Here’s how Central Australia will spend the government’s $250m ‘bush’ budget

Minister for Indigenous Affairs Linda Burney was busy in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) over the weekend meeting with a host of community organisations, service providers and Aboriginal representation from across the region.

Apart from the odd tweet, most of her meetings (in which she was flanked at times by Minister for Education Jason Clare and member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour) were kept quiet from the media, but locally there was much chatter about the federal government’s $250 million “bush” budget for Central Australia and how it would be spent. 

While a portion has already been allocated to infrastructure, connectivity, community safety, health, education, housing (and the list goes on), $90 million of unallocated funds will be left in the hands of a soon-to-be established local leadership team to decide where and how to spend it.

On Saturday, Scrymgour facilitated a meeting between Burney, local leadership from Traditional Owners Lhere Artepe, the Land Council, Congress (the Aboriginal community-controlled health service), youth services — “basically everyone who is involved in service delivery of some kind” — as well as leaders from remote communities brought to Alice Springs for the meeting. 

Scrymgour told Crikey that the meeting was as much to discuss funding as it was to “touch base” with Central Australian Aboriginal representation.

“One of the things I’ve been keen to do throughout all of the crises and the issues facing not just Alice but also the regions and remote communities is to get Aboriginal leaders at the table to advise government on what needs to happen going forward,” Scrymgour said. 

“That’s happened now.”

The Saturday meeting was a precursor to Wednesday when the committee will elect a local leadership team. Beyond allocation of the remaining $90 million, its remit will be to look at whether budget items are actually making a difference in the bush.

“Linda made this point really strongly, at the end of the day, the money has got to be able to make a difference to people’s lives,” Scrymgour said.

In terms of numbers, a spokesperson for Burney would neither confirm nor deny details prior to budget day. But so far Crikey understands, via a community organisation briefed on the budget, that the $250 million Central Australian pot will be divvied up as follows:

• $50 million into community and regional infrastructure
• $10 million for digital connectivity
• $10 million into justice reinvestment
• $9.2 million to put towards community safety
• $3.9 million for a youth services action plan
• $7.5 million for governance
• $23.4 million for health, which includes $18.4 million to the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress for youth assessment and treatment and $5 million to develop a health hub in Alice Springs
• $40.4 million allocated for education (specifically “on-country learning”)
• $2 million for CCTV
• $5.6 million for housing

While in Alice Springs, Burney also joined the newly formed Lhere Artepe night patrol, which is set to receive $1.5 million in federal funding. This will top up the initial $900,000 National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) grant, which first got the patrol up and running.

Five trial sites for a junior ranger program will also be established with $1.2 million to go towards the initiative.

Scrymgour said this is a good start, but there remain “serious deficits in the NT”, particularly in relation to housing. She told Crikey she plans to sit down with Burney and discuss big gaps in territory funding and policy. 

“We can’t keep expecting the NT government to fix this stuff,” she said. “Communities are saying the same thing — failure to actually listen to what’s being said. That’s why it’s so important to push the voices of Aboriginal people.”

Scrymgour is however thrilled that government can take a step back and allow local leadership to take ownership of their own bush budget.

“Government needs to step away from this and let that group of leaders determine what it is to be done. There’s been so much focus on Alice Springs but there are issues in other parts of the NT. And that’s what Linda certainly kept reaffirming to people, ‘This is not just money for Alice, it’s funding for Central Australia’,” Scrymgour said.

“I’m happy I can now pay attention to other parts of my electorate.”

Note: this story has been updated to reflect changes announced in the federal budget on May 9 2023.”