A Top End ranger group is calling on the Northern Territory Government to increase support to remote Indigenous outstations amid speculation the Government is about to turn its back on hundreds of small communities.
The Government is set to announce its new vision for outstations and the delivery of remote services tomorrow, but Fairfax Media is reporting that government-supported services, such as housing, schools and medical services, will be consolidated into 20 larger communities.
More than 500 outstations will no longer receive many of these services, the report says, marking an end to the 1970s "homelands movement", which enabled many Aboriginal people to move back to their ancestral lands.
Joe Morrison from the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance says tomorrow's announcement will be a watershed moment but he is fearful it could slash funding and services to small and remote outstations.
The alliance is trying to develop more ranger work in outstations to help end Indigenous disadvantage and also benefit the environment.
"I do think that they have got to maintain an open policy and an open mind in relation to outstations," Mr Morrison said.
A medical study released this week found that Indigenous people living and working on their traditional lands are less likely to develop chronic health problems.
Mr Morrison is calling for tens of millions of dollars to be invested in outstations.
"They need to direct some significant funds into investing in people who are living in remote locations.
"Anywhere in the order of $20 to 50 million annually in relation to supporting people who are looking at opportunities on their lands and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and also looking at innovative development options."
The Government needs to look beyond the high cost of delivering education and health services to remote outstations, he says.
"This is part of the debate that needs to happen and it hasn't really happened," he said.
"There's been a one-sided dialogue going on where it's been largely around the cost of providing services but it dismisses the other benefits.
"We know that cost of services in overcrowded communities is going to go up as well because people are getting forced into these large communities from outstations."
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