ALBANESE’S BUDGET REVEALS POST-VOICE TRAINWRECK

The Albanese Labor Government’s Budget is filled with much of the same for Indigenous Australians, instead of prioritising practical actions to improve lives, after wasting most of its

term distracted by the Voice referendum. While the Government announced $506.4 million to be used for new Closing the Gap measures, Senator Nampijinpa Price noted that Labor has allocated only $57.6 million in new money for those initiatives.

“The Minister needs to explain where the extra $448.8 million is going to come from to pay for these new measures,” said Senator Nampijinpa Price. Shadow Minister for Indigenous Health Services, Senator Kerrynne Liddle, said the Budget lacked transparency, detail and clarity about where accountability sits.

“The Government needs to explain why it continues to invest significant new money into Closing the Gap initiatives at the same time it is failing to make progress in key areas to actually Close the Gap,” Senator Liddle said.

“It cannot just blame the states and territories but should also look at those who manage the decisions that inform the initiatives.

“The Government must also come clean about which Indigenous programs it will cut in order to fund its new measures.”

Senator Nampijinpa Price said the Budget was also telling when it came to the Albanese Labor Government’s previous election commitment to overhaul the Community Development Program and implement a new program.“The Government has budgeted for an extension to the CDP in its original form until after the election. They have not implemented the replacement program in their first term of government, which is another broken election promise,” she said.

Further, Senator Nampijinpa Price noted that, despite the Budget detailing a $10.5 million net reduction in resourcing over the next five years, the National Indigenous Australians Agency is set to see its staffing increase by more than 100 positions next financial year.

Senator Nampijinpa Price also called on the Government to come clean on its funding for a Makarrata Commission.

“Has the $27.7 million budgeted for a Makarrata Commission been redirected to fund these new measures or is it still sitting in the Contingency Reserve,” she said.

“There are many things in this Budget that just don’t add up when it comes to Indigenous affairs. We are left with an incredibly unclear picture and another demonstration of just how desperately an audit is needed in this portfolio.”

Unlike the Albanese Government, Senator Nampijinpa Price said a Dutton Coalition Government will be committed to seeing practical improvement in the lives of marginalised Indigenous Australians.

“It is marginalised Indigenous Australians who will fall even further behind as a result of these unanswered questions and inconsistencies in Labor’s Budget. That is exactly why the Coalition will undertake an audit of spending in Indigenous affairs, to ensure money is going where it actually makes a difference to the most marginalised members of our communities.”

[ENDS]

Contacts:

Senator Nampijinpa Price | Rebekah Hart: 0459 893 181
Senator Liddle | Karen Cross: 0417 821 168