31/7/00
The Mugarinya Aboriginal Community at Yandeyarra, north-east of Roebourne, is the latest to be included in major improvement normalisation programs, Housing and Aboriginal Affairs Minister
Kim Hames said on his visit to the community.
Its inclusion in these programs will ensure that it gradually becomes like a self-administered small town, with access to power, water and sewerage services by fostering agreements with local government.
Dr Hames told the 300-strong community that as well as an upgrade of its housing, to be carried out by trained community members, it would be one of three communities to receive a swimming pool through the environmental health package.
“Under my environmental health package, selected remote Aboriginal communities are being given the option of having a swimming pool as an aid to better health and improved environment,” he said.
“Anecdotal evidence indicates that children who swim regularly are healthier, with reduced ear diseases and other infections and this is to be tested by the Telethon Institute for Child Health.
“By implementing the Northern - No Pool No School - policy, children’s educational opportunities should be improved, with them less likely to succumb to boredom and the temptations that produces.”
Yandeyarra will be part of Dr Hames’s Aboriginal Communities Strategic Investment Program (ACSIP), in which the management and facilities are improved through training and identification of the needs and priorities of the community.
Ten new houses will be built next year at a cost of $1.8 million, with seven of them being replacements and each of the community’s houses will be inspected to draw up a priority list of needs for upgrades to be undertaken by community members.
The Ministry of Housing will carry out a survey to determine the remaining needs of the community to upgrade it, which will include greening the football oval and assessing water quality for reticulation.
Through ACSIP and the Ministry of Housing’s Management Support Program, community members will be trained to manage and maintain their community.
Media contact: Zac Donovan (08) 9213 6400
