Arabic version: غالاغر تضغط على الإقليم الشمالي بشأن التمويل الاتحادي
According to ABC News, Federal Finance Minister Katy Gallagher travelled to Darwin to meet Acting Chief Minister Gerard Maley over Commonwealth concerns about how federally funded programs are being administered in the Northern Territory. More than 70 per cent of the NT government’s revenue comes from the Commonwealth. Gallagher and Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy had planned to meet Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, who is on leave.
Gallagher said the Commonwealth had concerns across several portfolios, including disaster relief, domestic violence service provision and housing. Federal parliament heard last month that $330 million allocated through a Commonwealth housing agreement had not been spent. The NT government is also seeking to cut its 10-year housing target from 2,700 to 1,800.
Gallagher said delays or reductions in the territory’s own spending were concerning, particularly as the NT was going backwards on seven Closing the Gap targets. She said the Commonwealth could directly fund frontline organisations if money did not reach where it was needed, adding that federal investments should support housing, overcrowding and domestic, family and sexual violence services.
Maley said it was “a bit rich” for Gallagher to “come up here and tell us what to do”. He renewed calls for a full audit of programs directly funded by the Commonwealth, saying the federal government should examine where its own funding was spent. A spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Minister described the meeting as productive but said the federal ministers had arrived with “closed minds and pre-prepared press lines”.
Gallagher also said the NT had not applied for disaster relief funding for events from last year, including disasters in November 2025. The territory experienced Cyclone Fina and floods during the most recent wet season, displacing hundreds of people. She said the NT government had committed to submitting paperwork for relevant projects by Christmas.
