NT government confirms option on the table to build more houses, infrastructure outside of Wadeye

The remote community of Wadeye is home to 22 different clan groups.  (ABC News: Hamish Harty)

A major plan is being formulated between the NT government and traditional owners to help people move out of the remote community of Wadeye, following years of tumultuous social unrest.

If the Rural Living Hub Model progressed, it would support residents who want to move away from Wadeye to its surrounding homelands, with the promise of new housing and infrastructure.

A project on such a scale would likely carry a price tag in the tens of millions of dollars at the very least.

"The NT government is exploring future living and service delivery options for residents of the Thamarrurr region," a government spokesperson said.

"Many traditional owners, residents and service providers have expressed [that] there needs to be a rethink of current living and service delivery arrangements for the region to better reflect community aspirations and support stronger, safer and more harmonious communities."

Wadeye is one of the NT's largest Aboriginal communities, with a population of more than 2,000.

For many years, ongoing clan rivalries have seen Wadeye torn by large, sporadic, and often violent disturbances, including a 2022 riot in which a 33-year-old man was killed.

Plan includes greater access to transport, food

The NT government has revealed there are at least two options being discussed which could help forge Wadeye's future, with "extensive consultations" promised to take place in the community.

The government said the Rural Living Hub Model would aim to give "residents more opportunity to live outside of Wadeye, on homelands or in rural living hubs".

As well as housing, the plan would include "better transport links and decentralised service delivery so people can access food, health, education and other services without having to go into Wadeye".

Another option on the table is to create new "small service hubs located in key areas" of Wadeye, rather than all residents having to rely on the community's sole supermarket.

Wadeye residents respond to plans

Kardu Diminin traditional owner Margaret Perdjert said she believed many of Wadeye's residents would support the move to bolster infrastructure on the region's homelands.

"We should have more houses out at homelands so people can go out to their homelands and stay out there," Ms Perdjert said.

"Staying in Wadeye is not a good place for young people, so in the dry season, people can go back to the homelands.

"It's good to get away from the troubles."

Ms Perdjert's comments come two days after Wadeye school's trade centre was destroyed in a fire, leading to the arrests of a 20-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman.

The chief executive of Wadeye's Kardu Diminin Corporation, Jake Clark, said while there was no doubt there needed to be options for residents, he believed there was "no silver bullet" solution.

"There will always be a mix of views on how people want to live, often driven by circumstance and emotion at the time," Mr Clark said.

"We need to provide options for all people including on outstations.

"There's no silver bullet fix here and pushing people out to the homelands won't cure the conflict overall. We need to improve services in the town.

"People want a better life and we need to give them hope that things will be better."

The ABC understands NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler is scheduled to visit Wadeye for community cabinet meetings with members of her ministerial wing later this month.