1,000 signatures reached
To: Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese and Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Lia Finocchiaro
Stop the closure of Aboriginal community-controlled YiSSA Housing
The closure of YiSSA (Yilli Short Stay Accommodation) and plans to relocate residents to Batchlor, which is over 100km away from Darwin is extremely concerning.
YiSSA is an Aboriginal community-controlled organisation that provides short-stay accommodation for adults and children who have nowhere else to go. The closure places the housing security of hundreds of adults and children at risk, potentially driving families into extreme housing insecurity, overcrowding or the long grass. They will be moved away from the community they know and children will have to change schools. Some YiSSA residents are also staying there longer term as they have come from remote communities to receive dialysis treatment regularly. Others are DV survivors who have found a safe place at YiSSA.
This will cause a ripple effect within our community - overwhelming the frontline sector that is already stretched to its limit. There is no public transport from Batchelor to Darwin, making it much harder for people to access essential services. Relocation to Batchelor will impact people’s ability to access healthcare because it places them outside the Danila Dilba catchment area.
Our ask
There is a viable pathway to keep YiSSA open and avoid the devastating impacts of its closure. The Northern Territory government has so far refused to purchase YiSSA, even after the Commonwealth Government offered to pay $3.5 million of the $6.5 million market price.
If the NT Government refuses to contribute to the purchase of YiSSA, then the Commonwealth Government must step in and purchase the facility outright. The Commonwealth Government must not let YiSSA residents be evicted. It has the power to prevent hundreds of people from becoming homeless and displaced, and it must use that power.
Why is this important?
The Northern Territory already has the highest rates of homelessness in the country, at almost 12 times the national average. The Territory and Federal Government cannot continue to allow this widening gap.
- All Territorians deserve safe and secure short-term and crisis housing close to public transport and essential services. Frontline services have called for urgent reconsideration of the closure of YiSSA.
- We need the support of the wider community to advocate with current and former YiSSA residents whose concerns are not being heard.
- The plan to relocate people 100 kilometres away does not make sense. It will be more expensive initially (costing at least $9.215 million), and in the long run, especially with rising transport and travel costs.
The facility MUST stay open and continue to provide a much-needed service in Darwin.