Darwin town campers say no difference between NT parties

Updated August 23, 2012 08:47:00

Just outside the Darwin CBD is the One Mile Dam camp - home to many Aboriginal locals and their friends and relatives who come in from remote areas. Many a developer would dearly like to get their hands on the site. Tony Eastley spoke with the camp's longest serving resident Dave Timber to see what he made of the election campaign and Saturday's election.

Source: AM | Duration: 2min 56sec

Topics: indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, housing-industry, elections, housing, states-and-territories, nt, australia


TONY EASTLEY: The desperate need for more housing is placing pressure on undeveloped land in Darwin. Just outside the CBD is the One Mile Dam camp, home to many Aboriginal locals and their friends and relatives who drop in from remote areas.

Many a developer would dearly like to get their hands on this site.

Two years ago I visited the camp and spoke to its longest serving resident Dave Timber. Yesterday I again dropped in to catch up, see what's changed and see what Dave Timber makes of the Northern Territory election this Saturday.

Have there been any improvements in the buildings around here Dave? Because I remember last time I was here you had some problems with the buildings.

DAVE TIMBER: Well what you have seen here last time you've been here, nothing has changed. The houses are still the same where people pay rent.

TONY EASTLEY: Every time I come down to the camp here and talk to you I can't help but see that the big city is getting closer and closer.

DAVE TIMBER: That's right. As you've noticed from the last time you've been here, the developments is enclosing in around us at a rapid pace right now.

TONY EASTLEY: Do you think you'll be able to stay here?

DAVE TIMBER: Oh I'll be staying here for as long as I can yeah, I love the place.

TONY EASTLEY: One of the problems Dave Timber that you mentioned to me before was the huge number of people that come from outside, of Darwin come and stay here. Is that still a problem or not?

DAVE TIMBER: Well as everyone knows, since the intervention a lot of people find it very hard to live in the communities. Like for instance you cannot take alcohol in the community or as that happens they caused a lot of problems in other areas or the other town camps.

TONY EASTLEY: So they are still coming into this camp because this is where you can get your hands on some grog?

DAVE TIMBER: It's pretty well easy to get your hands on grog. And not only that, they found it very hard under the intervention to - mainly the jobs of these communities have been stopped like CDP for instance. There were lots of people employed but a lot of them had to leave for that reason.

TONY EASTLEY: Election campaigns often come down to a bit of an argument about law and order and the problems with grog in Darwin. How do you see it?

DAVE TIMBER: Oh it's the same old thing. They're all the same. These two main parties, I've heard them all before. They're all the same and they kind of do the same thing, like promise this, promise that. But in the long run nothing happens really.

TONY EASTLEY: And you base that on what's happened at this camp - not much over many years?

DAVE TIMBER: You could say that, you could base that on that because nothing really has changed in this community for, in regard to both these political parties. They've never changed much in regard to fixing up these town camps.

All they want to do is try and - the last thing I've heard was they want to suburbanise this place and relocate these people from this community somewhere. I don't know where.

TONY EASTLEY: Dave Timber outside his modest house at One Mile Camp surrounded by a few of his favourite dogs there.