Jacinta Price says Albo’s latest $842.6m announcement in Alice Springs shows he’s ‘spooked’

Albo’s latest multi-million dollar announcement in Alice Springs is being labelled a political stunt by one NT senator, who’s questioning how it will ‘make any meaningful difference’. Find out why.

NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price h at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

A Northern Territory senator has labelled the Albanese government’s latest multi-million dollar announcement for the Territory a political stunt, questioning how the $842.6 million committed will “make any meaningful difference”.

Shadow minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price NT senator said the latest announcement showed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was “spooked”.

“Alice Springs is in the electorate of Lingiari which his government holds on a margin of just 0.9 per cent. He knows the Coalition is setting an agenda for Indigenous affairs which resonates with everyday Australians, and now he’s scrambling to offer a response,” she said.

“The Albanese Labor government have had nothing to offer Indigenous affairs since the failed referendum, so they are doing the only thing they know how – pouring more money with little consideration of its effectiveness or efficiency.”

Ms Price’s comments come as the federal and Territory governments signed a partnership with Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory.

The six-year partnership committed $842.6 million to various initiatives across the Territory, which Mr Albanese said were to help ‘close the gap’.

But Ms Price said it was merely a continuation of a current agreement already in place, which was due to expire in the middle of the year.

Solomon MP Luke Gosling, Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory convenor Dr John Paterson, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour, and NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro in Alice Springs on Friday. Picture: Gera Kazakov

“Labor has wasted $350 million in Central Australia without any improvement, so how they think $842.6 million will suddenly solve any problems is beyond me. The fact is, there are too many bodies and organisations with too little to show for us to be satisfied that throwing more money is going to make any meaningful difference,” she said.

Speaking in Alice Springs on Friday, Mr Albanese said the millions committed would have a “range of audits in place” to make sure “every single dollar from the Commonwealth goes to making a difference to people’s lives”.

However, Ms Price said the decision to spruik audit processes showed Mr Albanese’s government wasn’t sure where the money was going.

“It is imperative that our solutions are actually going to improve the lives of marginalised Indigenous Australians rather than just sounding like a lot of money,” she said.

Originally published as Jacinta Price says Albo’s latest $842.6m announcement in Alice Springs shows he’s ‘spooked’