The Northern Territory government has cancelled almost $70 million (US448.8 million) in rental debt for remote Indigenous communities amid allegations the housing is not up to scratch.
Treasurer Eva Lawler, in late June, scrapped the debt following court action by Aboriginal residents at Laramba and Santa Teresa in central Australia, near Alice Springs, not-for-profit litigators Grata Fund says.
Details about the decision were heard in a recent NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing that ended last week.
“The effect of the determination is that remote rent debts prior to 30 June 2019 were written off under section 35 subsection 1 of the Financial Management Act,” Lauren Tattersall, a lawyer for Territory Families, Housing and Communities, said from the witness box….