Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney will finally consider a proposal to fund a boarding house at a school in the Northern Territory to help support disadvantaged students.
On Tuesday afternoon Ms Burney said a proposal from Yipirinya School would be assessed on merit by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and Department of Education.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, whose mother works at the school, has been an enthusiastic campaigner for funding, repeatedly describing it as a ‘shovel-ready’ example of how the government can make a practical difference in the lives of disadvantaged Australians.
Ms Nampijinpa Price expressed concerns the proposal, which would give at-risk students a bed and supervision on campus should they wish to stay the night, was being ignored in favour of the push toward the Voice referendum.
Funding for Yipirinya School has been enthusiastically campaigned for by Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price
Bess Nungarrayi Price, a Warlpiri woman and Ms Nampijinpa Price’s mother, is the assistant principal at the school.
‘These students, they come from a hard, hard lifestyle situation. Some of them barely have a good night’s sleep and (there is) everything else that happens within those town camps,’ she said in January.
An Opposition insider told Daily Mail Australia the timing of the announcement – days after the referendum – had not gone unnoticed.
Yipirinya School Principal Dr Gavin John Morris previously expressed concerns the project was not being prioritised because of Ms Nampijinpa Price’s advocacy.
After the announcement, Ms Nampijinpa Price said the government ‘put everything on hold while it carried on with its virtue signalling referendum’, at a time when it ‘could have been taking real action for those children that are in desperate need of assistance’.
‘The Labor Government has had a proposal on the table for months from Yipirinya School and it is now kicking it even further down the track. This is either a sign of a lazy minister or one afraid to take action,’ she said.
Dr Gavin John Morris, the principal at Yipirinya School, told a cost of living inquiry in Alice Springs in August that the delay in considering his request had meant it was essentially no longer viable
Ms Burney said: ‘Listening to the views of people in Central Australia is an important step and is consistent with the approach we are taking in our plan for A Better, Safer Future for Central Australia.
‘It is important to understand the current provision of supported student accommodation, existing expansion proposals and the needs of remote students.’
The proposals – if successful – would be funded as part of a $250million Labor government package to improve the lives of Central Australians.
Assessments on the potential of the proposals and advice about whether the government should proceed in funding them will be delivered by the end of the year.
Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour jointly announced the commitment, saying: ‘It’s really important we work through the boarding needs and views from the local community in Central Australia.
‘This approach is aimed at making sure Federal funding is targeted, accountable and in line with the needs of the community.’
Education Minister Jason Clare also backed the initiative. A spokesperson for Mr Clare said: ‘The assessment will consider existing proposals to establish, expand or improve boarding accommodation to deliver the best outcome for the entire Central Australian community.
‘The government has been listening to the local community on these important issues.’
But it’s unclear whether the proposal will even be viable anymore.
Ms Burney said a proposal from Yipirinya School would be assessed on merit by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and Department of Education
Dr Morris told a cost of living inquiry in Alice Springs in August that the delay in considering his request had meant it was essentially no longer viable.
The project was initially costed for $8million and the school was hopeful it would see some of the money quickly as part of the government’s commitment to helping Alice Springs.
But with the length of lead times often blown out over months and years, Dr Morris said ‘by the time you put the shovel in the ground [after getting approved], there’s been a huge increase in terms of how much it costs’.
In terms of the boarding school, the $8million estimate was provided in May 2022. Now, that same project would cost about $12.1million, meaning even if the government were to approve the initial request, it now wouldn’t cover the costs.
‘That model is now off the table,’ Dr Morris told the inquiry. ‘It [would have been] a really important piece of our puzzle.’
With 300 students, Yipirinya has 38 school buses which travel 7,500km per week to drop off and pick up students, feeding them all with three meals a day – 800 to 900 daily.
One of the bus routes is 2.5 hours each way.
Bess Nungarrayi Price, a Warlpiri woman and Ms Nampijinpa Price’s mother, is the assistant principal at the school and knows all too well the hardship students face
The school receives federal funding of about $35,000 to $40,000 per student, but it doesn’t stretch far under the current circumstances. Luring high quality teaching staff is also an ongoing challenge.
Ms Nampijinpa Price said during the campaign she feared ‘real issues were being sidelined’ as the government went ‘steaming toward the referendum’.
Back in June, before campaigning for the Voice reached capacity, Ms Nampijinpa Price told Daily Mail Australia there were several proposals ‘similar to this one, right around the country, coming from grassroots individuals’.
She said Yipirinya’s request had been ‘on the government’s desk’ for months.
‘These people know what the needs in their communities are,’ she said.
‘It’s our job to ensure those proposals are listened to and, based on their merit, supported. There are issues that can be addressed straight away. But unfortunately, the government is so focused on placing all their eggs in one basket in terms of the Voice.’