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Category: Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) / Small Business

Darwin night patrol at risk of closure

Thursday, 3 Nov 2016 15:31:28 | Jane Bardon

Night patrol coordinator David Kurnoth hopes the community will support Larrakia Nation. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)

Vital services that aim to reduce anti-social behaviour and assist some of Darwin's most disadvantaged people will be cancelled if Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation does not repay a $500,000 debt by December.

Key points:

  • Larrakia Nation making wide appeal for help
  • Aboriginal corporation has repaid $1.3 million in debts since June
  • Services including Night Patrol face uncertain future
 

As the deadline nears there are concerns the corporation will have to abandon some of the many programs it runs to help Aboriginal people, including aged care, homelessness services, and a night patrol which takes people who have been drinking to a shelter to sober up.

David Kurnoth is the Night Patrol coordinator and said Larrakia Nation staff are becoming increasingly worried.

"I don't think people really realise that there's no other single organisation in Darwin that could possibly take up that strain of taking on all of those programs," he said.

The corporation went into administration in June, weighed down by $1.8 million in debts, due primarily to its inability to recoup the cost of helping people travel back to remote communities under its Return To Country program.

The scheme assists indigenous people from remote communities who have had to live rough in Darwin after missing government-funded flights home after medical treatments, court appearances and football matches.

Those who were returned home were meant to repay the costs through deductions from welfare payments, but the process was riddled with problems including Centrelink's failure to sign some people up to make the repayments.

ORIC registrar Anthony Beven Photo: ORIC registrar Anthony Beven has told Larrakia Nation to elect a more skilled, independent board. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)

In July, the Country Liberals NT Government gave the program a financial bailout and renamed it Territory Connect, but the repayment problems persisted despite a new requirement that clients pay 30 per cent of their travel fare upfront.

Larrakia Nation also acted to reduce its budget black hole by cutting its cultural knowledge unit, shedding staff and other belt-tightening measures.

"We had at the start of the administration a $1.8 million dollar debt, we've reduced that to $0.5 million," Mr Kurnoth said.

The corporation is now racing to make further cuts and raise funds to pay off the remainder of the debt by next month.

It's being supported by the Indigenous Corporations watchdog, which put Larrakia Nation into administration, and ordered it to elect a more skilled and independent board.

"We need to have good strong skilled directors on the board of the corporation who are going to act in the best interests of all Larrakia, not just a particular family group," ORIC registrar Anthony Beven said.

Larrakia Nation's 100 staff hope to attract enough support to keep the corporation going.

"I would hope that this town would get behind such an amazing organisation and help us get through this," ranger Donna Jackson said.

AustraliaPlus


 

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