Federally funded remote youth programs in Central Australia have been thrown a lifeline and had their funding extended, but operators say the fix is a bandaid that fails to address ongoing funding woes in the sector.
In November it was announced that at least one youth program was going to have to close permanently, and others would reduce hours as a result of a 2014 funding freeze, which meant organisations faced no increase in annual funding to cope with consumer price index (CPI) rises.
Last week the federal government's National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) contacted MacDonnell Regional Council (MRC) to promise them a one-off $400,000 payment.
Along with money from the Central Australian Youth Link Up Service, a division of the Aboriginal community-controlled organisation Tangentyere Council, this will see three imperilled programs in remote communities surrounding Alice Springs funded to the end of the year.
NPY Women's Council was also given a last-minute lifeline by the NIAA to keep its four programs running in the Northern Territory, but chief executive Liza Balmer said it was running at a $140,000 deficit.
Two of its West Australian programs in Blackstone and Jameson have no secure funding past June 2023 and three of the NT programs are set to close in the next three years if additional funding is not secured.
A spokesperson for Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said the NIAA was in active negotiations with NPY.
'They do everything'
Youth programs perform an essential service for young people living in some of the most economically disadvantaged communities in Australia.
They often offer the only extra-curricular opportunities for young people to learn, upskill and access sports.
Through a mix of recreation, social work, public health, education and culture, NPY chair and Yankunytjatjara leader Margaret Smith says youth programs "do everything".
In remote communities, where every resource is scarce — from cars and fuel to food and electricity — the programs and their facilities support activities that would otherwise struggle to get off the ground.
Youth workers organise bush trips that allow young people to learn about Anangu culture from elders.
They facilitate travel to other communities and support young people to access boarding schools.
NPY director Rene Kulitja, a Pitjantjatjara leader in Mutitjulu, said the programs were not "just basketball and football".
She said the children were supported by youth workers to aim high and have "futures to look forward to".
"They give children opportunities to work towards," Ms Kulitja said.
The programs also employ local First Nations staff, many of who have participated in the programs themselves before going on to work for them.
NPY and MRC said cuts to remote programs disproportionately affected jobs that were held by First Nations staff.
Ms Smith said the government was trying to increase Indigenous employment and these programs "do that".
Stopping crime before it happens
Because of its size, Ms Smith's community of Imanpa would be the first to lose its NPY-run youth program if funding were not increased.
Located 270 kilometres south of Alice Springs, the community of 150 people has few other services.
Ms Smith said ending the youth program would "break the community's heart" and push young people and their families to Alice Springs to access services.
"They'll be lost. Break and entries will be coming back ... it's going to bring more crime into Alice Springs," she said.
"We want our kids to stay."
By keeping young people engaged, on country and connected to their community, advocates argue the programs reduce contact with the justice system by offering formal and informal diversion.
A spokesperson for Ms Burney has said the government acknowledges the role youth programs play in preventing youth offending.
Cutting jobs and reducing budgets
The sector has not had a CPI increase since 2014, which means programs have had to tighten their belts year after year to keep up with rising costs and wages.
Since 2018, NPY Women's Council chief executive Liza Balmer said it had cut two positions and reduced programs' weekly budgets for food, resources and vehicles.
"Ideally, we'd have seven-seater troopies or buses so that we could transport a lot of young people, but we can't afford them anymore, so now we're down to just normal Hiluxes and one per community," Ms Balmer said.
She said the organisation was seeking a funding increase of 10.5 per cent to cover CPI, wage increases and inflation.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Ms Burney said she met with NPY during her recent visit to Alice Springs.
"The October budget included $190 million over four years to help community organisations with the increased costs of service delivery," the spokesperson said.
The funding she referred to will be shared by agencies across the country and has not yet been allocated.
