Calls by the Northern Territory government to suspend welfare payments for parents of children not going to school seems unlikely to earn federal approval, with Malarndirri McCarthy citing across the board issues with the proposal.
In the wake of renewed violence in Alice Springs/Mparntwe last week, which included a two-month-old baby girl's skull being fractured during an alleged violent home invasion, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro issued a series of demands for the federal government to address.
These include welfare payments to be made on current takeaway alcohol-free days only; reintroduce compulsory work or training programs with fortnightly reporting obligations for welfare recipients; and "accept the Northern Territory Government's referral to the Federal Government for parents who neglect their children, enabling additional income management".
Speaking on ABC Radio in Darwin, Minister McCarthy said she had reached out to Ms Finocchiaro to see if they can work with Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, but "complexities" in the proposal to quarantine welfare payments were apparent, which the Senator said she had passed onto the Chief Minister.
"One of the things we have to be mindful of is also other areas that are impacted, like the Race [Racial] Discrimination Act," Senator McCarthy said.
"We have to have a look at all of these things. One of the other things is that Centrelink goes right across the country. So, if you impact one certain payment, you've got to be careful of how you impact others. So, this will be an ongoing conversation."
The Howard government suspended the act in 2007 to enable the highly controversial measures of the Northern Territory Intervention.
Many in Central Australia have said the legacy of the intervention continues to resonate.
The Chief Minister met with Minister McCarthy on Thursday, with the Minister for Indigenous Australians saying she offered Ms Finocchiaro a briefing the "minute I heard about what was going on in Alice Springs".
"Yesterday's meeting is a continuation of working with her and the Northern Territory Government," Minister McCarthy said.
"We just want the people of Alice Springs and indeed the Territory, just to be safe."
Minister McCarthy said Ms Finocchiaro was "continuing to work" with Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour, who last week said she felt "unsafe in my home in Alice Springs" after the latest violence.
"Marion has been just an incredibly fierce advocate for Lingiari and the people of Central Australia," Minister McCarthy said.
"So, that will keep going—the Chief will meet with her over the Christmas period."
Alice Springs saw two curfews in 2024, after a series of violent incidents across the own and nearby communities.
Opposition leader Selena Uibo said the new CLP government's approach to crime prevention was failing and called for another curfew in the town.
"Alice Springs is spiralling further out of control, and Lia's so-called urgent laws have no impact," Ms Uibo said last week.
"A curfew must be called."
The new government has introduced several laws which have been heavily criticised by human rights organisations, including lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10.
Last week, the NT government seemed to celebrate prison numbers being the highest in history, with overcrowding causing inmates to sleep on mattresses on the floor.
