00:00A rental payment model under fire from its conception.
00:05We lobbied the government at the time, please don't do this.
00:10The model was based off a town-based community where there is access to goods and services
00:16and it wasn't ever meant to be implemented in the bush.
00:19But in 2023, the then NT Labor government began charging public housing tenants in remote
00:25communities $70 a week for each bedroom in their house, regardless of its condition or
00:30proximity to services.
00:32The government at the time receiving advice that up to 80% of residents in some areas would
00:37see rent hikes of hundreds of dollars a week.
00:40I don't know how somebody who was on a middle class wage would even be able to survive out
00:45there.
00:45After years of unsuccessfully challenging the policy in the Northern Territory courts, a
00:50group of four tenants from Gumbulanya and Laramba today saw the High Court rule the
00:55rule in their favour.
00:56And it could have massive implications for the NT government, which has since collected
01:00almost $20 million under the unlawful scheme.
01:04The rent records that the Territory holds are really in disarray.
01:08They've previously had to wipe off millions in rent debt that couldn't be supported by
01:12the records.
01:14And there really needs to be a wholesale accounting of what's going on with rent in the Northern
01:18Territory.
01:19Opposition leader Selina Yubo said in a statement she respects the High Court's decision
01:24and that tenants would need straightforward advice about what it would mean for them.
01:29Housing Minister Steve Edgington said the government is still considering its options for a valid
01:35scheme, but that tenants are still required to pay their rent in the meantime.
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