Northern Territory teacher Bikal Mishra was among a large group of teachers who went on strike in Katherine, 300km south of Darwin, on Wednesday morning to not only protest against the NT Government's four-year pay freeze, but also to shine a light on 'serious housing issues' that impact retention of educators in the region.

"For me, teaching comes from the heart. It is my passion," the teacher said.

After graduating earlier this year, Mr Mishra was 'excited and happy' when he was offered a teacher's position at Casuarina Street Primary School in Katherine.

But an acute rental shortage, combined with 'no support', has left the teacher and his pregnant wife living in constant fear of ending up on the street.

"My wife and I, we love Katherine. We love the environment and the people, and my son is due in December - we want to raise him here.

"When I first moved to Katherine, I was lucky I found a room in a shared house.

"There were four rooms that were shared between seven people.

"But at the end of the term, I had to leave."

Mr Mishra said he spent the school holidays in Darwin while he was scrambling to find a place to live for his growing family.

"It was really hard. There was just no help from the Department and no support."

At the same time, a pay issue meant that Mr Mishra was not getting paid.

"I didn't get any pay between mid-July and the end of August," he said.

"We had to use our savings to make do.

"My colleagues were a great help to get us through and they've been very supportive, but it has been very hard."

For this term, Mr Mishra has found a place to live in - a two-bedroom house he is now sharing with a stranger, his wife and soon-to-be-born son.

"We're really hoping things work out alright and we get to stay there," he said.

"If we had to leave, we'd be homeless, with a baby on the way."

The educator, who also holds a degree as an accountant, said for his family to be put in the situation they are finding themselves in, showed that the 'system is broken', especially for teachers who want to stay in an already understaffed region.

"I chose to be a teacher and I chose to be here. I want to teach children in Katherine," he said.

"But if the housing issue isn't addressed and support isn't provided, we will have to go down south where teachers are supported and don't have to worry about these things.

"Many teachers are leaving or have already left."

At the same time, Mr Mishra said some of his teacher friends from southern states 'would love to move to the Northern Territory', but he wouldn't want them to end up in the same situation he is in.

"The Government urgently needs to address Katherine's housing crisis and teacher retention issues," he said.

"I just don't know what to say to teachers who want to come here.

"I can't say 'yes, come here' because they will have nowhere to live and you can't stay in a hotel forever."

Katherine Region President of the Australian Education Union NT, Rodney Gregg, said teachers were concerned about the Government's four-year pay freeze and how it would impact them with regard to the 'rental crisis in town'.

"Schools in the region fear a critical teacher shortage for the 2023 school year and many educators are returning interstate with the lure of higher pay, rental assistance and relocation allowances," Mr Gregg, a Katherine teacher himself, said.

"With many teachers considering their future in the town, the next big issue is what incentives will encourage new teachers into the region to fill the vacancies?"

Mr Gregg said term 4 was 'traditionally a stressful time' for all teachers as they prepared assessments and reports for their students, and they 'do not want the added stress of not knowing their future in Katherine'.

"Currently there is no incentive to attract new teachers into the region as the cost of living here is an issue.

"The cost of rent, fuel and food continues to climb and teachers are expected to survive with a four-year pay freeze."

Teacher's Union Branch president Michelle Ayres said the situation in Katherine and some of the housing conditions were 'shocking'.

"This is about people's lives - the lives of the teachers and the impact on the students," she said.

"Our teachers, our children deserve better.

"People move to Katherine and call the place home - but what is a home without a house to live in?"

At the strike event at Ryan Park in the main street, the Member for Katherine, Jo Hersey, told the crowd the Opposition was 'well aware of the issues'.

"You can't expect people to educate our children without real wage growth, without support and with a house issue that urgently needs to be addressed," she said.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Education, Susan Bowden, who attended the Katherine strike on Wednesday, acknowledged that local teachers 'put their students at the heart of what they do' and 'truly care'.

She said she was aware of the issues teachers were facing in the region and acknowledged the 'inequities across Government agencies' when it came to pay and subsidies.

In March, the Australian Education Union membership in the NT rejected the Commissioner for Public Employment's position for a new Enterprise Agreement which included freezing Territory teachers' pay until the end of 2024.

While some public service sectors have agreed to the deal, 87.5 per cent of teachers, firefighters, nurses and corrections officers across the NT who voted in an employee ballot in March, rejected the pay freeze.

As part of the bargaining, teachers were offered a $4,000 bonus plus annual lump sum payments of $2,000 in October for four years, all of which fully taxed.

In July, the Northern Territory's peak body for affordable housing and homelessness has called for greater action to address Katherine's housing crisis.

It comes as the Northern Territory Minister Eva Lawler today announced a Planning Scheme Amendment, allowing for a greater density of housing in Katherine.

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