Former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott have declared the Northern Territory a failed state as the Fyles administration continues to fail in its delivery of basic services in remote Indigenous communities, they say.
The comments infuriated NT politicians from across the aisle.
Mr Abbot’s comments followed the revelation of the NT government’s lingering failures, most recently highlighted in national reports about the jurisdiction’s poor education system, in which it was revealed that one in five students is underfunded and 85 per cent of Indigenous students fall below minimum literacy and numeracy standards.
“Central Australia basically resembles a failed state,” Mr Abbot said.
“The intervention was a recognition that the Northern Territory Government had completely failed in its responsibilities and it doesn’t appear as if a lot has changed over the 15 years that have gone by.”
Mr Howard said in a presentation at the Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy conference, that the NT has continually failed.
“I think what emerged from the events in the Territory was a further indictment of the inability, the failure of the Northern Territory Government to provide the basic services,” he said.
Mr Abbott cited that “education delivery is a huge recurring problem because of a chronic failure of administration in Central Australia”.
“Part of the problem is that there are no people with authority who are on the spot, people who can make decisions and are living in the communities,” he said. “Too many agencies and departments work in silos separated from each other and are only there in the communities a few times.”
The Australian recently calculated a shortfall of $214.8 million a year for NT schools that affects the most disadvantaged students under the NT Government’s attendance-based funding scheme that does not operate anywhere else in the country. The NT is funded by the Federal Government on enrollment figures.
Both Mr Howard and Mr Abbott also said that changes to the Constitution, including an Indigenous voice to both parliament and executive government will not address the problems facing Aboriginal communities, particularly children, in the NT.
A “yes” vote for the voice would only entrench Indigenous separatism, Mr Abbot said.
“I think it would gum up our system of government even further. I think it would reinforce the separatism that’s at the heart of Indigenous disadvantage. So I really do hope that we say a resounding no to this divisive voice,” he said.
Mr Howard said, “The intervention was a recognition that the Northern Territory Government had completely failed in its responsibilities and it doesn’t appear as if a lot has changed over the 15 years that have gone by.”
“And, I think what emerged from the events in the Territory was a further indictment of the inability, the failure of the Northern Territory Government to provide the basic services.”
Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy hit back at Mr Howard’s comments.
“The Intervention in the Northern Territory was done simply because they could. So that wasn’t a good enough reason,” Ms McCarthy told Sky News about the Howard government’s controversial decision in 2007 to place the NT under intervention, that saw soldiers and alcohol bans in remote communities due to perceived NT government shortcomings and allegations of the abuse of children.
Ms McCarthy said that if Mr Howard’s administration was willing to pour large funds into the NT, it should have been done with First Nations people resulting in a much better outcome.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles also criticised the former Liberal prime ministers’ comments by saying that the NT was neglected by Canberra far too often, and thought of only when political points can be won.
“We are not a political football and we are tired of being used as one,” Ms Fyles said.
She defended her government, saying that it is “making living in the bush or cities the best it can be”.
“The Federal Intervention was tried in 2007 – it did not work then and it will not work now. It targeted and disempowered Aboriginal Territorians and entrenched disadvantage, rather than improve it,” she said.
“Our government is working hard to improve the lives of all Territorians, by growing our economy. This is why we have an over $1 billion education budget, a $1 billion budget for community safety, and a $2 billion budget for our health services, and why we have built over 1000 new homes in the bush,” she said.
The NT’s net debt is expected to be over $9 billion this year. It was $1.7 billion when Labor was re-elected in 2016.
CLP Leader Lia Finocchiaro she does not disagree with Mr Howard often, but that she did on his comments.
“It’s not that the Territory is a failed state, it’s that we’ve got a failed government,” she said, adding that Labor has ruled the Territory for most of the last two decades.
Typical, Fyles shows that she has a hide THICKER THAN A RHINO. Her Government is happy to spend money earmarked for Aboriginal Communities in Darwin while pretending to care about CRIME and SOCIAL DISFUNCTION which is DESTROYING the NT.
Not much better is the form of our Opposition Leader who should be willing to listen to some CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM from her own side of politics.