Mr KNIGHT - 2006-06-15
Yesterday, you outlined the need for a national initiative for a generational 20-year plan to make significant gains in closing the gap in Aboriginal disadvantage. What is our government doing to deliver action on the key foundation areas for the priority communities such as Wadeye and the Alice Springs town camps?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank one of those proud members of our government for asking the question - thanks, member for Daly. We had quite a discussion in here yesterday about the 20-year generational plan that I am proposing to other state governments and the federal government. It was interesting, there was a lot of negativity from that side of the House ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker! Why the generalisation? Yesterday, I asked …
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Please continue, Chief Minister.
Ms MARTIN: What was interesting this morning, I did an interview with TopFM’s Daryl Manzie, who served in this House from 1983 to 2001. He said: ‘This is what we have been waiting for’, and he was so enthusiastic and so positive. He said: ‘I tried to get up, for example, a national housing strategy and I could not get that up’. He also said: ‘This plan is what it takes’. Thank you, Daryl Manzie. Your support and your knowledge of why we need this is a real fillip to what we are doing.
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: As I outlined yesterday, I have talked to the Prime Minister, I have discussed with the Prime Minister the …
Members interjecting.
Ms Carney interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition! I remind members of Standing Order 51, which says: ‘… make any noise or disturbance which, in the opinion of the Speaker, is designed to interrupt or has the effect of interrupting the member speaking’. An interjection here and there is acceptable but, please, you are clearly interrupting to stop the Chief Minister speaking. Please continue, Chief Minister.
Ms MARTIN: Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker. It is an important for Australia that we grasp this opportunity for a national plan for generational change in our Aboriginal communities. I will be talking to governments over the next weeks, taking the plan to COAG and, hopefully, if I get agreement - and that is going to depend on the Prime Minister - then do that detailed work over the next four to six months and go back to COAG at the beginning of next year.
The member for Braitling asked yesterday, ‘What are we doing immediately?’ A lot of things were outlined about what we are doing immediately. I refer the member to the debate yesterday, ranging from education, regional development, police, justice and health. A lot of initiatives are taking place. We, of course, would like to do more, and that is why I am talking to the federal government. I refer you to the Agenda for Action. It is a very substantial document. It is not just a document, it is about actions. More recently, we have had the initiatives such as the joint police/FACS task force into child abuse, and then legislative actions to address gang violence. A lot of action is happening as, over the last five years, that which has been taken immediately.
However, in what we can do while we look at a longer term plan, a few weeks ago I put to the Indigenous Affairs minister, Mal Brough, that we should have action right now on key foundation areas. They are the important areas for the Territory of law and order, government, alcohol abuse, overcrowded housing and welfare reform. We have split those into what the Territory will do and what the Commonwealth needs to do. We are having detailed discussions about those.
This is not just about an ask for more dollars, particularly if you talk about welfare reform, it is how those dollars go. We have been quite specific about what we will do and what we need the federal government to do. I know the Opposition Leader said yesterday in debate that there is no need for more money ...
Ms Carney: I did not say that. Get it right.
Ms MARTIN: We dispute that. No need for more money from the federal government, no need. Anyone who says that simply has their head in the sand ...
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker! Enough is enough! I did not say yesterday that there is no need for more money, and the Chief Minister needs to do much better than mislead the House and Territorians.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker! The Leader of the Opposition just accused or alleged that the Chief Minister has misled the House. She should withdraw that. She knows she can only do that by way of substantive motion.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I ask you to withdraw that comment.
Ms CARNEY: I withdraw it, Mr Acting Speaker, and ask that the Chief Minister tell the truth.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, do you withdraw the statement unreservedly?
Ms CARNEY: I withdraw it, yes, Mr Acting Speaker.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, do you withdraw it unreservedly?
Ms CARNEY: Yes, Mr Acting Speaker.
Ms MARTIN: It is good to hear from the Leader of the Opposition that she has changed her mind and she will support us in asking the federal government for more assistance for indigenous issues across the Territory.
In addition to these foundation areas I have been discussing both with the Prime Minister and the Indigenous Affairs minister, we have also proposed actions for priority communities, such as Wadeye and Alice Springs. We have received a proposal from the Australian government for what is called an ‘intensive intervention’ in Galiwinku. I have given a commitment to the federal government we will work with them on that, that is fine. However, while I endorse that initiative, I believe that the priority for such intensive intervention is the community of Wadeye. It is our largest Aboriginal community and, for the last three years, it has been the subject of the COAG trial.
We need to work with the federal government on the chronic housing shortage there. We need to work on community safety initiatives. We need to look at meaningful activities for the young people, both activities and work. We would like to link this to the government’s welfare agenda, but also to the CDEP programs. We have asked for the remote area exemption to be lifted in Wadeye and for the federal government to fund another 100 jobs into that community.
While we welcome Galiwinku – that is terrific - we do not want the federal government’s attention taken away from Wadeye. It has been a COAG trial. We cannot say, because the outcomes we wanted in three years had not achieved: ‘Okay, Wadeye, let us look somewhere else’. What I am saying to the Indigenous Affairs minister is: welcome, Galiwinku, welcome the work we are doing together on Alice Springs, particularly on the town camps, but important to this Territory and our future is Wadeye.
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank one of those proud members of our government for asking the question - thanks, member for Daly. We had quite a discussion in here yesterday about the 20-year generational plan that I am proposing to other state governments and the federal government. It was interesting, there was a lot of negativity from that side of the House ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker! Why the generalisation? Yesterday, I asked …
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Please continue, Chief Minister.
Ms MARTIN: What was interesting this morning, I did an interview with TopFM’s Daryl Manzie, who served in this House from 1983 to 2001. He said: ‘This is what we have been waiting for’, and he was so enthusiastic and so positive. He said: ‘I tried to get up, for example, a national housing strategy and I could not get that up’. He also said: ‘This plan is what it takes’. Thank you, Daryl Manzie. Your support and your knowledge of why we need this is a real fillip to what we are doing.
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: As I outlined yesterday, I have talked to the Prime Minister, I have discussed with the Prime Minister the …
Members interjecting.
Ms Carney interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition! I remind members of Standing Order 51, which says: ‘… make any noise or disturbance which, in the opinion of the Speaker, is designed to interrupt or has the effect of interrupting the member speaking’. An interjection here and there is acceptable but, please, you are clearly interrupting to stop the Chief Minister speaking. Please continue, Chief Minister.
Ms MARTIN: Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker. It is an important for Australia that we grasp this opportunity for a national plan for generational change in our Aboriginal communities. I will be talking to governments over the next weeks, taking the plan to COAG and, hopefully, if I get agreement - and that is going to depend on the Prime Minister - then do that detailed work over the next four to six months and go back to COAG at the beginning of next year.
The member for Braitling asked yesterday, ‘What are we doing immediately?’ A lot of things were outlined about what we are doing immediately. I refer the member to the debate yesterday, ranging from education, regional development, police, justice and health. A lot of initiatives are taking place. We, of course, would like to do more, and that is why I am talking to the federal government. I refer you to the Agenda for Action. It is a very substantial document. It is not just a document, it is about actions. More recently, we have had the initiatives such as the joint police/FACS task force into child abuse, and then legislative actions to address gang violence. A lot of action is happening as, over the last five years, that which has been taken immediately.
However, in what we can do while we look at a longer term plan, a few weeks ago I put to the Indigenous Affairs minister, Mal Brough, that we should have action right now on key foundation areas. They are the important areas for the Territory of law and order, government, alcohol abuse, overcrowded housing and welfare reform. We have split those into what the Territory will do and what the Commonwealth needs to do. We are having detailed discussions about those.
This is not just about an ask for more dollars, particularly if you talk about welfare reform, it is how those dollars go. We have been quite specific about what we will do and what we need the federal government to do. I know the Opposition Leader said yesterday in debate that there is no need for more money ...
Ms Carney: I did not say that. Get it right.
Ms MARTIN: We dispute that. No need for more money from the federal government, no need. Anyone who says that simply has their head in the sand ...
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker! Enough is enough! I did not say yesterday that there is no need for more money, and the Chief Minister needs to do much better than mislead the House and Territorians.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker! The Leader of the Opposition just accused or alleged that the Chief Minister has misled the House. She should withdraw that. She knows she can only do that by way of substantive motion.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I ask you to withdraw that comment.
Ms CARNEY: I withdraw it, Mr Acting Speaker, and ask that the Chief Minister tell the truth.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, do you withdraw the statement unreservedly?
Ms CARNEY: I withdraw it, yes, Mr Acting Speaker.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, do you withdraw it unreservedly?
Ms CARNEY: Yes, Mr Acting Speaker.
Ms MARTIN: It is good to hear from the Leader of the Opposition that she has changed her mind and she will support us in asking the federal government for more assistance for indigenous issues across the Territory.
In addition to these foundation areas I have been discussing both with the Prime Minister and the Indigenous Affairs minister, we have also proposed actions for priority communities, such as Wadeye and Alice Springs. We have received a proposal from the Australian government for what is called an ‘intensive intervention’ in Galiwinku. I have given a commitment to the federal government we will work with them on that, that is fine. However, while I endorse that initiative, I believe that the priority for such intensive intervention is the community of Wadeye. It is our largest Aboriginal community and, for the last three years, it has been the subject of the COAG trial.
We need to work with the federal government on the chronic housing shortage there. We need to work on community safety initiatives. We need to look at meaningful activities for the young people, both activities and work. We would like to link this to the government’s welfare agenda, but also to the CDEP programs. We have asked for the remote area exemption to be lifted in Wadeye and for the federal government to fund another 100 jobs into that community.
While we welcome Galiwinku – that is terrific - we do not want the federal government’s attention taken away from Wadeye. It has been a COAG trial. We cannot say, because the outcomes we wanted in three years had not achieved: ‘Okay, Wadeye, let us look somewhere else’. What I am saying to the Indigenous Affairs minister is: welcome, Galiwinku, welcome the work we are doing together on Alice Springs, particularly on the town camps, but important to this Territory and our future is Wadeye.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016