Port Augusta: Key local figures receive $12 million to form community partnership aimed at curbing youth crime
The federal and SA governments say the money will be spent trialling a new approach to the youth crime crisis that’s plagued the community for years.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A joint $12m investment by the federal and state governments has been announced in Port Augusta, aimed at curbing youth crime which has plagued the regional centre for a number of years.
The funding, which is set to roll out over the next three years, will help establish a new community partnership between local businesses, service providers, members of the Aboriginal community, the city council and government agencies.
It is the next phase of the Port Augusta Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan (PACSWP), initiated in late 2022.
At the Port Augusta Youth Centre on Wednesday, federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney was there to announce the funding, saying the “model is different” to anything that had been done before.
“The reason it is different is because it is a three-way model – the state government, the federal government and most crucially, the local community,” she said.
“We believe very much in self-determination and it is the local community that knows what they need, what they want and what will work – that is a truism right across this country.
“This is about investing in young people and harnessing local solutions for local communities.”
Over the course of 2023, Port Augusta saw more than 100 children, including some as young as 10, charged with serious criminal offences including assault, arson, affray and drug possession.
Barngarla Elder Harry Dare said he was not completely sold on the $12m initiative, having seen a “vicious cycle” plaguing the Aboriginal community for decades.
“I can see problems that are happening in this town here that were probably happening when I was a young fulla, and when I was taken away in 1956,” he said.
“I believe it’s got a lot to do with social issues such as housing, such as employment, the food prices in the surrounding communities and further north like in the APY Lands.
“Many young people find themselves stuck here in these regional areas because they’re running away from problems in their own communities.”
The regional centre, which has a population of more than 13,000 people, has seen violence and youth crime gripping the town, with videos of street fights involving multiple people regularly surfacing on social media in recent years.
SA Human Services Minister Nat Cook said Port Augusta was the “perfect place” to trial a different approach to community-led decision-making.
“Port Augusta is home to Aboriginal communities and an important waypoint for Aboriginal travellers,” she said.
“This makes it the perfect place to trial a new approach.”
A group of community leaders is expected to be formed over the next month.
SA’s dirtiest suburbs and the $3m graffiti price tag
Ratepayers have forked out millions to clean up the mess left behind by vandals in just two years. Search the state’s graffiti hotspots and see where you area ranks.
Outback icon hangs up boxing gloves for political ring fight
When a tent boxer and Pauline Hanson entered the ring no one could have predicted what happened next. Now the Birdsville Races regular has a new fight on her hands.