NT government will pour $90 million into the Police force

The NT government will pour an extra 90 million dollars a year into the police force, as part of tomorrow's territory budget.

Transcript

00:00 All smiles and selfies as Eva Lawler puts the final touches on a pre-election budget,

00:07 laser focused on fighting crime.

00:10 You'll see $570 million invested in police over five years.

00:15 The Chief Minister and Treasurer making a pitch to voters that Labor is aggressively tackling a hot button issue

00:22 with just over three months to go until polling day.

00:25 It will be the largest investment in police ever in the history of the Northern Territory.

00:30 The government hoping the almost $90 million top up this financial year will make a big difference on the front line,

00:37 funding new all-terrain vehicles, recruiting 200 more officers and hiring more staff for emergency hotlines.

00:44 It follows on from big spending announcements on education, land for housing and corrective services.

00:51 The extra funding for police welcomed with reservations.

00:55 There's been no consultation by this government in relation to what the $90 million is going to entail

01:00 and how that's going to look for our members.

01:02 It'll be up to the Commissioner then to work out how that's spent.

01:05 The opposition says the big spend on police shows the government has lost control of crime.

01:10 Of course they've been underfunded right across the board resulting in mass exodus of police

01:16 and an inability for our police to keep up with demand.

01:19 But while police will continue their funding increase from last year,

01:23 the Territory's beleaguered health system has been put on notice.

01:27 The Chief vowing to scrutinise an apparent budget blowout.

01:30 It is a tough area in health to keep your budget under control.

01:34 This is a make or break budget for a Labor government hoping to win a third term in just three months' time.

01:40 But there's also the high chance that whichever party wins power at the August poll

01:44 will hand down a revised budget later this year and that might not be so much of a cash splash.

01:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]