Northern Territorians head to the polls on 24 August to decide if NT Labor gets another four years running the show or if it’s time for the Country Liberal Party to have a go – a rare occurrence in recent years with the CLP forming Government only once since 2000.
Mirroring developments across the country, Independents in this NT Election could be a game changer, particularly given four of the 25 Legislative Assembly seats are already held by Indies. The winning number of 13 seats needed by either major party to form Government in their own right is looking like an increasingly difficult target to meet.
With First Nations people making up more than a quarter of the Territory’s total population and the majority of electorates such as Arafura – that have seen consecutive Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander MLAs for decades – the priority issues impacting First Nations communities should be high priority for all candidates contesting this election.
The ever elusive goal of ‘closing the gap’ haunts all of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. Despite First Nations community leadership consistently presenting the same practical solutions that boil down to self-determination alongside comprehensive and sustained funding, governments continually fail to relinquish control or undertake meaningful systems reform.
Arguably, Housing is the CTG target that if met across jurisdictions would have the most flow on positive impact on the life outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Earlier this year, in what was to be a series of significant funding partnerships between NT and Federal Labor, the Government announced a $4 billion deal for remote housing. The ambitious project aims to build 2,700 homes over its 10 year lifespan and represents the largest remote housing investment in the Territory to date. In a last minute cash splash for votes, the NT Government (with the Federal Government again) has also announced $10 million for improved cooling and heating in remote social housing.
The NT Greens do not currently hold any seats in the Territory’s Legislative Assembly but are running eleven candidates this Election in mostly urban divisions in Mparntwe Alice Springs and Darwin, including the ‘safe’ Labor seat of Nightcliff held by former Chief Minister Natasha Fyles. Their policy platform prioritises the housing crisis and frames housing as a human right for people not profits. Other targeted proposed approaches include transitioning Aboriginal housing into Aboriginal hands and supporting calls from Aboriginal Housing NT for a sufficient supply of appropriate and affordable housing for Aboriginal people – delivered and managed by Aboriginal-controlled organisations. This includes new urban and remote housing, including homelands, Aboriginal-led design and construction, and energy-efficient, climate resilient housing. The Greens’ platform underscores the importance of understanding Aboriginal homelessness and lack of housing in the context of colonisation, dispossession and displacement, and acknowledges that inadequate housing is a threat to First Nations people’s connection to land and culture. More broadly on Closing the Gap, the Greens also have economic justice and health policies that are embedded with self-determined, culturally appropriate, and Aboriginal community-controlled approaches.
Also running in the seat of Nightcliff is Independent First Nations activist Mililma May. The Danggalaba Kulumbirigin Tiwi woman’s policy platform includes implementing climate resilient, culturally appropriate sustainable housing models such as the Wilya Janta Housing Collaboration; investing new funding earmarked for housing on homelands; and increasing public housing. May’s platform also outlines approaches to infrastructure, employment, education and health that centre the role of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and initiatives.
At the opposite end of the political spectrum, the Country Liberal Party has announced that it plans to provide first home buyers up to $50,000 to help build a new home, and $30,000 to new Territorians to build a home to live in, as part of a plan to stimulate the economy and ‘restore the lifestyle’ of Territorians, if elected. It is very clear the CLP isn’t talking about decolonisation or restoring the lifestyle of First Nations Territorians here. The CLP’s candidate for Nightcliff is Larrakia woman Helen Secretary who presents as focused “on making sure youths and their parents are held accountable”. Closing the Gap policy from the CLP is pretty much non-existent with proposed tough on crime measures set to further negatively impact First Nations communities and only widen the gap across target areas including children in out of home care, children in detention (and therefore over-incarceration generally), access to schooling, and culturally appropriate healthcare.
In terms of Closing the Gap policy generally, the Labor Government alongside the Aboriginal Peak Organisations of the NT (APONT) and local government has developed a second CTG Implementation Plan. Released in October 2023, it presents a ‘new partnership approach’ and also ‘rolls over’ ongoing actions from the first plan – which would mean a lot of it given the lack of progress. The Plan outlines “how governments are working differently, and how priority reforms are realised to effect systemic change, in addition to actions that address the socioeconomic targets and outcomes of Closing the Gap.” The Lawler Labor Government has stated its commitment to making the structural changes necessary to see improvement in the target areas if returned at the upcoming Election. At least Labor are talking about closing the gap but after years of failure from major parties at all levels to make headway, it is well past time for alternative approaches to be tried.
Given the Territory’s extensive natural resources, protected conservation areas, the fact that nearly half of it is subject to the Land Rights Act and the rest likely to be native title, policy relating to cultural heritage and environmental protection has critical implications for First Nations communities in the NT. In no small part because, for the major parties at least, protection of Aboriginal land, waters and sky is seen to come at an unbearable economic cost. The cumulative vast wealth derived from extractive industries has proven time and time again too tempting for governments to pass up. This is a disastrously short sighted approach given the climate crisis that is upon us all, but it is yet to be seen what cataclysmic event it will take to shift governments from their jobs and economy vs the environment mindset. For now it seems we should be content with the focus on economic empowerment through investment in the renewables sector, including the extractives that are required for it.
The recent decision by the NT and Federal Government – in consultation with Traditional Owners the Mirrar peoples – to end uranium mining at Jabiluka was welcome, but for those protesting against it for decades, it seemed an overly long time coming. It also came across as a bit of a ‘look here not there’ tactic given the Lawler Labor Government in the same week signed a new ten year deal with Empire Energy to frack the Beetaloo Basin.
First Nations communities in the NT have consistently called for an end to gas fracking and other extractive industries on their sacred lands. Independent MLA Yingiya Mark Guyula who is seeking reelection in the division of Mukla has called for a ban on fracking, as has Independent candidate, Mililma May. Both also advocate for committed investment in renewable energy in line with recommendations from the Recharging the Territory Report. Further, May’s platform calls for the principle and practice of free, prior and informed consent to be embedded in all consultations with First Nations peoples, including Federal projects like the Middle Arm Gas Hub.
Our land, water, sacred sites – and the climate – everything’s at risk. We’re here to tell the senators, no polluting gas hub at Middle Arm on our watch.
Garrwa and Yanyuwa Traditional Owner, Jarwilmar Gadrian Hoosan; Larrakia woman, Laniyuk
The NT Greens have a party mandate to work for the reduction of reliance on fossil fuels and investment in renewables with a focus on protecting those most impacted by climate change, such as First Nations communities. Of the candidates running in the 2024 NT Election, almost all specifically call out both Labor and CLP’s pro-fracking positions. Ballardong Noongar woman Res McCalman standing in the division of Casuarina for the Greens also spotlights the Binybara Lee Point development that was pushed through by the Government despite strong objections from the community including the Larrakia Traditional Owners. The TOs have now successfully petitioned to have the land clearing halted on the grounds of protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage. The Save Lee Point campaign surveyed the registered candidates in the Darwin – Palmerston – Rural Area contesting the NT Election and found that almost all Independent and Greens candidates supported a moratorium on the Lee Point development pending further community consultation. Independent candidate Mililma May is well known from the Save Lee Point picket lines. In contrast, Labor and CLP candidates did not support halting the works. On this matter again, it seems the Independent and Greens candidates are who is listening to what communities want.
‘Law and order’ is undoubtedly what both NT Labor and the CLP want to be seen talking about. Warped by media sensationalism, public perception is that ‘tough on crime’ approaches – increasing policing, stricter bail laws, and incarceration – make communities safer, when the opposite is true. And all these measures disproportionately impact First Nations communities. The historic and ongoing criminalisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is most evident in the high rates of incarceration. Most disturbing is the rate of First Nations children exposed to the criminal justice system given that a child sentenced to detention then has a high chance of being in and out of prison over their lifetime. Knowing this, NT Labor to its credit announced in 2023 that the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) would be raised from ten to 12 years old based on recommendations by the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory (RCPDCNT). However, the Raise the Age Campaign has long advocated for the minimum age to be 14 years old, in accordance with medical and expert advice, so there is still a way to go. RCPDCNT also recommended the closure of the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in its 2017 final report and here the Government has epically failed citing excuse after excuse and putting mostly First Nations children’s lives and wellbeing at risk every day that Don Dale remains open.
The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and advocates such as Independent candidate Milima May have repeatedly called for Don Dale to be closed as a matter of urgency. The NT Greens support the closure and outline restorative justice measures and justice reinvestment as alternatives to youth detention and adult incarceration, also supporting raising the MACR. In stark contrast, the CLP platform calls for tougher bail laws and lowering the MACR back down to 10, both measures which would see more Aboriginal children sentenced and incarcerated. Perhaps this is the end goal given that both the CLP and NT Labor plan to build more prisons, a business like any other, but one that trades on human suffering. The recent Government closure of Darwin’s only drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre to make way for a new women’s prison was called “especially insidious” by Sisters Inside’s Deb Killroy.
The correlation between systemic racism and the criminalisation and over-incarceration of First Nations people is direct. In entering into the Aboriginal Justice Agreement (AJA) in 2021, the NT Labor Government agreed to undertake a whole of Government review into systemic racism. To date, only one government department has been reviewed. There is a critical need to address the pervasive racism that exists across systems and is clearly rife in institutions such as the NT police. The police killing of Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendemu and the criminal trial and now coronial inquest that have followed have exposed that a review into racism with the police force specifically couldn’t be more urgent. And yet according to the NT Anti-Discrimination Commission, despite reports indicating a review was going ahead, it appears yet to be funded.
The NT Greens are calling for the continuation of the AJA partnership approach as well as for the Anti-Discrimination Commission review into racism in the police to be fully funded. The Greens are also calling for the establishment of a Human Rights Act to ‘challenge injustice’; provide ‘a strong mechanism for parliamentary scrutiny of legislation for compliance with the Act’; and support in addressing and eliminating all forms of discrimination. In contrast, the CLP previously withdrew support for strengthened anti-discrimination legislation and is highly unlikely to commit resources to a police racism review. The CLP have also not made any commitment to continuing with the Aboriginal Justice Agreement should they form Government following the upcoming Election.
The Apology from NT Police delivered by Commissioner Michael Murphy at this year’s Garma Festival was a welcome and important step forward. The Commissioner apologised for historical and ongoing mistakes, acknowledging that police had often ‘fallen short in their duty of care’ towards Aboriginal peoples. NT Police will now launch an Anti Racism Strategy, headed up by Arrernte woman Leanne Liddle, a former AJA Director. An indication of just how far there is yet to go, the Apology was quickly rejected by the NT Police Association, with acting President Lisa Bayliss saying historical events shouldn’t define the police force and that it was “not the role of police to assess the success or otherwise of Federal Government-directed policies of Closing the Gap, the Stolen Generation and the Intervention”. It is no surprise that the Government is rolling out policy thick and fast in the lead up to the Territory Election on 24 August, but in the larger context these are important steps that must be taken by institutions and governments as part of acknowledging and addressing the injustices and disadvantages experienced by First Nations communities.
Amongst the positives to be drawn from the result of the 2023 Voice Referendum was the overwhelming support in First Nations communities across the country. In the NT town of Wadeye, with one of the largest Aboriginal populations, the Yes vote was 92.1%. These results buried the argument that representative bodies were not the practical change that First Nations people wanted or needed – at least for a news cycle or two.
With the Referendum done and dusted, another emerging positive outcome was that states and territories could get on with the business of treaty-making and truth telling (and a legislated Voice in the case of SA), which to various extents had been strategically paused to give the most chance to the Voice.
To the NT Labor Government’s credit, treaty and truth-telling is back on the agenda with Deputy Chief Minister Chansey Paech urging governments to show political courage and get on with pursuing the other pillars of the Uluru Statement. This year the Government held two major Treaty symposiums and are working towards reestablishing the Treaty Working Group to develop a framework for negotiating a Treaty with First Nations peoples. The first of two grant programs for community truth-telling worth 300K has also been rolled out, with the other slated for after the election, should Labor be returned. The Government has also signed 18 Local Decision Making agreements to transition programs and services to community control. Although it needs to be said that the NT could be a lot further down the path to Treaty if the Government had not abandoned the process in 2023 after spending millions, at least it appears to be back on track now. Let’s hope the next Government isn’t too afraid of Treaty actually happening to pursue the process.
We want treaty to get a good self-governing body and self-determination so we are able to do and manage our own affairs.
Maningrida TO, Reggie Wuridjal
The Country Liberal Party outright rejected the Government’s plan for Treaty in the NT, squelching the hope that it could be pursued as bipartisan policy and preferring to stoke the flames of division for electoral gain. In taking a leaf out of the Federal Coalition’s Referendum playbook and playing political football with First Peoples’ aspirations and right to self-determination, the CLP is clear on where its priorities lie.
When it comes to representation, the NT Labor Government has five First Nations members out of the 14 seats it currently holds, as opposed to the CLP’s zero. Surely the days of having non-Indigenous members representing constituents who are largely First Nations, or holding portfolios relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, are behind us – they are certainly on the nose. Major political parties should reflect the diversity in their electorates or risk irrelevance and being relegated to the pages of history. It remains to be seen if the outcome of the 2024 NT Election will favour First Nations candidates as an overall outcome given Independent Mililma May and Greens candidate Res McCalman are running in historically safe Labor seats. The rise of Independents nationally is the result of a public that feels under-represented in politics and unheard on matters that concern them the most. Is this the Election where the NT will also start to break free of the mainstream stronghold on government by Labor and Liberal? We’ll soon know.
ANTAR wrote to the major parties and select Independents contesting the 2024 NT Election to inform our analysis of their First Nations policy platforms. The responses we received can be read in full below.
