By PETER ROWE

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement on Friday of new funding to address domestic violence in the Northern Territory has been been dismissed by advocates, who argue funding has to be needs-based and not population-based.

The NT has the worst domestic and family violence rates in Australia with homicide rates seven times higher than the national average.

The Federal government announced a $4.7 billion package to increase domestic and family violence services this week, but NT-based domestic violence workers have expressed disappointment at the plan.

Rachel Neary, a member of a steering committee of the Central Australian Family Violence and Sexual Assault Network, told the ABC the funding was “not needs-based”.

“It’s population-based,” she said. “Which will mean that the territory will miss out on a significant chunk of that money.”

The announcement has prompted new NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro to lobby the Commonwealth for needs-based funding.

“We’ve been very clear that the territory is over-represented in domestic violence statistics,” she said.

An Indigenous woman was allegedly killed by her partner in Darwin late last month – a day after welfare report was made to emergency services.

“We have organisations running on the smell of an oily rag, doing everything they possibly can but it’s just not enough,” Ms Neary told the ABC.