NT Government Evicts Down Syndrome

I have been helping Michael Barry and his family for some time now. Michael and his family have lived in Alice Springs at the same house for about 20 years. Michael is also a carer for young indigenous man with a disability. Last year NT Department of Housing tried to evict Michael and his family. And Michael isn't taking this standing down. I am going to get to the bottom of this whole mess.

 

But first, a bit about Steven. He has Down syndrome and respiratory problems. He is a delightful young man. Everyone in the community loves him. People like Steven are special. We need to take care of them.

Michael's adult children still live with him - April 18, Steven 25, Ben 21 and Dominic 19. Dominic also plays football for the Melbourne Demons. How lovely. 

 

 

The local media has gotten involved. The Advocate published an article, as did NT News.

On the 18th of November 2013, Michael received a notice to quit. It says Michael has 'failed to take reasonable care of the premises, or of goods  leased there - with or has committed waste...' Check it out here.

This eviction notice is problematic in various ways. For a start, Michael's house and yard is in great condition. And we have proof. Check out the pictures.

 

And also, compare these pictures to those we have of other government houses.

The power to evict tenants for not keeping premises clean and tidy is so discretionary, those enforcing the law can pick out anything they like. This is a problem. It is open to abuse.

The other issue was that Michael had erected a shelter in the back yard. He built it to specifications on the advice of his builder mates. He had repeatedly asked NT Housing to build a shed. This is what Michael has to say:

I built it with no assistance from Housing - didn't want there help. I was just sick to my back teeth of never after all the years of requesting a shed and the ones they have are small, never getting more than a sure we will we get one for you. After my own initiative and building my own all HELL BROKE LOOSE. I was told to rip it down then eventually to get it certified. Which I promise I did not know about "dumb me", checked out the cost of certification $1500 and could not afford to do so. I guess that was a good enough excuse to kick us out at the time or so they thought.

Here are some pictures of the shed.

 

I certainly don't think this shed constitutes damage. Michael was attempting to improve the property. And we know public and private landlords often use council regulations in the war on tenants. Shouldn't NT Housing be helping tenants improve their properties? The other issue is that Michael has caravans and kombi vans in his backyard. He uses them for storage. I think this is quite quirky. I do live in a progressive suburb in Melbourne though!

Michael has had these vans since he first moved into Oleander Street. It seems somewhat suspicious that these vans have all of a sudden become an issue. And quite frankly, it smacks of middle-class disdain. Michael is paying to use the house and yard. Who cares? I don't know of any law that prohibits unregistered vehicles from being kept on properties. It's a bit big brother. And I'm not referring to that silly show on television either.

Michael submitted a freedom of information request. So we have a record of the kombi van saga. On the communication history, there is no mention of the vans being a problem until 2002 eight years after Michael moved into the property. In August 2002 there is a note that a car was being used as a cubby house. There is nothing until 2010 where there are a few notes to the effect that the yard is clean and tidy.

In November of that year, Mr McCorriston did two drive-bys. He noted that the yard was in a tidy state. I have a big problem with NT Housing doing drive-bys like this. It is a complete invasion of privacy. Same thing again in 2011. Clean and tidy. We get to April of 2013 and all hell breaks loose. Ms Skedgwell notes that there are old unregistered caravans, three kombi vans, and a land cruiser with flat tyres. She tells Michael that he needs to remove the vehicles as they are unregistered. She issues Michael with an untidy yard letter a few days later.

Michael and his family were very distressed. Michael went and saw Mr Conlan, the Minister for Housing, and asked him for help. Michael tells me that Mr Conlan told him that he was not interested in intervening because he drove past his house and there were weeds in his front yard.

It's very Pleasantville. And I'm sure it would be a very boring world if we all had short neatly-trimmed grass...

If Mr Conlan had driven by a few months earlier, he would have seen Michael's Sir Donald Bradman roses. They had been destroyed by a neighbour.

 

Michael raised all of his children in his Oleander Street home. It is their family home. In my view, it is not just owners that have family homes. NT Housing has issued three other eviction notices. They are very determined. But so is Michael. He will shackle himself to his house if he has to. But hopefully people power can turn this around. You can join Michael's group here - Help Keep House. In my next instalment, I will take a look at other reasons NT Housing has provided.

Post script. Since this blog post was published, the notice to evict on the basis of failure to take care of premises has been withdrawn.

Post script. Minister Matt Conlan has since been named and shamed for taking two days to apologise to a former female Cabinet Minister for calling her a c**t. See more here. Indigenous backbenchers have demanded the dumping of Matt Conlan and reinstatement of an aboriginal affairs ministry. The three have
accused the government of racism. See more on this here.