Article item posted on Wednesday, September 2nd 2009 at 2:48 pm

That sickening, disheartening immoral Aboriginal housing scam being perpetrated on Aboriginals and Taxpayers that goes by the acronym of SIHIP simply won’t be righted, will it?

For too long the policy of the Federal and Northern Territory governments has been ‘shoot the messenger’.

Nothing has changed it seems.

Now, the consultant who warned them the aboriginal housing scheme under the $672 million Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program was seriously off-track has been removed from his position by the NT government.

Isn’t that what consultants are supposed to do?

He warned them the scheme:

“might deliver as few as 300 houses, less than half of the 750 promised by the federal and NT governments.”

It is demonstrably a bad move for consultants to provide fearless advice to the NT government if it upsets the gravy train!

And a gravy train it is too…

Kerry Gearman and Bronwen King were employed as remote audit building managers by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure, later seconded to work with the scheme in charge of public housing in the NT.

They said they were paid $71,000 each and in an interview with a News Corporation paper reported they:

“…spent five months, along with five other managers, doing “absolutely nothing” during their employment with the NT government.”

“They paid us wages for months to basically do nothing, because there wasn’t anything for us to do,” Mr Gearman said. “We were told to do a bit of research, go and introduce ourselves to people, but essentially we were given nothing to do.”

Apparently the couple quit their jobs in disgust at the wastage and mismanagement they witnessed.

Quite right too!

“Rivers of money” are flowing into the NT to address the terrible struggle of indigenous people, but little of that money benefits the misbegotten.

“I think Alison Anderson is right,” Mr Gearman said. “An awful lot of this money is going to disappear in consultants’ fees and other things when the hope was the stakeholders would pull together and get something done. “

What A Disgraceful Mess

The very people with integrity – as measured by their resignations or dismissals – bear the brunt of the Australian Labor Party’s standard approach of  “bring in the consultants for a cash smorgasbord” in running states, territories and this country. What a disgrace.

The Chief Minister should hang his head in shame and retire. And it is only reasonable to call – again – for the federal minister – Jenny Macklin – ultimately responsible for this consultant “love in” to also resign in disgrace.  That is what is expected under the Westminster system of government.

Disgusting!

Scott Kane

Tags: aboriginals, alison anderson, australian federal government, australian newspaper, australians, bad move, bronwen, building managers, department of planning, department of planning and infrastructure, disgust, five months, gravy train, housing scheme, Indigenous People, infrastructure program, mismanagement, news corporation, northern territory government, northern territory governments, party pooper, planning and infrastructure, public housing, remote audit, wastage

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