The federal government will pour another $424 million into Closing the Gap initiatives under a revamped strategy it says will deliver more practical outcomes for Indigenous Australians after rates of incarceration, suicide and out-of-home care continued to worsen last year.
More than a quarter of the new funding will go towards water infrastructure as the government conceded some remote Indigenous towns did not have access to reliable drinking water, meaning their communities could not run dialysis machines.
Labor will pour more funding into providing drinking water and housing in remote towns such as Yuendumu, north-west of Alice Springs.Credit:Janie Barrett
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will on Monday present the fresh set of plans for tackling Indigenous disadvantage, on a day that will also mark the 15th anniversary of Kevin Rudd’s landmark apology to the stolen generations.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said last year’s Closing the Gap report showed the government needed to be doing more, as she promised the additional funding was Labor’s concrete commitment to achieving the targets.
Last year’s report showed targets were on track to be met in the areas of healthy birth weight, youth detention, and land mass subject to rights and interests. However, the targets were not on track for having children developmentally ready for school, adult incarceration, children in out-of-home care, suicide, and coastlines subject to rights and interests.
“Our measures are going to be more specific and more targeted, making real impacts that complement work under way in states and territories,” Burney said.
A new national water grid fund will receive $150 million over four years, targeted at towns that currently lack access to clean drinking water, while $11.8 million over two years will fund a national strategy for food security in remote communities.
There is $111.7 million allocated for a one-year partnership with the Northern Territory government to build new remote housing in the most overcrowded areas – one of Labor’s election promises – as well as $68.6 million in continued funding for two years of family violence and legal support.
The government has also promised $21.9 million over five years to deliver seven place-based healing programs aimed at early intervention for family violence, $38.4 million over four years for on-country education that includes culturally appropriate distance learning, and $21.6 million for an additional year of boarding for remote and rural students.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said it was the first time the government could invest in town water supply, due to a change in government policy last year.
An Indigenous man undergoes dialysis treatment at The Purple House health clinic in Alice Springs.Credit:Janie Barrett
“There are towns that are unable to run dialysis machines as there is not enough clean and safe water. There are communities where the heavy metals and minerals in the water are at such concentrations that the water cannot be consumed safely. We want to start to change that with this investment,” Plibersek said.
Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said she was optimistic about Labor’s first implementation plan.
“The substantial investment in clean drinking water, remote housing and food security will be a game changer for so many Indigenous Australians who live out in bush communities,” she said.
Labor’s funding announcements comes as it faces pressure to deliver tangible improvements for Indigenous communities while leading the case for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to parliament.
The government has also been forced to intervene with additional federal funding for central Australia, as towns such as Alice Springs reel from a rise in violence in part triggered by relaxed alcohol laws, but rooted in intergenerational disadvantage.
Voice advocate Pat Turner, who heads the coalition of peak Indigenous organisations and helped forge a historic agreement with the Morrison government to co-design the revamped Closing the Gap process, said she was relieved the Albanese government had renewed the agreement.
“The new funding is also welcome. We have decades of underinvestment in our communities and organisations to be addressed and this funding will go some way to overturning that,” she said.
“It is critical that the new investment is delivered … through formal partnerships between government and communities and organisations on the ground.”
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.
Most Viewed in Politics
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article
