Dr LIM - 1997-02-20
A few weeks ago, I understand, the federal health minister, Hon Michael Wooldridge, visited Tennant Creek. I heard that the Minister for Health Services met with the federal minister in Tennant Creek and refused to sign an important agreement with him relating to Aboriginal health. Can the minister tell us why he refused to sign the agreement?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is true that I met with the federal health minister recently in Tennant Creek to continue discussions on the signing of a framework agreement to improve cooperation and better focus of resources with regard to Aboriginal health issues. In respect of this framework agreement, there are 2 issues: to what are we agreeing and with whom are we agreeing? We were assured at the outset that it is largely a symbolic agreement. I can confidently say that the Territory government has no difficulty with the thrust of the agreement. The 3 funding providers which were to be signatories to the agreement - the federal government, the Northern Territory government and ATSIC - aimed to remove duplication and poor focusing of resources. We were assured there were no funding ramifications in the document itself at the outset.
However, on closer perusal and after speaking to the federal minister, I am not convinced that any funding we obtain from the Commonwealth will not have some effect on our untied grants. We have had considerable experience of the Commonwealth starting off some programs without any assurance of recurrent funding. I explained to the federal minister that our first priority in relation to Aboriginal health funding is the $38m in MBS funding by
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which the federal government is shortchanging the Territory government. I believe the Commonwealth has a moral obligation to ensure that per capita MBS funding to the Northern Territory is on a par with that provided to southern Australia.
The other difficulty is that, with some sense of afterthought I believe, the Commonwealth has now introduced another signatory, an organisation called AMSANT. I think Minister Wooldridge is now far more enlightened as to the reasons why the Territory government opposes AMSANT being a co- signatory with the 3 providers. AMSANT represents a group of recipients - approximately 11 Commonwealth-funded health services. I have explained to the federal minister that we are happy to consult in any forum with any organisation, including AMSANT, and I do not denigrate any of the work that it does. However, given the nature of the Northern Territory, we do not believe it should be elevated to a position of superiority against any other health service.
We take great pride in the fact that there are some 63 remote health services in the Northern Territory. We believe that we have very good communications directly with each of them. I have explained to the federal minister that to elevate one organisation, such as AMSANT, is to run into the same difficulty that the previous federal government experienced, believing that it could somehow identify one body that represents all Aboriginal people. Of course, that is not the case. That is the sticking point at the moment. I believe the federal minister now has a far greater appreciation of the Territory's problems. I am hoping that we will be able to progress discussions to some solution in the near future.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is true that I met with the federal health minister recently in Tennant Creek to continue discussions on the signing of a framework agreement to improve cooperation and better focus of resources with regard to Aboriginal health issues. In respect of this framework agreement, there are 2 issues: to what are we agreeing and with whom are we agreeing? We were assured at the outset that it is largely a symbolic agreement. I can confidently say that the Territory government has no difficulty with the thrust of the agreement. The 3 funding providers which were to be signatories to the agreement - the federal government, the Northern Territory government and ATSIC - aimed to remove duplication and poor focusing of resources. We were assured there were no funding ramifications in the document itself at the outset.
However, on closer perusal and after speaking to the federal minister, I am not convinced that any funding we obtain from the Commonwealth will not have some effect on our untied grants. We have had considerable experience of the Commonwealth starting off some programs without any assurance of recurrent funding. I explained to the federal minister that our first priority in relation to Aboriginal health funding is the $38m in MBS funding by
Page 1936
which the federal government is shortchanging the Territory government. I believe the Commonwealth has a moral obligation to ensure that per capita MBS funding to the Northern Territory is on a par with that provided to southern Australia.
The other difficulty is that, with some sense of afterthought I believe, the Commonwealth has now introduced another signatory, an organisation called AMSANT. I think Minister Wooldridge is now far more enlightened as to the reasons why the Territory government opposes AMSANT being a co- signatory with the 3 providers. AMSANT represents a group of recipients - approximately 11 Commonwealth-funded health services. I have explained to the federal minister that we are happy to consult in any forum with any organisation, including AMSANT, and I do not denigrate any of the work that it does. However, given the nature of the Northern Territory, we do not believe it should be elevated to a position of superiority against any other health service.
We take great pride in the fact that there are some 63 remote health services in the Northern Territory. We believe that we have very good communications directly with each of them. I have explained to the federal minister that to elevate one organisation, such as AMSANT, is to run into the same difficulty that the previous federal government experienced, believing that it could somehow identify one body that represents all Aboriginal people. Of course, that is not the case. That is the sticking point at the moment. I believe the federal minister now has a far greater appreciation of the Territory's problems. I am hoping that we will be able to progress discussions to some solution in the near future.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016