Ms ANDERSON - 2008-04-30
Next week will see the first budget since the adoption of the Closing the Gap policy by this government. Can the Chief Minister please inform the House of the Closing the Gap measures in the budget?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Macdonnell for her question. She is a passionate advocate on behalf of her electorate and indigenous people. We have acknowledged, as a government, that closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage is the biggest social issue facing the Northern Territory and, I also argue, one of the biggest economic issues facing the Northern Territory. We absolutely have to do that and we absolutely will, in conjunction, in partnership with the federal government, which also has a similar commitment to closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage.
Our plan was in response to the Little Children are Sacred report, but it was much more than that. It was done as a consequence of the Little Children are Sacred report but, over the years, listening to indigenous Territorians in the bush in our regional centres and in our urban centres across the Northern Territory, it is a comprehensive plan, an inter-generational plan. In housing, health, education, employment, and enterprise development across all areas and agencies of government, the message is clear: this is a core policy informing all areas of government.
I advise the House today that I have instructed the Cabinet Office that, in future, all Cabinet submissions will be required to have comments in them regarding how the particular submission moves the government’s Closing the Gap policy forward. That will be part of the Cabinet process; that all Cabinet submissions now will have comments about how the submission moves the Closing the Gap policy forward.
We are certainly demonstrating that in the budget - and ministers will talk about that over the course of the next week. Just two weeks ago, the federal Indigenous Affairs minister, Jenny Macklin, and I announced $647m for significant improvements to housing across 73 communities in the Northern Territory - the biggest housing program ever undertaken in the history of the Northern Territory. It is something that every single one of us here knows - and I also include members on the other side of the House - that the critical issues regarding the housing shortages and the state of housing in those indigenous communities absolutely has to be addressed. The federal and Territory governments are jointly putting in $647m over the next four years to build thousands of houses and upgrade many thousands more. It is a very significant commitment.
In education, we are working towards activating the Rudd Labor government’s commitment to 200 additional teachers - 50 are being advertised now. My colleague, the Education minister, will make a statement in this House later this afternoon on transforming indigenous education - an absolute commitment and acknowledgement that we have to do better, we have to do more. We have to get these indigenous kids to school and they have to achieve. It is absolutely core for the future of the Northern Territory that we do that.
Protecting women and children in the bush was an absolutely core theme that emerged from the Little Children are Sacred report. There will be an additional 24 police resources for the Child Abuse Task Force in this budget - $2.3m for increased policing in remote areas; $200 000 to expand the elders visiting program; as well as capital expenditure, such as building the police station at Galiwinku this year - significant extra resources for our police. There are also extra resources allocated to primary health care. All areas of the budget will see significant financial commitment by this government to closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage. As I said, it is the biggest social and economic issue facing the Northern Territory. We are committing ourselves to actually closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Macdonnell for her question. She is a passionate advocate on behalf of her electorate and indigenous people. We have acknowledged, as a government, that closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage is the biggest social issue facing the Northern Territory and, I also argue, one of the biggest economic issues facing the Northern Territory. We absolutely have to do that and we absolutely will, in conjunction, in partnership with the federal government, which also has a similar commitment to closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage.
Our plan was in response to the Little Children are Sacred report, but it was much more than that. It was done as a consequence of the Little Children are Sacred report but, over the years, listening to indigenous Territorians in the bush in our regional centres and in our urban centres across the Northern Territory, it is a comprehensive plan, an inter-generational plan. In housing, health, education, employment, and enterprise development across all areas and agencies of government, the message is clear: this is a core policy informing all areas of government.
I advise the House today that I have instructed the Cabinet Office that, in future, all Cabinet submissions will be required to have comments in them regarding how the particular submission moves the government’s Closing the Gap policy forward. That will be part of the Cabinet process; that all Cabinet submissions now will have comments about how the submission moves the Closing the Gap policy forward.
We are certainly demonstrating that in the budget - and ministers will talk about that over the course of the next week. Just two weeks ago, the federal Indigenous Affairs minister, Jenny Macklin, and I announced $647m for significant improvements to housing across 73 communities in the Northern Territory - the biggest housing program ever undertaken in the history of the Northern Territory. It is something that every single one of us here knows - and I also include members on the other side of the House - that the critical issues regarding the housing shortages and the state of housing in those indigenous communities absolutely has to be addressed. The federal and Territory governments are jointly putting in $647m over the next four years to build thousands of houses and upgrade many thousands more. It is a very significant commitment.
In education, we are working towards activating the Rudd Labor government’s commitment to 200 additional teachers - 50 are being advertised now. My colleague, the Education minister, will make a statement in this House later this afternoon on transforming indigenous education - an absolute commitment and acknowledgement that we have to do better, we have to do more. We have to get these indigenous kids to school and they have to achieve. It is absolutely core for the future of the Northern Territory that we do that.
Protecting women and children in the bush was an absolutely core theme that emerged from the Little Children are Sacred report. There will be an additional 24 police resources for the Child Abuse Task Force in this budget - $2.3m for increased policing in remote areas; $200 000 to expand the elders visiting program; as well as capital expenditure, such as building the police station at Galiwinku this year - significant extra resources for our police. There are also extra resources allocated to primary health care. All areas of the budget will see significant financial commitment by this government to closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage. As I said, it is the biggest social and economic issue facing the Northern Territory. We are committing ourselves to actually closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016