Details of a $250 million rescue package for Alice Springs and Central Australia will be revealed in the federal budget, three months after the funding commitment was announced amid a crime wave.
The ABC understands the bulk of a promised $250 million will appear in Tuesday's budget, with big ticket spends planned on infrastructure, education and health.
However, around $100 million of the funding will remain unallocated, at least for this year's budget.
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Education Minister Jason Clare are understood to have made a last-minute dash to the Red Centre over the weekend to finalise the arrangements.
Central Australia has been grappling with significant crime and social issues for years, with one NT politician on Monday describing the ongoing situation as "descending into anarchy".
After a fly-in visit to the Northern Territory town in January, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged $250 million to improve the complex, intergenerational challenges faced across the region.
The federal budget marks the first-time residents and stakeholders in Central Australia will have a chance to know how the money is being distributed, much of which will likely land in the region's First Nations communities.
The ABC understands the promised funding for Central Australia will appear through the budget as:
- $50 million for community and regional infrastructure
- $40.4 million for on-country learning to improve school engagement
- $23.4 million for improving First Nations health outcomes
- $10 million to enhance digital connectivity
- $10 million for justice reinvestment
- $9.2 million to strengthen community safety
- $3.9 million for a Youth Services Action Plan
- $7.5 million for effective governance to ensure successful delivery (of the funding)
The Commonwealth has also flagged it will open five new sites across Central Australia for junior rangers, with the funding to be included in a national grants scheme.
Alice Springs MLA says funding should be rolled out in full
On February 6, the Albanese government announced the $250 million funding package to "improve community safety, tackle alcohol-related harm, and provide more opportunities to young people".
However, the commitments expected to be included in Tuesday's budget are understood to fall short by nearly $100 million of the full pledge put forward in February, which didn't contain a firm rollout timeline when announced.
It's understood the rest of the funding remains on the table for the region, but where and when it will be rolled out is still being deliberated by Central Australian regional controller Dorrelle Anderson.
Alice Springs politician Bill Yan, an MLA in the Northern Territory's Country Liberal Party, on Monday said if the full amount of funding wasn't in the budget it would be seen as a "betrayal".
"If that is not spent, if that is not delivered and given with proven outcomes for Territorians in Central Australia, then that is an absolute betrayal for Central Australians," Mr Yan said.
"And I'll tell you what, we have long memories down there."
Mr Yan said he believed it had been implied that the funding would be rolled out in full, on urgency.
"My understanding, when the prime minister made the commitment at a press conference in Alice Springs … there was no talk of it being over two years, or four years or six years," he said.
Over recent weeks, Mr Yan said, the crime situation in Alice Springs had once again deteriorated.
"We've now descended back into anarchy in Central Australia, and it seems to be getting worse and worse every day," he said.
Of the funding for Central Australia in Tuesday's budget, much is expected to be dedicated to addressing the root causes of social issues, including for cultural camps, on-country education, and to improve school engagement.
As well as the money for Central Australia, the federal budget is also expected to contain millions of dollars to go towards the Northern Territory's iconic Uluru Kata Tjuta and Kakadu national parks.
