The MG Developments Trust (DT), on behalf of MG Corporation, sought and received a number of submissions from local and regional building companies for a variety of house designs. Criteria included experience in Aboriginal community housing and in employment initiatives for local Aboriginal people within the building, fabrication and construction stages.
The project was structured in three stages to allow best planning:
- Essential Services Audit – this initial step involved a review of both existing infrastructure plus the capacity to meet additional housing demands of the project. Water samples were also taken to establish the quality of the drinking water source.
- Building Submissions – this involved the evaluation of all the building submissions to establish a shortlist of builders who complied with the criteria.
- Housing Allocation & Occupancy Criteria – this stage will be concluded in the final construction stage and will form part of a liaison process between the Steering Committee and the respective CLAs. Under the project agreement, the houses will be managed by a third party in compliance with normal social housing management and tenant agreement conditions.
The project is currently underway, and we are working towards a completion date of around 30 November 2011.
The CLA Housing Project Steering Committee has been established and consists of Merle Carter (DT Chairperson), Ian McPherson (DT Independent Director), Helen Gerrard (MG Board Director), Gary Taylor (KDC) and Gus Tampalini (MG Corp GM).