Federal Budget 2024: Anthony Albanese's government finally reveals how it will spend the money it allocated for Indigenous Voice to Parliament
The Albanese government has quietly re-allocated funding for implementing Voices to Parliament and the Makarrata Commission after the failed referendum.
Instead, the $20million funding allocation which would have helped to establish and maintain local and regional Voice arrangements will be directed toward other priorities within the Indigenous Australians portfolio.
Funding was set aside last year for a Makarrata Commission to work alongside the Indigenous Voice to Parliament – so certain the government was that it would be supported by the Australian public.
However, 60 per cent of Australians – and every state and territory except for the ACT – voted against the proposal in October 2023.
Meanwhile, $29.1million has been allocated over four years for a ‘National Voice for our Children’ to partner with Government on matters affecting First Nations children.
Funding was set aside last year for a Makarrata Commission to work alongside the Indigenous Voice to Parliament – so certain the government was that it would be supported by the Australian public
Elsewhere in the Indigenous Australians portfolio, the government has committed $110million over a four-year period to accelerate Closing the Gap measures, focusing particularly on education outcomes.
A further $4.6million will go toward delivering Custody Notification Services which provide ‘culturally appropriate health and wellbeing checks when an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person is taken into police custody’.
Separately, $76.2million will be spent over five years to implement a voluntary ‘prison to employment’ transition for First Nations people aged 15 and over who have a scheduled prison release date.
This program will be rolled out from July 2025 – after the next election – and will provide Indigenous people pre-release and post-release support services to help them re-enter the workforce after committing a crime.
Another $18million will be spent over two years to establish a Central Australian Boarding Response Fund to build new boarding facilities in Central Australia for students from remote NT communities, which will in turn allow schools to accept more students.
The National Indigenous Australians Agency received $5.8million in funding in total to advance progress toward a Makarrata Commission in the last Budget, but the funding was paused during the referendum campaign amid backlash.
The National Indigenous Australians Agency received $5.8million in funding in total to advance progress toward a Makarrata Commission in the last Budget, and last revealed it was awaiting further instruction from Linda Burney (pictured) about how to spend the remaining cash
In all, Dr Simon Gordon, Acting Group Manager of Empowerment and Recognition, told a Senate Estimates hearing none of the money had gone toward the Commission itself.
Instead, $607,066 has been spent so far on 'understanding treaty and truth telling processes in the states and internationally,' he said.
'This involves some desktop research, but also some bilateral and multilateral meetings with states and territories.'
In all, Dr Gordon could recall approximately 25 bilateral meetings held over the last year discussing treaty and truthtelling.
The agency said at the time it was awaiting further instruction from Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney about how to spend the remainder of the $5.2million.
The federal government has quietly re-allocated funding for implementing Voices to Parliament and the Makarrata Commission in the budget handed down by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday night
