Mungkarta’s milestone moment
Mungkarta homeland, about a one-hour drive south of Tennant Creek and home to 55 locals, is celebrating the completion of all scheduled housing upgrades under the Homelands Housing and Infrastructure program (HHIP), a partnership between the Northern Territory (NT) and Australian Government to deliver urgent housing upgrades in remote areas.
With $3.6M allocated to support Munakata, the program saw 13 homes upgraded to enhance the health, safety, and wellbeing of residents. Following 9 Healthy Living Practices, based on HealthHabitat Housing for Health website, many families received improvements to their washing and food storage facilities, temperature control systems, and support to reduce dust exposure and overcrowding, among other health hardware.
Our team worked closely with Barkly Plumbing Services, who was awarded the contract to complete the renovations after a competitive application process in November 2023.
Barkly Plumbing Services manager Sam Cuzner said his team enjoyed working alongside the community.
‘I would like to say thank you for having us here. All the workers said the people of Mungkarta are beautiful people and looked after us and kept us safe, which made it very easy for us to be able to do our work on your homes.’
Mungkarta Traditional Owner Mr John Dougie expressed gratitude for the improvements.
‘Houses look great. I am happy with all the houses. Barkly Plumbing Services did a good job and were good with the community. We especially love the new verandas. We thank you mob for making these houses for us.’
Since 2023, the Australian Government has invested $220 million in HHIP, while the NT government has contributed $40 million annually to support essential services in Aboriginal homelands. So far, 151 out of 298 scheduled homes have been completed.
To learn more about HHIP and follow the journey, go to the DHLGCD website.
