Canberra cash must flow through Territory government, NGOs

Federal government staff are thin on the ground in the Territory, forcing Canberra to channel its spending through the NT Government and non-government organisations.

CDU Adjunct Professor Rolf Gerritsen, who spoke with editor ERWIN CHLANDA today, says this includes funding for Closing the Gap whose results in the NT are poor.

GERRITSEN: The problem the Federal Government has is that it doesn’t have any people on the ground here.

If it wants to improve educational outcomes it basically has to work with the Territory Education Department.

In the case of road building with DIPL.

It used to be called Lurks and Perks – possibly appropriately.

If the Federal Government is going to do anything it needs to put the money through existing authorities within the Territory.

NEWS: Or NGOs.

GERRITSEN: Or NGOs.

There are lots of meetings but not much rubber on the road.

A lot of the Labor expenditure is driven by Closing the Gap.

Its spending are not progressing in the right direction.

They are national figures but they are disproportionally affected by the failure to progress anything in Central Australia, in the Territory, let’s say.

NEWS: Will this continue?

GERRITSEN: The Federal Government will maintain a strong interest on Indigenous issues in the NT if only to improve the Closing the Gap figures.

We are not doing our bit.

Improvements are driven almost entirely by people in the three east cost cities who whilst being or identifying as Aborigines, have whitefeller jobs and quite good Year 12 educations whereas education figures in the Territory are going backwards.

NEWS: What would be the benefits, respectively, if the Labor Party or the Liberals wins?

GERRITSEN: If Labor wins all the money and promises they made would have to be delivered.

Whether it changes anything is a moot point.

They have a habit of making promises twice, with the second time slightly different from the first.

I heard Marion [Scrymgour, sitting Member for Lingiari] talking about the Redtails and the Pinktails.

She fell short of promising that she would represent their cause in budget cabinet – I don’t know what that commitment means.

NEWS: What would that support for the two junior football teams make to the current situation of law and order in Central Australia?

GERRITSEN: It would improve law and order on Saturday afternoons.

It’s obvious the countrymen like football and they direct a lot of their efforts towards it.

It may make a difference if the Redtails and the Pinktails do solid community based recruitment and training.

Then it would make a difference.

We just don’t know.

NEWS: Would it bring countrymen from bush into town?

GERRITSEN: It already does.

I went to Yeperenye [shopping centre] yesterday and there were thousands of countrymen who obviously come in for the football.

NEWS: What will happen in The Centre if the Liberals win the election?

GERRITSEN: In our adversarial two party system the Coalition would work closely with the Finocchiaro government and presumably provide funding for more gaols.

Once the election is over we’ll go on the back burner again.

We don’t have enough Federal Members and Senators.

We’re slightly better off with Labor because Malarndirri [McCarthy, Senator] would be the Minister.

NEWS: Aboriginal interest in politics as reflected firstly in enrolling and secondly in turning up to vote is very low.

What is the Commonwealth targeting with their money?

GERRITSEN: Bureaucratic structures.

A good example: When the Albanese Government got elected they responded to complaints about the road out to Ltyentye Apurte [Santa Teresa].

OK, we’ll allocate $80m to seal the road.

As it transpired yesterday the Territory Government has done nothing except preparing plans.

NEWS: What did they do with the money?

GERRITSEN: They obviously poked the $80m into their bank account to reduce the interest bill on their Territory deficit.

NEWS: How is CLP Senator Jacinta Price performing?

She had that slip the other day, saying she wants to make Australia great again.

GERRITSEN (laughs): That will return to some of the headlines this week.

Was she securing One Nation preferences?

Jacinta is very popular with Robust Christians as they used to be called.

People who think blackfellers should get out of bed and get to work.

She is not very popular with Indigenous organisations, including the two major land councils.

Her constituency is not Indigenous, but whitefellers who like what she says because if they would say it, they would be called racist.

NEWS: Who is going to win?

GERRITSEN: My prediction is a Albanese Labor Government, possibly two weeks after the election, will form government.

NEWS: With support from Independents?

GERRITSEN: Labor has an outside chance of forming a majority government.

PHOTO: Card circulated by the ALP in Alice Springs: Labor apparently expects the Coalition to win.

Do they mean "you would be worse off"?