Former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton turned down a funding request to assist curb crime in the Northern Territory town of Nhulunbuy, according to a federal audit committee.
The Labour government has issued a list of projects around Australia that it alleges reveals Mr Dutton “overlooked Indigenous community safety projects in highly vulnerable communities that desperately needed this funding” in favour of projects in Coalition seats.
Among the ideas that have been rejected is a “town centre safety project” in Nhulunbuy, not far from the Garma Festival, which received Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over the weekend.
Nhulunbuy is primarily a mining town, not an Indigenous settlement, as Labour has claimed, but it serves as a service centre for a number of Yolu communities on the Gove Peninsula.
In recent years, the community has seen an increase in crime.
Peter Dutton squints.
As Opposition Leader, Mr Dutton has regularly urged the federal government to do more to combat crime in the NT, which is grappling with intergenerational socioeconomic issues.
He also visited Nhulunbuy earlier this year to discuss the Indigenous Voice to Parliament with local people.
Marion Scrymgour, a Lingiari MP whose constituency includes Nhulunbuy, told reporters on Tuesday that the grant rejection demonstrated Mr Dutton was “all show and no action” in addressing the jurisdiction’s crime problems.
“This is a man who gets on a plane, shows up for the TV cameras, pretends he’s concerned about Aboriginal kids, Aboriginal communities, crime, and all the issues that are happening,” Ms Scrymgour said.
Donna-Marie Grieve, a Nhulunbuy businesswoman, said Mr Dutton’s decision to reject crime prevention funds for a CCTV network was “disappointing” and “hypocritical” given the Opposition Leader’s repeated requests for the federal government to do more to combat crime.
“Crime has definitely increased here,” added Ms Grieve.
“[The funding denial] is quite hypocritical.
“I mean, we live in a small community – it’s not as big as Alice Springs – but the crime rate is quite high, and the perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice.”
“With the cameras, we can see who is doing it and have proof and evidence.”
In a printing office, Donna-Marie Grieve wears a green and blue shirt.
Following the federal denial, the NT government announced the installation of a CCTV camera network in the town centre, which was paid for with NT taxpayer monies.
“The CCTV for Nhulunbuy was subsequently funded directly by the NT Government (PFES) and has now been installed,” claimed an NT government spokeswoman.
Despite the rejection of Nhulunbuy, the papers indicate that Mr Dutton approved a number of other crime prevention funds to Indigenous communities around Australia, including more than $350,000 for a community CCTV safety initiative in Maningrida, a West Arnhem Land village.
The records were disclosed by Labour at a time when polls show that the No campaign against an Indigenous Voice in Parliament is gaining ground in the majority of Australian states.
A wave of damaging criminality has reached the beachfront town of Nhulunbuy, where businesses and residents are reeling from the consequences.
Aerial view of Little Bondi Beach, which has white sand and is surrounded by dense bush.
“Australians expect their government to act to make their communities safer and more secure: this is exactly what Mr Dutton did through the Safer Communities Fund,” the spokeswoman said.
“He is proud of the significant investment that was made to community organisations across Australia through this programme, including, it should be noted, many Indigenous community applications that were successful in receiving funding.”
According to the spokesperson, $3,022,883 from the funding round was distributed to Indigenous organisations across Australia, with about $500,000 going to organisations in the Northern Territory.
They did not react explicitly to a query about why money for Nhulunbuy was rejected despite being proposed by the minister’s own department.
