Mr BALDWIN - 1996-09-17
Is he aware of the campaign of misinformation being run by members opposite which is designed to scare our Aboriginal communities? What are the facts behind the Commonwealth's funding of ATSIC, an area the ALP claims has been cut savagely by the Howard government?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it was with interest that I listened to the Chief Minister's previous answer wherein he quoted comments made by the Leader of the Opposition on radio on 6 September this year claiming that the opposition would not indulge in a campaign of dirty tricks in the Stuart by-election. I point out that, on the very same day, 6 September, the Leader of the Opposition was indulging in those very same tactics by sending a letter to all community government councils in the Northern Territory, promoting fear and terror among those communities with completely inaccurate statements in relation to the ATSIC budget cuts, hoping to foment trouble in those communities. I will quote part of this letter:
Community planning, women's resource centres, enterprise programs, training programs - all of these
programs and many organisations that have supported them are frozen or face the axe. Shane Stone and the
Country Liberal Party supported all of these cuts.
She writes that without fairly explaining the ATSIC budget cuts and without fairly explaining the impact they will have. Firstly, the budget cuts total $78m this year and $382m over a 4-year period. However, to put that in context, ATSIC underspent its budget last year by $58m, the year before by $72.5m and the year before that by $51m, a total of $181.5m over 3 years and, on a 4-year rolling average, about $241m. In actual fact, over the 4 years, it will face budget cuts of around $40m. That, in terms ...
Mr Stirling: Rubbish!
Mr PALMER: $140m, I am sorry.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr Bailey: Only $100m out!
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wanguri, in particular, and also the member for Nhulunbuy, are continuing to carry their interjections way beyond the level that I would expect. I warn both of them.
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Mr PALMER: The reason that there will be cuts to programs on communities is that the ATSIC commissioners have made decisions to cut those programs that will most hurt Aboriginal communities ...
Mrs Hickey: Nonsense!
Mr PALMER: They have cut those programs that will most harm the government politically, without addressing the real problem with ATSIC, and that is the $135m it spends in Canberra each year on administrative expenses. It had an absolutely absurd travel budget on which 36 commissioners went to Geneva ...
Members interjecting.
Mr PALMER: It is interesting that, in talking to Aboriginal councils and talking to Aboriginal people, they are absolutely horrified by the underexpenditure figures and they are equally horrified that 36 commissioners would go to Geneva while the communities cannot get trainers and programs. In fact, there is a real backlash in Aboriginal communities against ATSIC and against what ATSIC is doing to them. There is a growing recognition that the ATSIC fat needs to be cut, and it needs to be cut in Canberra.
There are in excess of 350 jobs in ATSIC in Canberra. I do not know what all those people do. The housing needs rating for Aboriginal people in Canberra is zero. It is about time ATSIC looked at its programs. It is about time it looked at the fat in its budget and promptly redirected that fat where it is needed, and that is in the Aboriginal communities in the bush.
It ill behoves the Leader of the Opposition to circulate letters such as this, designed purely for the purpose of frightening Aboriginal people and designed purely with the hope of getting Labor's candidate up in the Stuart by- election. Let me tell her that there is every possibility that an ALP candidate will not get up in an election in Stuart ever again. As I said, there is a growing awareness in Aboriginal communities that these people do not represent them properly. All they do is engage in scare campaigns of this kind that, over the years, have never come to fruition. The Land Rights Act is still in place. The Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act is still in place. There has never been any attempt by this side of parliament to get rid of those acts or, indeed, to water them down. This sort of nonsense does members opposite no good in the eyes of the Aboriginal community or anybody else.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it was with interest that I listened to the Chief Minister's previous answer wherein he quoted comments made by the Leader of the Opposition on radio on 6 September this year claiming that the opposition would not indulge in a campaign of dirty tricks in the Stuart by-election. I point out that, on the very same day, 6 September, the Leader of the Opposition was indulging in those very same tactics by sending a letter to all community government councils in the Northern Territory, promoting fear and terror among those communities with completely inaccurate statements in relation to the ATSIC budget cuts, hoping to foment trouble in those communities. I will quote part of this letter:
Community planning, women's resource centres, enterprise programs, training programs - all of these
programs and many organisations that have supported them are frozen or face the axe. Shane Stone and the
Country Liberal Party supported all of these cuts.
She writes that without fairly explaining the ATSIC budget cuts and without fairly explaining the impact they will have. Firstly, the budget cuts total $78m this year and $382m over a 4-year period. However, to put that in context, ATSIC underspent its budget last year by $58m, the year before by $72.5m and the year before that by $51m, a total of $181.5m over 3 years and, on a 4-year rolling average, about $241m. In actual fact, over the 4 years, it will face budget cuts of around $40m. That, in terms ...
Mr Stirling: Rubbish!
Mr PALMER: $140m, I am sorry.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr Bailey: Only $100m out!
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wanguri, in particular, and also the member for Nhulunbuy, are continuing to carry their interjections way beyond the level that I would expect. I warn both of them.
Page 1585
Mr PALMER: The reason that there will be cuts to programs on communities is that the ATSIC commissioners have made decisions to cut those programs that will most hurt Aboriginal communities ...
Mrs Hickey: Nonsense!
Mr PALMER: They have cut those programs that will most harm the government politically, without addressing the real problem with ATSIC, and that is the $135m it spends in Canberra each year on administrative expenses. It had an absolutely absurd travel budget on which 36 commissioners went to Geneva ...
Members interjecting.
Mr PALMER: It is interesting that, in talking to Aboriginal councils and talking to Aboriginal people, they are absolutely horrified by the underexpenditure figures and they are equally horrified that 36 commissioners would go to Geneva while the communities cannot get trainers and programs. In fact, there is a real backlash in Aboriginal communities against ATSIC and against what ATSIC is doing to them. There is a growing recognition that the ATSIC fat needs to be cut, and it needs to be cut in Canberra.
There are in excess of 350 jobs in ATSIC in Canberra. I do not know what all those people do. The housing needs rating for Aboriginal people in Canberra is zero. It is about time ATSIC looked at its programs. It is about time it looked at the fat in its budget and promptly redirected that fat where it is needed, and that is in the Aboriginal communities in the bush.
It ill behoves the Leader of the Opposition to circulate letters such as this, designed purely for the purpose of frightening Aboriginal people and designed purely with the hope of getting Labor's candidate up in the Stuart by- election. Let me tell her that there is every possibility that an ALP candidate will not get up in an election in Stuart ever again. As I said, there is a growing awareness in Aboriginal communities that these people do not represent them properly. All they do is engage in scare campaigns of this kind that, over the years, have never come to fruition. The Land Rights Act is still in place. The Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act is still in place. There has never been any attempt by this side of parliament to get rid of those acts or, indeed, to water them down. This sort of nonsense does members opposite no good in the eyes of the Aboriginal community or anybody else.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016