Northern Divide

Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory are becoming economic refugees in their own country, says NT Legislative Assembly member Scott McConnell.

Recently I received a postcard with a 1967 photo on its front of Gurindji men, including Vincent Lingiari, which was taken by trade unionist Brian Manning. That photo gave me pause. These Aboriginal men fought for better working conditions, not welfare.

Unfortunately, while that win would also lead to Aboriginal land rights, it did not produce the good local jobs that the Gurindji hoped for. In fact, many of the men in the photo and their descendants would never work again.

More than 50 years later, the mean weekly income for an individual on much of the Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory is $270 per week, or less than the basic single supplement welfare payment. Compare that to the mean gross weekly income for Darwin households of $3075 per week (according to the Bureau of Statistics’ 2017-18 Survey of Income and Housing) and the social crisis in the Northern Territory becomes clear.

Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory are becoming economic refugees in their own country, internally displaced people, as they move off country seeking a better life in towns. Certainly no one can fault them for taking these steps, but as they do, the younger generations lose connection to country, lore, language and culture.

In March, I called for an Australian Royal Commission into the Northern Territory, focusing on economic sustainability and eliminating structural social inequity. This was not just a political stunt. I have long stated that Indigenous land and labour must participate in the wider Territory economy.

The net debt for our tiny jurisdiction of less than 250,000 people has ballooned into the billions, with $4 million being added each day. Successive Northern Territory Governments have been unable to raise significant own-source revenue (currently only 27 per cent compared to 56 per cent in other jurisdictions) or to control expenditure growth. There is a direct link between lack of active participation in the workforce and significant budgetary imposts on the Northern Territory government, in particular regular overspends in police, corrections and health.

The combination of significant barriers limiting the Territory from generating own-source revenue and the remarkable socioeconomic disadvantage of a high percentage of the population has created a whole-of-government response of increased GST relativity and Commonwealth grants. The Commonwealth has also significantly invested in further expenditure through Land Councils (Commonwealth statutory authorities) and other federal programs that have far greater reach in the Territory, such as the Community Development Program. Unfortunately, expert analysis of the Commonwealth Grants Commission returns and other official data has established a recurring theme of under-expenditure on the targeted initiative of ameliorating indigenous disadvantage. The extra resources are often redirected to other more mainstream initiatives, usually in the larger population centres, not on Aboriginal land.

Employment in the Northern Territory, particularly full-time employment, is dominated by a public sector that is mainly based in Darwin and surrounds. The demographic reality of the Territory means that the vast majority of the 25 Parliamentary seats are also centred on Darwin, Casuarina and Palmerston. This large public sector is recognised as a significant voting bloc impeding much needed structural reform of the public service while overburdening the budget, with Treasury currently borrowing money to pay the public sector payroll.

An alternative approach must be sought to overcome this impasse. To not do so undermines the principles of Territory self-government. The status quo is not only unsustainable economically but socially. We cannot continue to think of Aboriginal land as a second or different Territory. Improved outcomes for remote Aboriginal people will provide better outcomes for the entire Territory.

Investing on Aboriginal lands, creating sustainable economic futures and jobs for local residents, is not without its challenges. Much work needs to be done, but this work is for the benefit of Aboriginal communities and their inalienable land rights.

Tax incentives and rebates could and should play a major role in the ordered transition to a sustainable, productive remote economy in the Territory. Innovations such as greater zone offsets for those who live and work on Aboriginal land trusts (ALTs); payroll tax exemptions for commercial entities with staff living and working on ALTs; reduced company tax on profits if the commercial activity is carried out on ALTs; greater tax deductibles for employees living on ALTs; and tradable bonds that provide an alternative pool of revenue for capital investment on ALTs could all change the way our economy works.

Instead of our urban areas living off indigenous disadvantage and our remote areas slowly dying, the growth of enterprise and infrastructure investment remotely would also contribute to sustainable urban growth, without the current cycle of boom and bust or the unrelenting growth of crime.

The Northern Territory is currently a place of extreme inequality. It is a place of interventions and royal commissions, of high incarceration, limited life expectancy, increasing rates of syphilis, growing despair and lethargy. This is not the vision of Vincent Lingiari. Neither is it the vision of contemporary Territory Aboriginal leaders. They want their children to have jobs and opportunities while remaining connected to country and culture. That aspiration is slipping through their hands.

My vision is the same as Vincent Lingiari’s, that Aboriginal people can utilise their land and labour to create an income so they can sustain, control and care for their own welfare. I ask our fellow Australians to care about this vision too.