In July, our team visited Mornington Island on our first fieldwork trip. Mornington Island is located in the Gulf of Carpentaria, around 440km north of Mt Isa, home to approximately 1,000 residents, with an almost entirely Indigenous permanent population (84%) with some non-Indigenous people, mostly in service roles for the community, though some as permanent residents (Qld Govt 2015). It is classified as Very Remote under the Australian Remoteness classification (ASGS 2015). The remoteness of the island, 28km off the mainland coast, with the only access for people and goods being by small aircraft and barge, contributes to high food prices, limited fresh fruit and vegetables (ABC News 2020) and dictates the nature of certain infrastructure, including housing. For example, Mornington Island is not connected to the national electricity grid and instead is powered through diesel generation in an isolated network, limiting scope for further development and requiring network crews to be flown in, in the case of malfunction (Aurecon 2020).
Mornington Shire Council engaged The University of Queensland to assist with developing their capacity to procure and better implement designs for housing in Gununa, the main urban centre on the island. Our research project therefore seeks to understand the current fit between housing and the urban environment on Gununa and residents’ needs. There are three strands to this investigation:
Investigate the housing adequacy on Mornington Island as defined by the United Nations Housing Adequacy Criteria (OHCHR/UN-Habitat 2014 Right to Adequate Housing Fact Sheet). The housing survey specifically investigates all elements of housing adequacy using the UN Criteria as its basis.
Investigate the specific problems that residents face with energy supply to their housing. This includes the contribution of the built environment to residents’ inability to make comfort in a cost-effective manner, the administrative issues of pre-paid electricity and the larger structural issues associated with electricity provision, e.g. working towards realising the community’s aspirations of increasing energy availability in a cost-effective and sustainable way, such as relocating or replacing the current diesel power station located in the main street.
Better understand young people’s aspirations for the future of the built environment in Gununa, and to understand what elements of their current built environment they find work well, and which need improvement.
The project has important implications for ongoing sustainability on the island and shaping the physical environment for liveability and resilience. We’re continuing to work closely with local and state governments to develop responses to the data as it emerges, and will be going back in late November 2022 to present results back to participants.
