Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney will finally consider a proposal to fund a boarding facility at a school in the Northern Territory to help support disadvantaged students.
On Tuesday afternoon, Ms Burney said a proposal from Yipirinya School would be assessed on merits by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and the Department of Education.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, whose mother works at the school, has been an enthusiastic campaigner for funding. repeatedly described as a ‘shovel-ready’ example of how government can make a practical difference to the lives of disadvantaged Australians.
Ms Nampijinpa Price expressed concern that the proposal, which would provide at-risk students with a bed and supervision on campus if they wanted to stay overnight, was ignored in favor of pursuing the Voice referendum.
Funding for Yipirinya School has been enthusiastically campaigned by Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price
Bess Nungarrayi Price, a Warlpiri woman and the mother of Mrs Nampijinpa Price, is the assistant principal of the school.
“These students come from a hard, hard lifestyle. Some of them barely have a good night’s sleep and (there’s) everything else that happens in those city camps,” she said in January.
An opposition insider told Daily Mail Australia the timing of the announcement – days after the referendum – had not gone unnoticed.
Yipirinya School principal Dr Gavin John Morris previously raised concerns that the project was not prioritized due to Ms Nampijinpa Price’s advocacy.
Following the announcement, Ms Nampijinpa Price said the government had ‘put everything on hold while it continued with its proper referendum’, at a time when it could have ‘taken real action for those children who desperately need help’.
‘The Labor government has had a proposal on the table from Yipirinya School for months and is now pushing it even further astray.
This is either a sign of a lazy minister or someone who is afraid to take action,” she said.
Dr. Yipirinya School principal Gavin John Morris told a cost of living inquiry in Alice Springs in August that the delay in processing his request had meant it was essentially no longer feasible.
Ms Burney said: “Listening to the views of people in Central Australia is an important step and consistent with the approach we are taking in our plan for a better, safer future for Central Australia.
“It is important to understand the current supply of supported student housing, existing expansion proposals and the needs of remote students.”
The proposals – if successful – would be funded as part of a $250 million Labor government package to improve the lives of Central Australians.
Assessments on the potential of the proposals and advice on whether the Government should continue to fund them will be delivered by the end of the year.
Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour jointly announced the commitment, saying: “It is very important that we work to meet the boarding needs and views of the local community in Central Australia.
“This approach is aimed at ensuring that federal funding is targeted, accountable and aligned with community needs.”
Education Minister Jason Clare also backed the initiative. A spokesperson for Mr Clare said: “The review will consider existing proposals to establish, expand or improve boarding houses to achieve the best outcome for the entire Central Australian community.
“The government has listened to the local community on these important issues.”
But it’s unclear whether the proposal will even be viable anymore.
Ms Burney said a proposal from Yipirinya School would be assessed on merits by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and the Department of Education.
Dr. Morris told a cost of living inquiry in Alice Springs in August that the delay in processing his request had meant it was essentially no longer feasible.
The project initially cost $8 million and the school hoped it would soon see some of the money as part of the government’s commitment to help Alice Springs.
But because the length of lead times often took months and years, Dr. Morris said “by the time you put the shovel in the ground (after getting approval), the price has gone up tremendously.
“
As for the boarding school, an estimate of $8 million was given in May 2022. Now that same project would cost approximately $12.1 million, meaning that even if the government were to approve the original request, it would not now cover the costs.
“That model is now off the table,” Dr Morris told the inquiry. “It would have been a very important piece of our puzzle.”
With 300 students, Yipirinya has 38 school buses that travel 7,500 km per week to drop off and pick up students, all receiving three meals a day – 800 to 900 per day.
One of the bus routes takes 2.5 hours each way.
Bess Nungarrayi Price, a Warlpiri woman and the mother of Mrs. Nampijinpa Price, is the assistant principal of the school and knows all too well the hardships the students face
The school receives federal funding of about $35,000 to $40,000 per student, but that’s not far under current circumstances. Attracting high-quality teaching staff is also an ongoing challenge.
Ms Nampijinpa Price said during the campaign that she feared ‘real issues were being sidelined’ as the government ‘steamed towards the referendum’.
In June, before the Voice campaign reached maximum capacity, Ms Nampijinpa Price told Daily Mail Australia there were several proposals “similar to this, across the country, coming from citizens at the grassroots”.
She said Yipirinya’s request had been on the government’s desk for months.
“These people know what the needs are in their community,” she said.
“It is our job to ensure that these proposals are listened to and supported on their merits. There are problems that can be addressed immediately. But unfortunately the government is so focused on putting all its eggs in one basket when it comes to the Voice.”