Ms LAWRIE - 2014-02-13
In December you headed off to Canberra, promising a wealth of benefits to Territorians from your special relationship with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, but what has the Territory got from this? We have a town effectively being shut down and you cannot even get the Prime Minister to visit. We have not one extra dollar in funding, and you even had to admit the federal government is paying attention to Queensland, not the Territory, when it comes to shaping its north Australia policy. You went to play with the big boys in Canberra, but they pushed you out of the sandpit. Why can you not persuade your federal mates of the benefits of investing in the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for her question. We have the Grinch going straight to the negative, talking about doom and gloom in the Northern Territory once again. It is the same every day. On our side of the Chamber we have been wondering when you will get a strategy and start debating policy in parliament rather than going straight to the negative every time.
Your bitter and ill-tempered approach to politics in the Northern Territory may continue. However, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has a solid policy approach to how he will support the Northern Territory. He is the only Prime Minister who has spoken about how he will support northern Australia. He has already put out the commitment to develop a green paper and a white paper, look at what can be done for infrastructure in the Northern Territory and support the growing economy which will be highly important for the nation, particularly as we seek to involve ourselves with greater dealings around Asia. You will see a Prime Minister and a federal government with the greatest level of commitment to the Northern Territory and northern Australia.
It is also interesting to reflect on his commitment to Indigenous Australians and what that means in Canberra. He has often described himself as an infrastructure Prime Minister, a Prime Minister about northern Australia, but he is also a Prime Minister for Aboriginal Australians and wants to see a significant change in the livelihood, welfare and advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders across the nation. I think you will see a greater level of investment and commitment to that.
Yesterday, Tony Abbott gave a Closing the Gap response in parliament which was a very sound response. It is interesting to see the comparison between what was tabled in the closing the gap response, particularly around Indigenous education, and look at the comparisons with Bruce Wilson’s Indigenous education review which was recently released. Both those reports identified Indigenous education in the Northern Territory is substantially behind and needs a substantial reform process.
Interestingly, I was watching the ABC 7.30 Report last night and there was a high degree of applause given to many Indigenous students from Queensland going to boarding schools and getting much better education outcomes. It is not a silver bullet, it is not the be-all and end-all, but it is a program initiative and policy approach which is helping so many Indigenous kids around Australia. We need to ensure we provide the best opportunity and outcome for those kids.
I am very firmly of the belief that Tony Abbott will be a good Prime Minister for the Northern Territory and northern Australia, and we are keen to work with the Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra as it is.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for her question. We have the Grinch going straight to the negative, talking about doom and gloom in the Northern Territory once again. It is the same every day. On our side of the Chamber we have been wondering when you will get a strategy and start debating policy in parliament rather than going straight to the negative every time.
Your bitter and ill-tempered approach to politics in the Northern Territory may continue. However, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has a solid policy approach to how he will support the Northern Territory. He is the only Prime Minister who has spoken about how he will support northern Australia. He has already put out the commitment to develop a green paper and a white paper, look at what can be done for infrastructure in the Northern Territory and support the growing economy which will be highly important for the nation, particularly as we seek to involve ourselves with greater dealings around Asia. You will see a Prime Minister and a federal government with the greatest level of commitment to the Northern Territory and northern Australia.
It is also interesting to reflect on his commitment to Indigenous Australians and what that means in Canberra. He has often described himself as an infrastructure Prime Minister, a Prime Minister about northern Australia, but he is also a Prime Minister for Aboriginal Australians and wants to see a significant change in the livelihood, welfare and advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders across the nation. I think you will see a greater level of investment and commitment to that.
Yesterday, Tony Abbott gave a Closing the Gap response in parliament which was a very sound response. It is interesting to see the comparison between what was tabled in the closing the gap response, particularly around Indigenous education, and look at the comparisons with Bruce Wilson’s Indigenous education review which was recently released. Both those reports identified Indigenous education in the Northern Territory is substantially behind and needs a substantial reform process.
Interestingly, I was watching the ABC 7.30 Report last night and there was a high degree of applause given to many Indigenous students from Queensland going to boarding schools and getting much better education outcomes. It is not a silver bullet, it is not the be-all and end-all, but it is a program initiative and policy approach which is helping so many Indigenous kids around Australia. We need to ensure we provide the best opportunity and outcome for those kids.
I am very firmly of the belief that Tony Abbott will be a good Prime Minister for the Northern Territory and northern Australia, and we are keen to work with the Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra as it is.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016