NT renters ‘bullied’ out of homes as pressure mounts on Territory government to act on coronavirus tenancy laws

Tenants living in Australia’s Top End say the Northern Territory government has been too slow to act on proposed measures to protect renters hit financially by the coronavirus pandemic.

Northern Territory Health Minister Natasha Fyles confirmed there were no positive coronavirus cases within the group travelling from East Timor. Source: AAP

As the economic impact of COVID-19 deepens, renters, who make up a third of Australian households, are finding it tougher to keep up payments.

While funding packages for tenants and landlords have been made available in some states, a plan for the Northern Territory is yet to be finalised. 

Tia Smith, 21, lost her job as a heavy machinery operator at a cement mill in Darwin.

She is one of the 1.6 million Australians now jobless as a direct result of coronavirus, but is too young to receive the JobSeeker allowance, which is limited to those aged 22 and over. 

 Read the full article in English here.

Ms Smith lives with her partner and another roommate and felt forced to leave their old home.

Aneeta Bhole