The federal government has announced funding for school holiday activities for children and young people in Central Australia, with the government saying helping children stay active and occupied will benefit the whole community.
The $3.2 million investment over two years will support local community organisations and councils in Alice Springs/Mparntwe and across Central Australia, to deliver programs for kids during the holidays.
These will include making learning-based activities accessible for young people and their family to bring health benefits to children as well as fostering positive engagement with their peers and youth services in the community.
Lingiari MP, Marion Scrymgour, said she welcomed the funding, which she said built on the success of the 2023-24 Summer in Central Australia plan.
The plan saw $700,000 in collaborative funding with the NT government, local councils, and organisations to hold boxing classes, music workshops, bush trips and even ice skating over the summer holidays.
Ms Scrymgour said the government was delivering youth initiatives that provide "far reaching benefits for all communities in Central Australia, including those in remote locations".
"This funding will increase certainty for local youth service providers in the region to develop their activities and school holiday programs for the next two years," she said.
"We know that now more than ever, young people need to connect with each other and the local community to ensure they develop healthy hobbies and interactions."
More than 20,000 young people took part in the Summer in Central Australia program, the government said, helping to reduce youth-based anti-social behaviour in local communities and Mparntwe.
Part of this latest collaboration will see the NT government fund local school holiday activities through its Alice Springs Youth Services Grants program, with the federal government saying they were committed to working with the NT government and local Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations to ensure services across the region had the best possible impact.
Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, said keeping children and young people occupied during the holidays benefited not only themselves, but the whole community.
"This funding will increase certainty for local youth service providers in the region to develop their activities and school holiday programs for the next two years," Senator McCarthy said.
"We know that now more than ever, young people need to connect with each other and the local community to ensure they develop healthy hobbies and interactions."
