Esther and the Voice
Enhancing tenant engagement
The Tenant Engagement team worked together with Shelter WA, the independent peak body in Western Australia advocating for housing and homelessness, to provide tenant engagement training for workers in the community housing sector. As part of the partnership, Tenant Consultation and Communications O cer, Amy Kidner completed a secondment with Shelter, and together with Housing Choices Manager of Tenant Engagement and Capacity Building, Leah Watkins developed and delivered a tenant engagement training program. The training focused on helping community housing organisations understand the value and benefits of engaging with tenants and nurturing an organisational culture that centres on tenant voice and feedback. Neighbourhood Mediation Program Housing Choices Western Australia, in partnership with Circle Green and Gosnells Community Legal Centre, launched a trial mediation service for tenants to help manage their tenancies and any neighbour issues that may arise. This mediation service is a voluntary process carried out by an impartial, professional mediator. Tenants are provided with support from the mediation team at Gosnells Community Legal Centre who conduct the initial assessment and further advice is provided by Circle Green. The subsidised service is designed to help tenants and neighbours come to an agreement by understanding each other's perspectives.
Esther, a Mardudhunera woman from the Pilbara and Housing Choices WA tenant, has been an activist for over 30 years.
Born in the Pilbara, she first started her activism work after moving to Sydney as a 17-year-old. She became involved in land rights, women, LGBT and Aboriginal movements. “Although it was depressing because of all of these negative toxic things that were happening it was also very exciting because it was a changing game in Australia,” says Esther. Recently Esther joined the Yes23 campaign and spoke to Housing Choices WA sta on what the Voice to Parliament will mean, how it will impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the di erent views people have around the referendum. For the Voice to work, quality people must be put forward, says Esther, and she hopes to see these fed up from the regions, including the Pilbara. “We don’t hear enough from the Pilbara people even with the Voice.” “If you’re living on the out communities you’re not really being represented and once again it’s about elevating those people that don’t have a voice and getting the right people on these advisories.” “It’s about being part of the constitution and it will change provided we can really walk together.”
“Breaking down all those stereotypes and the fear that people have, it does come down to a little bit of responsibility of people reading about what the Voice is and what the Constitution is going to do, we have to get over the line for a lot of stu to come into play, at the moment it is conversations but it’s nothing to be fearful of.” Housing Choices acknowledges and respects the decision of the Australian people in the referendum held on Saturday the 14th October, 2023. We remain steadfast in our resolve to stand alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as we work to improve housing outcomes. Our commitment to hearing, listening, and working in partnership to achieve sustained, high quality housing outcomes and to enable a strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing sector will continue and grow.
Esther encourages everyone to read about the Voice, our constitution and to have open conversations with each other.
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Annual Report 2022-23
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