Central Land Council
in this section
CLC Press Releases
- 18 December 2008
- Senate see sense over waste dump ›› more
- 28 October 2008
- Devils Marbles handed back to traditional owners ›› more
- 27 October 2008
- Tanami Regional Partnership Agreement ›› more
- 27 October 2008
- Warlpiri use royalties to build Yuendumu Pool ›› more
- 15 October 2008
- Minister looks for distraction ›› more
- 14 October 2008
- CLC response to NTER review ›› more
- 14 August 2008 2008
- Communities have their say on intervention ›› more
- 31 July 2008 2008
- Fairfax news in bad taste ›› more
- 24 July 2008 2008
- election: accountability needed ›› more
- 17 July 2008 2008
- Royal commission needed into NT funding ›› more
- 11 July 2008 2008
- Simpson Desert: the last land rights claim under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act ›› more
- 8 July 2008 2008
- Sacred site damage at Wilora ›› more
- 30 May 2008
- Seal the Mereenie Loop Road Now ›› more
- 27 May 2008
- Angela Pamela Negotiations ›› more
- 9 May 2008
- Angela Pamela and the native title process ›› more
- 18 February 2008
- Coalition should support permit system ›› more
- 15 February 2008
- Politicians threaten to derail fresh start ›› more
- 22 January 2008
- Police ignorance upsets Lajamanu community ›› more
- 26 November 2007
- Optimism for a fresh consensual approach on Aboriginal affairs ›› more
- 21 November 2007
- Concerns over Central Petroleum tactics ›› more
ROYAL COMMISSION SHOULD INVESTIGATE GOVERNMENT SPENDING
The Central Land Council says it wants a Royal Commission established to investigate the Northern Territory Government’s spending on Aboriginal affairs.
Director David Ross said the CLC supports a suggestion by the Country Liberals’ leader Terry Mills that the Northern Territory Government’s spending on Aboriginal affairs be investigated, but the inquiry should go further than just an audit of the current government’s budgeting.
“Since self government in 1978, successive governments have deliberately mismanaged funding provided by the Commonwealth for Aboriginal affairs,” Mr Ross said.
“Recent claims that the current Labor government has redirected Aboriginal funding to prop up marginal Darwin seats are not new.
“Similar claims were made against past CLP governments for 26 years until Labor won office in 2001. It’s time to have a Royal Commission into how all governments have misused the funds they’ve been given,” Mr Ross said.
“This disgraceful rorting of the system has perpetuated problems being felt in Aboriginal communities and wider society. A failure to spend money that’s supposed to be used to educate people and improve their health leaves you with unemployed, unhealthy people.
“That’s left successive NT governments calling on the Federal Government to provide more funding to tackle social problems and expensive health care and left a vacuum of commitment at the Territory level which invited the Federal intervention.”
Mr Ross said a Royal Commission should have the power to dissect exactly where the money has gone and where it should have been spent.
He said this would help Aboriginal affairs funding be removed from the three year electoral cycle that leaves it open to abuse by governments of all persuasions and the need for more appropriate long-term commitments to be made.
17 July 2008
Contact: Murray Silby, CLC media officer, (08) 8951 6216; 0488 984 885