Respected elder Lester Coyne keen to generate solutions rather than problems after being made to leave home

A widely respected Menang Noongar elder has said he is keen to help generate solutions rather than problems a week after he was made to leave his home by the Department of Communities. Lester Coyne had called the caretaker’s house of the Paddy Coyne Complex home for about 18 months before being given two days to leave by DOC in the first week of January. Mr Coyne took on the role of the complex’s caretaker in 2022 when Southern Aboriginal Corporation began managing the place to accommodate older Aboriginal women on WA’s social housing list. “I was already doing all the internal and external work at Albany Aboriginal Corporation Centre across the road, and I was going to undertake a similar capacity for those at Paddy Coyne,” he said. “So it suited me right down to the ground.” But as SAC’s tenure drew to a close at the end of October, Mr Coyne was advised to contact the department regarding his period-based tenancy of the four-bedroom home. The 76-year-old was hopeful that he would be able to remain housed at the complex for the time being. “When October 28 came around I got a couple of phone calls from unknown persons saying you need to be out because we are going to change the locks by the middle of next week,” he said. “I asked what the reason for it was and how come I haven’t been issued with an eviction notice, but they just hung up without a comment. “About a week later, I got another call telling me I had another week.” At the end of November, an indication was made by the Deputy Director-General of Community Services to a third party that Mr Coyne “won’t be evicted” and that “we will need a bit more time to review the situation”. On December 4, Mr Coyne was offered a one-bedroom unit in Lockyer but he declined it “because the tiny house they wanted me to go in was to get me out of the way”. Mr Coyne was sent an email on January 2 informing him that he was to remove his belongings from the property by the following day as the locks would be changed on January 4. “I’m just staying with a friend now and luckily enough the Albany Aboriginal Corporation has an empty room straight across the road where I’ve been able to put my things in storage until this can be resolved in some way or another,” he said. A spokesman for DOC said Mr Coyne had not been evicted from the complex as he was “not a public housing tenant and did not have a tenancy agreement”. He said Mr Coyne had been contacted on multiple occasions about the end of the caretaker role and the need to explore alternative housing options. “At this time, Mr Coyne was also advised that he would be required to relocate from the caretaker property,” he said. “In the meantime, Mr Coyne has advised Communities that he has sourced alternative accommodation while he awaits an offer of accommodation from the public housing waitlist.” The spokesman said DOC intended to use the complex for public housing which it will manage itself. “Communities has worked with a number of Aboriginal community organisations over many years in an effort to provide culturally appropriate community housing at the complex, however, due to a number of factors, the complex has been returned to Communities by multiple providers,” he said. Mr Coyne believes the eight units and the caretaker’s house should be placed under the management of the Albany Aboriginal Corporation which would work in partnership with aged-care provider Juniper to manage housing. “We’ve never been involved in this kind of thing before, but (Juniper) could take charge of the management,” he said. “We could set in place a sunset clause to say as we learn more, they move out and we move in once we learn from them how to manage it properly.” The AAC was prepared to put forward such a proposal in 2021 before SAC was awarded a tender to manage the property in June 2022. At the time, Mr Coyne had been in discussions with then Juniper chief executive Chris Hall who had written to him saying “Juniper is very willing to support the initiative of the local Aboriginal community in its aspirations of caring for their ageing population”. Now a business case is again being developed by AAC in conjunction with the WA Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation to establish the Paddy Coyne Complex as WA’s first healing centre, which would have a focus on aged care. The spokesman said DOC did not want to comment further on any future use of the complex.