Pat Cora
Pat Cora has been employed as the Indigenous Training for Employment Program Worker for the past 12 years. Based in the Tenants' Union's Cairns office, his position covers a geographical region stretching from Sarina in the South; North to the outer islands of the Torres Strait, including Cape York; East to Palm Island; and West to the Northern Territory border, which includes the Gulf of Carpentaria.
The primary role of Pat's position is to raise awareness amongst Aboriginal tenants and Torres Strait Islander tenants of their rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies & Rooming Accommodation Act (RT&RA) 2008. This is achieved via the delivery of community education workshops in rural and remote communities across the above-mentioned region. Establishing and maintaining a presence, credibility and trust with the Indigenous populations in those communities has been, and continues to be, the focus of ongoing work. This presence is further sustained via a regular newsletter containing updates on changes to the RT&RA Act as well as other topical items.
Secondary, but equally important functions are the provision of advice on tenancy matters to Indigenous tenants and assisting them to exercise their legislative rights through varying degrees of advocacy.
State-wide, The Tenants' Union of Queensland (TUQ) provides tenancy advice and advocacy from three locations - Brisbane, the Fraser Coast (Hervey Bay) and Cairns. Overall, Pat has worked in the Community Sector for the past 26 years and during that time has witnessed first-hand the impact that Domestic and Family Violence has on the sustainability of tenancies, particularly in the urban, private rental market.
