Albanese's $250m for Alice "heading the wrong way”

By ERWIN CHLANDA

A prominent Aboriginal spokesman gave an account of a chaotic and meaningless process deciding how Prime Minister Albanese’s $250m Alice Springs “rescue package” is being spent.

The money, allocated two years ago, was “drastically needed” according to Graeme Smith, at the time the CEO of the local native title organisation Lhere Artepe.

But he says the cash “was heading the wrong way”.

A local group including him, the Central Land Council (CLC), Congress, shires, resource centres and the Alice Springs Town Council was formed to advise where and how the money should be used.

But Mr Smith says tens of millions of dollars were apportioned without involving the group, decisions were made without using already available facts, demands for information about the spending were not met.

He told the Alice Springs News that he fully supports the call for a probe made yesterday by Lingiari Member Marion Scrymgour.

Mr Smith says the group in fact was “more about briefings from Canberra than locally led decision making.

“Tens of millions of dollars that went to Territory Families just turned up on the agenda.

A few of us asked for a break-down of that money and there wasn’t one.

“There wasn’t even really a discussion at the meeting I was at.

A few of us asked questions – in one ear and out the other.”

Mr Smith says he was concerned about the $50m allocated for community outstations, “for the Bush.

“A few of us made the point that the CLC, shires and resource centres already had all the data about the needs of each of the outstations and communities.

“That data was already collected.

But the direction the group took was to set up a steering committee to advise on the expenditure.

“Some of the people who put their hand up to be on that committee were not privy to all the data already collected.

“Those people had no idea of the footprint where that money had to go.

Some of them probably had never been to any of these communities.

“I don’t know how that $50m got cut up.”

Ms Smith says a youth rangers pilot program included a site proposed by Lhere Artepe but it “didn’t get a cent even though we have [crime] issues in town”.

He challenged the CLC representative who claimed the Lhere Artepe’s program was not established.

“Neither was theirs,” says Mr Smith who left the group in frustration.

“At the end of the day, Lhere Artepe got nothing from the 50 mill while I was there.”

The group, instead of $250m, had only $60m to decide about, and it was unclear to him how “some of these proposals came to the table.

It seemed like a briefing to me.

“I resigned because I did not want to be part of any probe or any explanation into where that money was spent.”

The junior ranger program would have been a way of "preventative justice, getting these young kids on country, on their own country, given all the issues in town, all the fires.

I got nowhere.

“The NT Government probably got over $100m and we don’t see any change.

“We can all draw straws into how Territory Families got their money when at the time the Regional Controller was … well, we know who it was.”

That person was Dorrelle Anderson, who headed up Territory Families and was also the Regional Controller managing the rescue package.

Mr Smith says he was obliged to attend three to four meetings of the advisory committee a week: “I saw no change, were were the native title holders of Alice Springs but to me it was just tokenism to be at the table.

“I don’t want my name to be part of this money being rolled out.

“I support Marion [Scrymgour] asking for an audit where the money has gone.

We as taxpayers have that right.

“These people who were part of that forum should also be asked to please explain.”

Mr Smith says bureaucrats from Canberra “certainly had proposals tabled on the agenda and we were just dumbfounded – how did this happen?

“Out of the 250 mill we were only really asked to decide on, I don’t know, less than 90 mill, maybe 60 mill and even that 60 mill got reduced. 50 miil for community housing was already allocated.

Territory Families money was already allocated.

Territory Government money was also.

“Where was the scrutiny?

Where was the discussion?

Where were the submissions?

Not while I was there.

We have a right to know.

We also have a right to know the processes undertaken.

“At the end of the day I’m here to protect Lhere Artepe and the small organisations running on the smell of an oily rag that did not get a goddamn cent when other organisations were getting literally millions and some, tens of millions.”

PHOTO: Prime Minister Albanese was a frequent visitor to Alice Springs touting his "rescue package".

He is shown in an ABC photo with NT Labor figures in January 2023.