Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not committed to need-based funding or the NT’s $160m domestic violence initiative funding gap

The Prime Minister has revealed where he stands on needs-based funding to protect Territory women and children from disproportionate rates of violence.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked if his government would change the Federal domestic violence funding structure, which is currently based on population rather than the level of demand. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Zizi Averill

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not committed to needs-based domestic violence funding amid Australia’s largest ever coronial inquiry into the deaths of four Territory women.

For the past four-months Coroner Elisabeth Armitage has explored the systemic issues leading to the killings of four Aboriginal women, Kumarn Rubuntja, Kumanjayi Haywood, Miss Yunupingu and Ngeygo Ragurrk.

The Territory’s domestic violence rates are seven times higher than the national average, and of the 83 Territory women killed by their partners, 94 per cent were Indigenous.

Domestic Violence Prevention Minister Kate Worden recently called the Territory’s 1.8 per cent share of federal domestic violence funding “deplorable”.

For the past four-months Coroner Elisabeth Armitage has explored the systemic issues leading to the horrific killings of four Aboriginal women in the Territory.

During his visit to Darwin on Saturday, Mr Albanese was asked if his government would change the federal domestic violence funding structure, which is currently based on population rather than the level of demand.

Mr Albanese said the issue was “not something that is confined to one community”, calling it a “scourge” in every state and territory.

“On average, it‘s one woman a week being killed at the hands of someone they know,” he said.

“It goes across income groups, goes across ethnicities, faiths — everywhere.

“It is too prevalent in our society, and it should be it should be wiped out.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the issue was “not something that is confined to one community”, calling it a “scourge” in every state and territory.

Mr Albanese said his government provided “substantial” funding for domestic violence, including the Central Australia $250m package announced in February.

Internal government documents tendered at the inquest showed that the NT cabinet asked the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Interagency Coordination and Reform Office to prepare a whole-of-government budget submission last year to better understand the scale of the problem.

The expert group found $180m would be needed to properly fund domestic violence responses over the next five years, which domestic violence expert Chay Brown said was a “minimum” to address the rates of violence.

Yet, the latest NT Domestic Violence Action Plan released only $20m over two years — a tenth of the recommended funding.

Mr Albanese also did not commit to meet the $160m funding gap, saying any announcements would have to wait until the May 2024 budget.

Originally published as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not committed to need-based funding or the NT’s $160m domestic violence initiative funding gap