In March 2023, violence shattered the close-knit community of Mt Liebig in the Northern Territory. Two-year-old Kumanjayi Fly lost his life after crawling into an unprotected septic tank in the backyard of his public housing residence. This horrific tragedy has led to increasing public pressure for immediate legislative change. It’s time to give people what they want—actual safety and maintenance improvements for this region’s public housing. An inquest found that Kumanjayi’s death was preventable. The issue came down to failure of appropriate care and management of the septic system, which lies with the Northern Territory (NT) government, who is tasked with controlling them.
The inquiry’s findings were delivered by NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage on Friday, shedding light on the neglect surrounding Kumanjayi’s living conditions. The coroner called for improved maintenance and replacement of the septic system. Had any of those steps been done, this toddler’s death would almost certainly have been preventable. More alarmingly, the report noted a series of issues at Kumanjayi’s home. Unsafe air conditioners created further hazards for the residents.
Coroner’s Inquiry Findings
Coroner Armitage’s inquiry found overwhelmingly that systematic failure destroyed public housing maintenance. Her findings further show that the NT government’s Department of Housing should be proactive in ensuring all public housing is safe and secure. This impression may be given as Residential Tenancies Act at section 20 already requires landlords to ensure their units are fit for habitation and in good repair.
Armitage noted, “If proper sufficient maintenance or replacement of the septic system has been undertaken, this death would likely have been prevented.” She criticized the NT government for its reliance on reactive rather than preventive maintenance, stating, “Despite the continual recognition of the benefits of cyclical maintenance, the majority of the budget continues to be spent on reactive maintenance.” The coroner’s report found that in isolated communities in Ontario, there was a huge backlog of maintenance requests, adding another layer of complexity.
As countless community leaders and advocates have pointed out, these are dangerous designs. Now, they’re calling for urgent action from the government to respond to these findings.
Calls for Government Accountability
Leeanne Caton, the chief executive of Aboriginal Housing Northern Territory, said she was “tremendously distressed” by Kumanjayi’s death. She argued that the NT Department of Housing has failed in its duty as a landlord. “They have been derelict in their service provision to remote housing tenants by not having duty of care as landlords,” she stated. Caton underscored the point that there’s an urgent need to take a different approach to preserving our housing stock. She called on the NT government to act promptly and definitively to implement the coroner’s recommendations.
Dan Kelly, a representative pushing for state compensation claims rooted in the inquiry’s findings, spoke along similar lines. “We will be seeking compensation for all remote tenants for the lack of repairs and maintenance, and the lack of habitability and the risks to safety,” he said. Furthermore, he underscored the importance of government intervention, stating, “The NT government has been in control of public housing in remote communities for 17 years now … there needs to be a serious intervention into the way housing is dealt with in remote communities.”
Kelly pointed out that his organization has established a national class action. This action, which affects all 73 remote communities in the NT, aims to keep the government accountable to the ongoing problems that persist.
The Path Forward
Community leaders are pushing for systemic reforms to address ongoing issues of unsafe housing and protect tenants in isolated regions. Caton remained a passionate champion for moving the conversation to focus on preventive maintenance. He claimed that in the long run, investing in the daily maintenance would be cheaper than doing extensive repairs later on. “Instead, getting onto the preventative and cyclical maintenance will be a short-term [financial] sacrifice … then you won’t have the huge maintenance repairs that happen consistently across the Northern Territory,” she explained.
The Central Land Council has taken a leading advocacy role in pushing for establishment of a cyclical maintenance program for Aboriginal housing. They further congratulate the coroner’s recommendations.
As Kumanjayi Fly’s death continues to resonate within the community and beyond, pressure mounts on both the NT and federal governments to take decisive steps toward addressing these pressing issues. Advocates are pleading that to not act would only invite more senseless tragedies in a system already suffering from years of apathy.
