NT: Remote aboriginal community loses government funded bus

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-1999
NT: Remote aboriginal community loses government funded bus

By Catharine Munro

DARWIN, Dec 10 AAP - A remote Aboriginal community has lost its government-funded school
bus because it boycotted a service provided by an outside operator.

The Northern Territory government and the Manyallaluk Community, outside the town of
Katherine, has been in a stand-off all year over the government's decision to award the
school bus tender to a private operator, Buslink, instead of local aborigines.

Buslink, owned by the Darwin-based Hannon Group, won the tender, despite charging $22,000
more a year than the community and despite the government having a policy of supporting
Aborigines running businesses that serve their own communities.

Education Minister Peter Adamson said he would axe Buslink's $99,000-a-year service
at the end of the school year next Friday because the local community were boycotting
it.

"It's just wasting government money to be driving a government bus with no kids on
it," Mr Adamson said.

Since March, a bus, empty but for its driver, has made two daily trips totalling 450
kilometres from Katherine to Manyallaluk to the nearest school at Barunga.

Meanwhile families from the community of about 150 people sent about 20 of their children
to school at Barunga on a bus they borrowed from the local tourist business, covering
a total distance each day of only 200 kilometres.

They are boycotting Buslink because they claim the government awarded the tender unfairly
at a rate $22,000 a year more than for what Manyallaluk was offering to provide the service.

As well, the government had undermined Aborigines' efforts to become financially independent,
according to community leader Robert Lee.

"It's about keeping the economy with the local communities," Mr Lee said.

The disagreement started because the community had been promised that they could keep
their contract without submitting a tender.

The education minister said the community had been given a verbal assurance by his
department that the school bus service contract could be extended for another year while
the community saved up for a new bus, needed to meet the requirements of a new contract.

However, Buslink submitted a tender, which was signed by a separate board responsible
for awarding tenders.

Mr Adamson said he would not support his department by continuing the Manyallaluk's
contract next year.

"At the moment they (the community) are acting in bad faith," Mr Adamson said.

"They wasted taxpayers' dollars, they haven't been prepared to co-operate so far and
quite frankly I don't think policy should be done by ransom."

AAP cm/bm/de

KEYWORD: BUS

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