Governments accused of 'walking away' from Indigenous housing commitment, as Binjari residents still struggle

Northern Territory community leaders have accused

the Federal and Northern Territory governments of "walking away" from a commitment to Indigenous housing.

Megan Raymond lives in Binjari, a community 15 kilometres south-west of Katherine with a population of 300.

Earlier this year Ms Raymond and her three children shifted from the "bottom camp" to the "top camp" at Binjari, after years of living in what she described as an "old tin shack".

"I told them it's not fair," Ms Raymond said.

"My kids are getting sick, I'm getting asthma and hardly breathing in the house."

But Ms Raymond said problems had continued at the top camp, with more than a dozen people living in a three-bedroom home.

"To go to the toilet, they're going to have to walk over their beds, and sometimes walking over your bed your dusting it and getting dirt in it as well," she said.

"The kids will get flu and sometimes get sores on their body.

"But it's not our fault because we live in a squashed up house and we don't have much room.

"Some family don't know where to live, they'd rather sleep on the verandah, some just sleep anywhere."

Another Binjari resident, Isobel Lalara, said the toilets were often broken at the community's bottom camp, including one female toilet that has been blocked since last year.

Residents have been told the bottom camp is no longer suitable for public housing because it is in a flood zone.

Ms Lalara is one of several residents at Binjari's bottom camp who do not want to leave the area, and would not know where to find alternative housing if they had to.

"My grandkids were born here," she said. "I like living here, I love these people here."

Government reducing responsibility for housing, Indigenous association says

Kalano Community Association, an Aboriginal housing organisation in Katherine, said the Northern Territory Government was not sticking to its commitment to public housing.

"We have no conversation with the Territory Government on this," chief executive Rick Fletcher said.

"In fact they're looking to reduce their responsibility to fund community housing.

"We've been told by the Territory Government that our current contract, which ends in 2016, will cease to fund houses in the town of Katherine."

Mr Fletcher said this would "likely" result in the closure of the Geyulkgan Ngurra camp, which is being used by a small number of Warlpiri families.

Geyulkgan Ngurra consists of five houses and four tin shacks, and is currently home to about eight tenants.

Family members from remote areas also use the camp when travelling to Katherine to access services.

"Everyone that lives in this community here, is in fact eligible for public housing," Mr Fletcher said.

"We're in fact doing a service to the Government to house people that come and go from the region, but we're struggling and there's no conversation to take this issue and resolve it any time in the future.

"The people here will ultimately continue to occupy the public spaces and the river of Katherine and thereby it becomes a community problem for Katherine."