The MacDonnell Shire Council in the Northern Territory has come under criticism for its allegedly outsourcing some administrative jobs to India.

 

The council has reportedly allocated $100,000 for an Indian company to make calls from the southern Indian city of Chennai to monitor the council’s service delivery in remote communities such as Papunya and Hermannsburg.

 

The NT Minister for Local Government, Malarndirri McCarthy, has stated that she does not support the practice of offshore outsourcing and her department is investigating whether the council has breached procurement processes.

 

The MacDonnell Shire, headquartered in Alice Springs, covers around 269,000 square kilometres across southern Northern Territory (excluding the town of Alice Springs), and its 7,000 people live across 13 major remote communities and many outstations and commercial enterprises.