Tina McFarlane (left), Country Liberals candidate for Lingiari, has in a media release accused Warren Snowdon of “raiding the NT Aboriginals Benefits Account (ABA) to pork-barrel his election campaign”.
She says: “It’s no coincidence that Snowdon announced a $7m splurge from the ABA bang in the middle of the election campaign. Obviously, he thinks he can buy votes with other people’s money.
“The ABA is funded by the Australian Taxpayer through the Aboriginal Land Rights Act to support projects that benefit the indigenous people of the Northern Territory.
“For Labor to prop up a tired and ineffective politician with Aboriginal money shows contempt for the people of Lingiari. I reckon indigenous people in particular are tired of being used as political footballs.”
Meanwhile Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Senator Nigel Scullion (above, right), says in a media release that Minister Jenny Macklin’s speech on Labor plans for Indigenous affairs was “underwhelming and more about throwing money around, bureaucratic plans and targets rather than results”.
He says: “Labor announced $90 million, to come from the ABA for government employee housing – I doubt that Aboriginal people living in overcrowded conditions would see government employee housing as a priority.
“And Labor will make a mess of it in the same way as they did with the hopeless billion dollar plus NT remote housing program. Funding announced for homelands is welcome.
“The ABA is funded through the Aboriginal Land Rights Act to support projects that benefit indigenous people in the Northern Territory. It is Aboriginal money and should not be thrown about in an election campaign as a political football.
“The Coalition supports the proposed new alcohol management plans announced by Ms Macklin but we will ensure it is not done in the typical Labor bureaucratic way that produces nothing on the ground.
“Ms Macklin cannot pretend to take the high moral ground on alcohol plans when it was her and the Rudd / Gillard / Rudd Government that approved Aboriginal money to bankroll two Alice Springs IGA supermarkets that sell alcohol to Aboriginal people.
“Police have reported three breaches of alcohol licensing requirements at these supermarkets to do with irresponsible service of alcohol to indigenous people.”
The Alice Springs News Online has sought comment from owners of the supermarkets, a group linked to the native title organisation Lhere Artepe.
Says Senator Scullion: “Arguable progress in only three of the six closing the gap targets is not much of a scorecard.
“The results for indigenous education indicators are going backwards – in 2012, 14 out of the 20 NAPLAN indicators the gap has widened compared to 2011. The results in remote and very remote areas are a disgrace.”