The Wire

This week the Prime Minister’s grand action plan to clean up indigenous communities is going into action. The police, the army and a multitude of consultants are heading out bush to clean up the drug and alcohol situation in communities and get kids back to school. Meanwhile a program that organisers claim has exactly those sorts of outcomes has had to be cancelled for lack of funding. Crocfest is a three day annual festival for remote area children. This year there will be Crocfests held in every state but not in the Northern Territory. Producer Helen Sjoquist says that the Territory Crocfest has been cancelled due to lack of support funding from the Alice Springs Council and from the NT government. Craig Wilson from the council says the organisers weren’t happy with the venue offered to them. NT Education Minister Paul Henderson says his department has limited funding and has chosen to prioritise a football education program this year instead.