The Wire

Improving indigenous housing is one of the top items on the new Federal government’s agenda. With lots of money about to be spent on trying to set up housing that actually works, many big building and engineering companies are in Canberra this week lobbying to get what will be lucrative contracts . The money will be there , the will is there , but how to avoid the mistakes of the past? Architect Paul Pholeros from Housing For Health has spent many years in remote communities fixing houses that don’t work. He says the focus should not just be on bringing in new houses, but on choosing the right appliances and putting in sustainable power systems.