the field of Indigenous housing for decades.
Professor Memmott said maintenance issues and overcrowding problems were also prevalent in western Queensland, Western Australia's northern region, and in the Northern Territory.
"The more remote you are, the less attention you get from governments, less voting power you've got, it's hard to muster political impact,"Professor Memmott said.
He said there was only a "concerted effort to house all Aboriginal people" once the Whitlam government came to power in the early 1970s.
"And the backlog has never been met. There's still a lot of unhoused people in crowded houses in remote places," he said.
Professor Memmott said governments were failing to respond to the requests and needs of people.
The Darling River near the remote town of Wilcannia. (ABC News: Bill Ormonde)
"It's a big problem. It doesn't go away," he said.
"There are some local Aboriginal agencies who are proactive and concerned, but they often don't have the government funding to address the problems."
Professor Memmott said governments needed to consider more options.
More maintenance coming
A spokesperson for Homes NSW, the government agency responsible for delivering social and affordable housing, said everyone deserved to have access to safe and livable housing, and they expected all housing providers to meet these standards.
The spokesperson added that tenants could seek resolution through the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, or could file complaints with the Registrar of Community Housing.
About 700 people live in the small town of Wilcannia. (ABC News: Bill Ormonde)
"The registrar may investigate substantiated cases of systemic non-compliance with the National Regulatory Code and can enforce binding instructions on a Community Housing Provider," the spokesperson said.
Government figures show that since 2020, the Aboriginal Housing Office [AHO] has delivered $3.7 million in grants to Aboriginal Housing Providers in Wilcannia to fund repairs and maintenance of homes.
There are also 39 AHO-owned homes and a further 62 homes flagged in Wilcannia that will undergo major repairs.