Australia Yearbook - 2001

320 Year Book Australia 2001
8.21 DWELLINGS IN REMOTE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES —1999
Number of people in community
Fewer than 50 50 to 199 200 or more
Total
%
%
%
%
Permanent dwellings
Community owned or managed 66.2 81.3 81.3 78.1
State owned and managed .. 3.2 8.7 5.8
Privately owned dwellings 0.1 1.4 1.9 1.4
All permanent dwellings(a) 66.3 86.2 94.3 86.9
Occupied temporary dwellings 33.7 13.8 5.7 13.1
Total dwellings 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
’000 ’000 ’000 ’000
Total dwellings 3.2 2.9 9.1 15.2
Total persons 13.9 14.8 60.0 88.7
no. no. no. no.
Occupancy ratio(b) 4.3 5.1 6.6 5.8
(a) Includes permanent dwellings owned and managed by other organisations. (b) Occupancy ratio equals the average number of
persons per dwelling.
Source: Unpublished data, Community and Housing Infrastructure Needs Survey, 1999.
Availability of drinking water,
electricity and sewerage systems
The supply of water to a community can
determine the viability of that community.
Without investments in constructing permanent
storage and delivery systems, communities can
have a precarious existence. In 1999, 16
communities did not have an organised water
supply. These communities were very small,
with few inhabitants.
The majority of communities (65%) reported
that bore water was the most common form of
organised drinking water in their community.
This was true for communities of all sizes
(table 8.23).
Although other fuels can be used for cooking
and lighting, the supply of electricity is generally
considered a basic amenity for a wide range of
purposes. The supply of electricity to remote
Indigenous communities was not as extensive as
it was for water, with 11% of communities not
having a supply of electricity. Virtually all of
these communities had a population of fewer
than 50 people (98%). Among all the remote
communities, domestic generators (29%) and
community generators (25%) were the main
sources of electricity supply.
The proper disposal of sewage is an important
environmental health issue. In 1999, some 69
communities (6% of all remote Indigenous
communities), had no sewerage system. Once
again, almost all of these communities (97%)
had a population of fewer than 50 people.
The most common type of sewerage system was
septic tanks with a leach drain, which were
present in 46% of these communities. Pit toilets
were also a common form of sewage disposal
(25% overall), but they were less common in
larger communities.
Problems experienced with
infrastructure
Providing accommodation appropriate to the
weather conditions and other aspects of the
environment, and maintaining the existing
facilities, is a difficulty in all remote
communities. 6 It is important that the
equipment and infrastructure be properly
constructed, particularly for the circumstances
in which such facilities are required. It has been
suggested that taking into account the high cost
of repairs in remote areas, much of the
equipment is not sufficiently robust or durable. 4