Not enough funds for police in NT budget 2023-24, ‘concerned’ union says

The Northern Territory Police Association has been left ‘confused’ and ‘concerned’ by the lack of funding for police in the latest NT budget.

The NT Police Association says the union has been left “confused” and “deeply concerned” by the Territory government’s budget on Tuesday.

Acting NTPA president Lisa Bayliss said $12.6m set aside for the NT’s Police, Fire, and Emergency Services suggested Territory Labor was not listening to or supporting police.

“There appears to be no urgency from the government to plug the gap caused by an increasing attrition rate within NT Police, with the graduation of 162 constables, Aboriginal community police officers and auxiliaries set as a target for the next financial year,” she said.

“The attrition rate is currently 10.65 per cent which means the NT police force is losing around 160 officers annually.”

A survey of NTPA members last year revealed 97.6 per cent of surveyed officers didn’t think there were enough police.

Ms Bayliss said much of the $12.6m stemmed from fire and rescue service reform, which included a recruitment drive and two new firetrucks.

Lisa Bayliss is in the running to be the next president of the NT Police Association, and said not enough money was allocated to police in the 2023-24 budget.

Ms Bayliss welcomed news of a new police complex in Peppimenarti, but said a wide-ranging review of staffing, resources, recruitment, retention and workload was needed for regional and remote areas.

“We’re confused why this funding announcement has been made ahead of the government’s promised independent resource review,” she said.

Ms Bayliss said construction for the new complex would not begin until the second quarter of 2024, and it remained unclear whether funding for additional police to be stationed in Peppimenarti was allocated.

“It’s encouraging to see $10.2m for the remote policing implementation plan, but it’s going to take significant funding for additional staffing, resources and critical infrastructure upgrades, redevelopment and station rebuilds to ensure our members who work bush are adequately supported,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ms Bayliss said $3m to support police members’ mental health and wellbeing was good news.

It supports recommendations from a review into mental health in the police force.

“The provision of funding to support mental health and wellbeing has been a priority for the NTPA,” she said.

“This funding injection is critical to ensuring that the review’s recommendations can be fully implemented and that our members receive the vital support services they need to safeguard their wellbeing.”