2020 National Budget and the Indigenous

By Emma Carolan, CRA Justice Research Officer

The Government have labelled the 2020-21 Federal Budget as the  Economic Recovery Plan for Australia,  which has been designed to ensure the recovery of the Australian economy following the COVID-19 pandemic. In regard to its allocations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, stated that:

“The Morrison Government is investing in new services and initiatives to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have sustained economic and social opportunities as part of our economic recovery plan for Australia. The Government is also ensuring that the challenges from COVID-19 do not slow down progress towards improving the lives of Indigenous Australians… The 2020-21 Budget continues the Government’s commitment to co-designing the solutions that will positively impact the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

He announced that the Budget has allocated:

  • $150 million over three years to Indigenous Business Australia to deliver 360 home loans for new housing construction in regional Australia.

  • $46.5 million over four years to support ACCHOs build their capacity and business models, in line with the ‘Closing the Gap’ Targets.

  • $10.1 million over four years to the Productivity Commission to monitor and report on the progress of ‘Closing the Gap.’

  • $10.1 million over four years to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies to support their work in Indigenous cultural resurgence.

  • $3.1 million within The Murray-Darling Basin Package to create four Indigenous River Ranger groups to care for Country.

  • $39.8 million over four years for the Clontarf Foundation, who aid Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men to complete Year 12 and find employment.

  • $19.8 million from the July Economic and Fiscal Update to support Indigenous Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • An ongoing commitment to $5.4 billion to the Indigenous Advancement Strategy to continue projects on reducing Indigenous incarceration rates, youth suicide, family and domestic violence.

 Further Budget allocations for Indigenous Australians can be found here.

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Responses to the 2020 Commonwealth Budget have been mixed, with both positives and negatives noted. The Victorian ACCHO said that, “while tax cuts would provide some hip pocket relief and an emphasis on new job opportunities for young people was welcome… it was disappointing the Budget delivered nothing of substance for Victorian Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander communities.” They felt that there was a lack of support towards achieving the Closing the Gap targets, especially for Victoria who have experienced more extensive COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns, but are still expected to adhere to the same Closing the Gap timelines as the other states. They also felt that as the state most affected by COVID-19, and with the highest rates of unemployment, that more jobs and training opportunities for young Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria were desperately needed.

Likewise, the Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education felt that the Budget was not providing the resources to meet the new Closing the Gap targets: "Surely it was possible for the Government to support its own flagship Indigenous Affairs policy...So there is money to report on progress, but no money for the essential work to actually make the progress that is to be reported on!”

The National ACCHO (NACCHO) welcomed the investment into Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, but felt that targeted infrastructure investment in the 550 community controlled clinics across the country, where 410,000 clients reside, is still needed. NACCHO estimates that $900m is needed for these clinics to adequately operate. It also felt that the funding of just 360 home-loans through Indigenous Business Australia was not enough, an omission that was “indefensible” with 17 people, on average, living in a small house in the Northern Territory. They said “What do you think will happen if the COVID-19 virus actually gets into our remote communities when family members are crowded together, 5 or 6 in a bedroom?”

The consistent message is that the Federal Budget did not allocate enough funding to achieve the government’s own Closing the Gap Targets. Where to from here?