Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today I propose to move "That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The Albanese Government's failure to address Central Australia's crime and community safety crisis, and their failure to partner with the Northern Territory Government to deliver practical solutions."

Today I speak about this very urgent matter. It is a matter that is very close to my heart and has been ignored by the Albanese government for too long. The reality is that my home town of Alice Springs and the region of Central Australia more broadly has changed so much since I grew up there. It is a spiralling and has been spiralling for some time.

The Albanese government thought letting alcohol restrictions lapse would be helpful. They thought throwing $350 million at us would fix it. The previous Northern Territory Labor government thought they could fix it. But neither of them did. In fact, from my experience, what those Labor governments did, or perhaps more accurately didn't do, has made life much worse. We continue to live with the effects of their irresponsible decision-making, and that is why this matter requires urgent attention.

It's no secret to anyone that the current situation in Central Australia is dire. The NT has been in the national headlines disproportionately, due to a breakdown in law and order and, more specifically, the disorder in Alice Springs, which culminated in two separate curfews.

The narrative in the media is borne out in the data. When we look at youth offending, the number of young people in detention on an average night nationally is 2.7 in 10,000, but in the NT that number is 22.2 in 10,000. Rates of family and domestic violence continue to rise, with increases of more than 20 per cent across the Territory and more than 150 per cent in some regional areas. Frontline services cannot meet demand. One in five children in the NT have a child protection notification, compared to one in 20 nationally.

Given all of this, it was a relief when the CLP enjoyed a landslide victory and formed a majority government in the Northern Territory in August last year. The new CLP government have made swift legislative changes like strengthening bail laws. They also strengthened law enforcement on the ground through action such as establishing the Fugitive Task Force in Alice Springs, which saw at least 50 high-risk repeat offenders get taken off the streets, away from where they could cause further harm.

The Northern Territory government is doing everything it can, but there are additional measures for which they need the cooperation of the Commonwealth government to get done—things like making sure welfare payments are made on days when takeaway alcohol isn't available and making sure there are mutual obligations for those in receipt of welfare. They want to see an audit of federally funded programs—sounds familiar—and reform of royalty distribution. These are things I have advocated in favour of for so long. Finally, they want to broaden the pathways to income management for people like parents who don't send their kids to school and want to increase the managed amount for parents of youth offenders.

These are practical measures and they must urgently be adopted by the Albanese government. We know they will have an impact on the community. We know they will encourage the responsible use of money—spending it on things like food instead of alcohol. They will encourage people to find meaningful training or employment. They will have a positive impact on crime and violence in the region. That is why the coalition has been clear about their in-principle support for these measures. Unlike the leader of the Labor government, the leader of the coalition, Peter Dutton, cares about the people of Alice Springs and the wider Northern Territory. He cared enough to come and stay in Alice Springs and to talk to people on the ground and understand the reality of the situation residents are facing.

Now is not the time for Anthony Albanese to back away from the important issues. He cannot back away and pretend that these places or issues do not exist just because they are complex or uncomfortable to face. That is why I'm calling on the Prime Minister to stop ignoring the crisis that has gone on for far too long in Central Australia and calling on him to do more than just throw money at us and hope we go away. I'm calling on the Prime Minister to stand up and show some leadership and support to the Northern Territory. I'm calling on the Prime Minister to urgently agree to the implementation of all seven measures proposed by the NT government.