Senators on a roadshow of hearings about the federal government's proposed next phase of the Northern Territory intervention believe there's been "substandard" consultation with Aboriginal communities about the draft laws.
A Senate committee scrutinising the government's Stronger Futures legislation, which would extend the intervention begun under the Howard Coalition government to prevent violence and alcohol abuse in the NT, is travelling around the Northern Territory this week.
Australian Greens senator Rachel Siewert said on Wednesday there were question marks over the consultation process with Aboriginal communities.
"What is really clear from the people we've been speaking to is that consultation around this legislation was substandard," the committee member told AAP.
An elder from an outstation, 300km outside of Alice Springs, told the inquiry on Tuesday he had been completely unaware of the legislation until the Land Council told him in November, after the legislation was already tabled in parliament.
"This stands in stark contrast to the claims made by the government over its extensive consultation with Aboriginal communities," Senator Siewert said.
Opposition indigenous affairs spokesman Nigel Scullion has also raised concerns about the consultation process.
He said Monday's hearings in Ntaria, about 130km west of Alice Springs, "had been a waste of time".
The committee spent most of the day explaining the legislation to the community because they had not been consulted properly, Senator Scullion told ABC Radio.
Senator Siewert said many people from NT communities were worried about the impact of the new laws, in particular increased overcrowding in larger centres and town camps.
She said small remote homeland communities were being overlooked for services and resources in favour of larger hub towns.
The draft Stronger Futures laws will continue alcohol restrictions and introduce 18-month jail terms for Aboriginal people caught carrying more than 1.35 litres of alcohol and six-month sentences for possessing alcohol in certain areas.
Under the government's plan, there will also be a NT-wide extension of a controversial pilot scheme, known as the Student Enrolment and Attendance Measure (SEAM), that links school truancy with cuts to parents' welfare payments.
A federal departmental evaluation released in February found the trial in 14 NT schools and 30 Queensland schools did not improve school attendance.
The Greens oppose the draft legislation and would move to have it heavily amended, Senator Siewert said.
She foreshadowed amendments to the SEAM aspect of the legislation, allowing judges to consider customary law in sentencing and bail of Aboriginal people as well as the alcohol provisions and penalty levels.
Senator Siewert hopes the government budget will commit resources to the Stronger Futures program, before the Senate is asked to vote for the legislation.
The legislation is expected to be passed before August.
The Senate inquiry is in the Aboriginal community of Maningrida on Wednesday and heads to Darwin for the rest of the week.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin has defended the government's consultation process.
Departmental officials consulted 100 communities, however transcripts of hearings have not been publicly released.
"I am confident that the consultation process was thorough and fair," she said in a statement.
"Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory have been clear with me that having their kids go to school and get a decent education, having jobs for local people and tackling alcohol abuse are the priority issues for them in building a stronger future," she said in a statement.
The process was monitored by independent quality assurance consultants, Ms Macklin said.
She said the government worked closely with an Aboriginal interpreter service so that trained interpreters were on hand to assist most of the whole-of-community meetings.
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