| Services | Background | |||
Wardens and Return to Country Program Housing Programs Tangentyere Bank Agency (Westpac) CDEP Homemakers/Old Peoples' Service Youth Activities Tangentyere Job Shop Centrelink Office Financial Counselling Service |
Tangentyere Council was founded in the mid 1970's but did not become an
Incorporated Body until 6 February 1979. It was established to assist Aboriginal people, who had been living for a great many years in areas on the outskirts of Alice Springs, to gain some form of legal ownership in order that they could obtain services in the form of water, electricity and housing on the parcels of land. The Northern Territory Government has always had a policy whereby it will not provide services where there is no permanent tenure of land. This policy is still current. Tangentyere Council negotiated with Government on behalf of the residents of the parcels of land and eventually was able to obtain legal status of eighteen parcels of land in the form of Special Purpose Leases. These have since been converted to Leases in Perpetuity in favour of the owners of the land. Each lease has an Incorporated Association, consisting of the residents of the Lease, and each Association is completely autonomous, having its own Constitution and Rules. The eighteen Housing Associations are the Members of Tangentyere Council Inc., which in turn has its own Constitution and elected Executive Council. The Executive Members of Tangentyere Council are elected from the Office Bearers of the Member Associations. Although each Association has its own Constitution the main objects are common to all, as they are also to Tangentyere Council. The main aims are to "relieve the poverty, sickness, destitution, distress, suffering, misfortune or helplessness of Aboriginal People in Central Australia." Tangentyere Council has largely addressed the problem of basic services and great strides have been made in the provision of housing, though there is still some way to go and regular maintenance to the housing stock needs to be addressed. Tangentyere receives funding from a variety of agencies, both Commonwealth
and Territory, to assist in the performance of its duties towards its
client group, the Town Camp residents. The types of program being funded
include health, education, local government, housing and administration.
The main funding body is ATSIC, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Commission. |
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