The Wire

On the surface, the 2012 Budget looks quite good for Indigenous Australians, with the government committing to continued efforts to close the gap, but it comes at a cost…

The Budget outlines almost $700 million for remote policing and alcohol abuse, $600 million for education and employment and over $400 million for remote community engagement. But almost all of this spending is focussed on remote communities in the Northern Territory, and comes at the expense of Australia-wide schemes, such as the National Indigenous Literacy and Numeracy Program.