Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price sets out her top five priorities in Indigenous affairs if the Coalition is elected this Saturday.

Audit of all government programs and expenditure in Indigenous affairs

The amount of money spent on Indigenous affairs hasn't been accounted for since 2017. We don't have an up-to-date figure of how much we're spending in 2025.

We also know Closing the Gap targets are not where they should be – only four targets are on track to be met. Given we are spending billions but not making any progress, we think something needs to change. We also think it makes sense to start that change by reviewing what is and isn't working for the benefit of our most marginalised.

An audit will let us see where money is being used well and getting results, and where it's being wasted without producing outcomes for those who need it. Only then can we make sure funding is being directed in a way that will help us close the gap.

Royal Commission into Sexual Abuse in Indigenous Communities

There is good reason to believe that a lot of sexual abuse goes unreported. However, even the data that is available about sexual abuse of Indigenous children is utterly unacceptable. Nationally, the rates of sexual abuse as a category of substantiated child protection notifications for Indigenous children are 2.8 per 1,000 children, whereas for non-Indigenous children, the rate is 0.5 per 1,000 children.

We think the safety, protection and freedom from abuse of all children is important. Holly-Ann Martin, who is a child abuse prevention educator with 35 years' experience in the field, makes clear this issue is far from resolved. She believes it is an issue widely known by those familiar with these contexts but is rarely spoken about, especially by those in positions of power. We think that is unacceptable.

A Royal Commission means our most vulnerable will have the chance to be heard, and can keep their identity anonymous if they want, and real change can occur to stop these horrific crimes. We know these are uncomfortable issues, but at the end of the day, the protection of the human rights of Australian children outweighs that discomfort.

Improve community safety in the NT

A Dutton Government will support the Territory Government to implement initiatives to address crime and disorder in the Top End, especially Alice Springs.

Anti-social behaviour in Alice Springs, and the NT generally, has been a national issue for two years, particularly since the lifting of alcohol restrictions that were subsequently reinstated.

We have agreed in-principle to support the implementation of the Northern Territory Government's seven-point plan to end the violence and crime and ensure community safety returns to the Top End.

Support the establishment of language-based land councils and Local Community Councils

The Coalition believes power should be given back to community wherever possible.

Land councils, especially those in the Northern Territory, are some of the most significant organisations in the lives of Traditional Owners. Yet their operations, such as section 19 lease processing, is not up to the standard that would be expected of other organisations. That's why we want to help language groups who want to form their own land councils to do so. By supporting language groups in this way, we can empower grassroots decision-making when it comes to what can or can't be done on Indigenous-owned land.

We think the super shires which were established by the Northern Territory government took a lot of power away from local communities. That's why, in conjunction with the current Northern Territory government, we would support local community councils to be established.

Parliamentary Inquiry into Land Councils and Statutory Authorities

The Coalition believes many of the Indigenous bodies and land councils that have been set up for the benefit of Indigenous Australians aren't working well. We think many of them could be doing better, especially when it comes to their leadership and governance.

We believe organisations should have consequences if they aren't doing the right thing by their members, and that the organisations and their leadership shouldn't be able to get away with things that aren't right because they are in powerful positions.

By holding an Inquiry, we would have the chance to hear from people who have real-life experience about these things. It would give people the chance to tell us whether the organisations are working well, or whether people have concerns about their behaviour.

We'd like these organisations to be operating well and helping to actually close the gap, which is why we need to know how they are failing, so that the failures can be corrected.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is an NT Senator and the federal Opposition spokesperson for Indigenous policy.