Future of Perth’s last First Nation’s housing community at Cullacabardee unclear
Unresolved asbestos contamination has left residents of Perth’s last Aboriginal community living in Limbo. Cullacabardee was seen as a so-called solution for First Nation’s housing in the 1980’s, but now, only a handful of homes are left. After years of silence from the Western Australian government, remaining locals say they want certainty about their future.
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00:00Little remains of Perth's last Aboriginal community, Kalakabadi, tucked away in the
00:08northern suburbs.
00:14Many of the 30 homes first built here were demolished.
00:17Julie Lewis is caretaker for the five homes left.
00:21State government funding for Kalakabadi has all but dried up.
00:24It's like we are forgotten.
00:27Then again, it's nice to be forgotten too, because we can still live out here.
00:33The settlement was established by the state government in 1980 as a solution to Aboriginal
00:38housing.
00:41The so-called experiment failed, with public housing demolished and never rebuilt.
00:45Now the Sunday morning church service has few parishioners.
00:51The local pastor has preached here for the last two decades and witnessed Kalakabadi's
00:56decline.
00:57Many families enjoyed this community, only a few people here, all people gone.
01:02I'm very sad because this community for their identity, I believe that, they nearly love
01:10this land.
01:13Kalakabadi remains held by WA's Aboriginal Lands Trust.
01:17The WA government says it's supportive of divesting this land into Aboriginal ownership,
01:22but unresolved asbestos contamination has complicated that process, leaving this community's
01:28future in limbo.
01:31Illegal dumping has left behind pockets of contamination.
01:34WA's Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage says it's developing a broader strategy to
01:39deal with it.
01:40Though the issue hasn't been mentioned in WA's parliament for over six years.
01:45People say they've been left in the dark.
01:49Is that going to affect our health?
01:51Do we know that?
01:52No, we don't.
01:54Perth has built up around Kalakabadi, raising prospects for redevelopment, but the fate
01:59of residents is unclear.
02:01For most of us, we think, well what, one day they're going to come out and say, yous have
02:06got to go.
02:07Where do we go?
02:10Perth's forgotten Aboriginal community, desperate for a future.
02:15For more UN videos visit www.un.org