Northern Territory domestic violence advocates have welcomed a multi-million-dollar investment into the sector, but say it is a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed.
The Northern Territory government on Friday announced a funding boost of $20 million over two years in its upcoming budget for domestic violence prevention and services.
The government said the funds would aim to address soaring rates of domestic, family and sexual violence in the territory.
Women in the NT continue to experience the highest rates of physical and sexual violence in the country, with the latest police data revealing a spike of almost 20 per cent in domestic violence assaults in the 12 months to January.
Kate Worden, NT Minister for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, said on some nights, domestic violence accounted for up to 80 per cent of police call-outs.
She said the extra funding would be invested into a range of prevention initiatives, including reforms in health, justice and policing, behaviour change programs and more support for victim survivors.
"It really builds on our ability to service those programs and provide some essential funding to those programs that can make a difference to particularly women and children on the ground," she said.
'This is not sustainable'
Chay Brown is an Alice Springs-based researcher with the Equality Institute and the Australian National University, who has done significant research in the space of domestic violence.
She said the government's new investment, while a start, was not sufficient.
"They haven't taken into account the CPI increase, which had led to a 10 to 30 per cent reduction in funding," she said.
"This is not sustainable."
Dr Brown said women's shelters were "in crisis", and that the NT's two men's behaviour change programs continued to be chronically underfunded.
She repeated calls for the federal government to provide needs-based funding to services in the territory — funding based on need, rather than population.
"I think the NT government are doing all they can, they're taking this problem seriously, but when it's not backed up by federal funding, we won't see real change," she said.
While needs-based funding was one of two recommendations in a recent report on the issues plaguing Alice Springs, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has remained silent on whether his government will support this funding change.
Calls to integrate services
Maree Corbo is the co-manager of the Tangentyere Council's family safety and social services division, in Alice Springs.
She said women on the ground were feeling increasingly disillusioned over the lack of funding and attention on violence in the region.
"They get very fatigued from saying the same thing over and over," she said.
The extra funding from the NT government will be used as part of the second phase of its 10-year plan to address domestic, family and sexual violence.
The government said it would build on $54.7 million invested as part of the first stage.
Ms Corbo said she hoped the new money would help to integrate services, including in justice, health and policing.
"There needs to be a web of accountability around men's violence," she said.
"So I think it's absolutely imperative we have services that are well-funded and integrated … to be able to really have a view on the risks that women and children are experiencing."
