北领地原住民组织领导人近日指责自由党政府利用联邦Closing the Gap资金作为施压工具，反对政府在儿童保护法改革中绕过原住民咨询程序。[1]原住民组织领导人Theresa Roe表示，"70%进入北领地的资金来自联邦，他们用这笔钱作为武器对付我们"。[1]
围绕这一争议，北领地儿童专员Shahleena Musk已因政府拒绝暂停儿童保护法改革而辞职。[1]北领地儿童和家庭三方论坛共同主席Rob McPhee也宣布退出该职位。[1]这些离职反映了原住民领导层对政府政策方向的深刻分歧。
北领地在Closing the Gap目标上的表现令人担忧。[1]根据去年数据，北领地是表现最差的司法管辖区，在8项指标上原住民与非原住民的差距正在恶化。[1]对此，联邦原住民事务部长Malarndirri McCarthy曾在去年10月表示，可能对不履行承诺的州实施财务处罚。[1]最新Closing the Gap年度汇总报告将于晚间发布。[1]
Aboriginal organizations in Australia's Northern Territory have leveled accusations at the Country Liberal Party government of misusing federal Closing the Gap funds, particularly in response to child protection law reforms pursued without adequate consultation.[1] The Northern Territory Child Commissioner, Shahleena Musk, resigned over the government's refusal to pause the child protection reforms, while Rob McPhee stepped down as co-chair of the Northern Territory Children and Family Tripartite Forum in protest.[1]
Indigenous leaders argue the financial leverage has been inappropriately deployed. Theresa Roe, a prominent Aboriginal organization leader, stated that "70 per cent of funding coming into the Northern Territory comes from the federal government, and they are using that money as a weapon against us."[1] The dispute underscores broader performance concerns: recent data revealed the Northern Territory as the poorest-performing jurisdiction, with Indigenous-to-non-Indigenous outcome gaps deteriorating across eight key indicators.[1]
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Malarndirri McCarthy indicated in October that the government might impose financial penalties on states failing to meet their commitments.[1] The latest Closing the Gap annual report was set to be released.[1]