Minister for Indigenous Australians
KATIE WOOLF, HOST: Joining me live on the line is the Senator for the Northern Territory but also the Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Malarndirri McCarthy. Good morning to you.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Good morning, Katie. And good morning to your listeners coming to you from down in the Barkly.
KATIE WOOLF: Oh, good stuff Minister, lovely to have you on the show. Now there's quite a bit for me to discuss with you this morning. I do just want to ask you, what was your reaction to the news over the weekend that police have charged three Darwin residents over an alleged multi-million-dollar defence fraud scheme?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Yeah Katie, I think like most people who heard the news or read it in the NT News, it was an incredible surprise. And of course, like all things, we have to now wait to see what happens with the court proceedings, which I understand is taking place today in its initial phase.
KATIE WOOLF: Yeah, spot on. We are expecting that to happen today. I guess, you know, some out there listening this morning will be thinking it's already incredibly difficult to win a defence contract, you know, through the Federal Government. Is there going to need to be work here to tighten things up further, and are you concerned that it may have some reputational damage for the Northern Territory?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, clearly there was a need by the AFP and the Defence Department and the NACC to make these arrests. But like I've said, Katie, until we know the details, at this point in time, as much as I know is what I've been able to ascertain from the media, and I think it's really important, given that there is so much at stake here, and I'm also mindful of a number of people who will be affected outside of this. Whether they're employees of the businesses that are involved or whether they're people out on communities and across Darwin and Katherine and Tennant and Alice, who are also affected. There's a lot of people who need some certainty about what's going on and of course, we have to see what happens with the court case.
KATIE WOOLF: Alright Minister, last week the future of Yipirinya School in Alice Springs was well thrown into, into threat, I guess, after just 50 students turned up to class on Thursday. It was down from the peak enrolment of 360 in December last year. We know that staff at Yipirinya were told on Wednesday between 15 and 20 of them would be made redundant after plunging enrolments left the school $3.7 million in debt to the Federal Government. We just caught up with the Chief Minister a short time ago. She had said that the funding is through you guys, and made it sound as though it's a federal responsibility. What is the situation from your perspective?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, the day-to-day running of Yipirinya and, in fact, any independent school and any school in the Northern Territory is a responsibility of the Northern Territory Government. That's really important to distinguish that. In terms of the funding, we've certainly assisted with funding for Yipirinya. In fact, I think as late as Friday, Katie, the Education Minister Jason Clare is offering the school a five-year repayment plan. So, 2027-31 rather than the existing three-year repayment plan. That offer has been made to Yipirinya School, and it has been accepted. So, now that is a development that happened on Friday.
KATIE WOOLF: Right.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: So, I would expect today and the following days that there will be further conversations around that repayment plan. And I'm certainly encouraging, and I'm sure the Education Minister at the Commonwealth level is encouraging, that this repayment plan assists the staff and the school so that they can revisit any talk of redundancies. It's a very difficult time, and people should not feel like they're without jobs going into Christmas.
KATIE WOOLF: Do you feel as though they're going to be able to pay that back? I mean, that's a lot of, like, that's a big debt for a school to have, to be paying back, whether it's over three years or five. It's going to be tough.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Absolutely, it will be tough. But one of the things that I do know about Yipirinya School is that there is a great deal of love for that school. Around all of those town camps around Central Australia, you've got about 16 town camps that it caters for. I was there at Anthepe Camp just last week talking to families there, even talking to staff from Yipirinya College. And there is a great deal of support around the country for this school, and we will ensure that this school gets back on its feet.
KATIE WOOLF: Alright. So, the Education Minister has liaised with the school so that payment back is going to be over a five-year period, and you're certainly hopeful that that is going to mean that the school is able to continue to operate.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, it's an important first step, Katie. Clearly, there are other areas, and this comes down to the report that I understand that the Northern Territory Education Minister has to deal with and there are significant issues within that report which appropriately have to be dealt with by the NT Government. But I would say that overall, in terms of Yipirinya School, to those students and staff and their families who may hear your interview, there is a great deal of support at the Commonwealth level for you.
KATIE WOOLF: Alright Minister, I know this morning as well, you're also out announcing more than 900 new Indigenous Ranger jobs are going to be created across the country. It's part of the Federal Government's commitment to double the number of Indigenous Rangers by the end of the decade. What's it going to mean for the Northern Territory?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, it's good news for the Northern Territory. We've got significant ranger groups around the Territory, and we're going to see 17 more that will come out as a part of this funding announcement. This is a second round of the ranger program that's going to start rolling out over the next couple of weeks. I'm here in the Barkly, we're going to see rangers here actually, at the Kulumindini Rangers. It's a new group. What I'm asking for is that there's also gender parity, Katie. We're trying to roll out at least 1,000 positions for women across the ranger groups across Australia.
KATIE WOOLF: Awesome.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Because I do want to see more women rangers who are a part of what we're rolling out.
KATIE WOOLF: It's not the only thing you're announcing today. I understand the government's also announcing that you're going to provide $200 million in funding to support 96 projects across Australia to ensure disaster preparedness. What does that mean for the Northern Territory? Are any of those projects here in the NT?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, it certainly encompasses the NT. I'm conscious there's heavy rain in Darwin at the moment and will be probably for the next few days as we watch the low that's sort of to the north of Darwin and Wadeye in that area. It is that time of year, Katie, and I think all Territory residents know that we've got to be cyclone ready. We've got to be prepared for any flooding and the Commonwealth Government is always there to assist.
KATIE WOOLF: Minister, before I let you go, we spoke to the Chief Minister earlier today. We didn't actually touch on this with her today, but we spoke about it last Monday. She said that the Northern Territory Government is still waiting for the Prime Minister's office to sign off on the next administrator. They apparently sent through the paperwork or the recommendation in June. Do you know what's causing the delay, or do you know if they've put forward somebody that might be, I don't know, maybe questions being asked?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Look, I just checked in this morning, well, one of my advisers did with Minister McBain's office. I understand that they are considering the Chief Minister's request. I'm not familiar with what the next step is, but I'm happy to certainly advocate once I get back to Canberra. But at the same time, the Chief Minister is the leader of the Northern Territory and I'm sure she's probably able to have a conversation with the Prime Minister as well.
KATIE WOOLF: Well, Malarndirri McCarthy, Senator for the Northern Territory and also Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Always appreciate your time. Is it warm in the Barkly this morning?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: It's lovely. It's really lovely. It's still lovely and green actually, which is nice.
KATIE WOOLF: Very nice. Well, it's beautiful here with the wet weather. I tell you what, you're missing out, but I'm sure you'll be back. Thank you. Thanks so much for your time.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: No worries, thanks Katie.
KATIE WOOLF: Much appreciated.
