Mr MITCHELL - 1996-11-26
The Territory government has always recognised the importance of economic development in raising the living standards of Aboriginal Territorians. Has the minister had any success recently in raising the profile of economic development in this area among his federal and state colleagues?
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, last Friday in Adelaide, I attended a ministerial council of ministers with responsibility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. As part of its deliberations, the council was asked to talk about establishing a number of focus groups and focus areas so that future meetings of the council can be better directed and not merely run at the whim of various state and Commonwealth officials. The council noted that the areas that future meetings will focus on are employment and training, housing, infrastructure, health and young people in the criminal justice system. No mention was made of economic development. I believe that was more an oversight than an intentional omission. I was successful in my request that economic development be placed in the group of focus areas to be considered in the future. Of its own volition, the ministerial council agreed that economic development should be priority No 1. Priority No 2 was given as housing and priority
No 3 as employment and training.
This government believes that culturally-appropriate economic development is essential to the future wellbeing of the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory. It is my belief that economic development will lead the way to better health and educational outcomes rather than being the result of them. That is well illustrated in other parts of the world among developing nations. We need only to look past our own doorstep - at Singapore. In the past few decades, it has been economic development that has improved educational and health outcomes immeasurably there, not vice versa.
As a result of the ministerial council meeting, the Northern Territory has been nominated to lead a study of economic development and prepare a paper. To that end, I will be holding a number of meetings with the land councils and various Aboriginal enterprises with a view to determining a framework for encouraging economic development in a culturally appropriate sense. A recent workshop in Katherine was attended by representatives of the Jawoyn association from Djilkminggan, from Kybrook Farm and from Ngukurr. It was a day- long seminar. The impediments to Aboriginal economic development were discussed. When the results have been prepared in a publishable form, I will be happy to table them for the purposes of discussion.
What we are embarking on is not an easy process. It will not be short. The results probably will not be easily attained or easily observable in the short term. However, I am confident that, in time, economic development in Aboriginal communities will lead to better outcomes in both health and education and will lead to substantial resolutions of the radical causes of those poor results in health and education. I look forward to this paper being prepared. I will be happy to table any paper that we prepare for the February meeting of MCATSIA in this House for discussion by honourable members.
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Page 1827
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, last Friday in Adelaide, I attended a ministerial council of ministers with responsibility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. As part of its deliberations, the council was asked to talk about establishing a number of focus groups and focus areas so that future meetings of the council can be better directed and not merely run at the whim of various state and Commonwealth officials. The council noted that the areas that future meetings will focus on are employment and training, housing, infrastructure, health and young people in the criminal justice system. No mention was made of economic development. I believe that was more an oversight than an intentional omission. I was successful in my request that economic development be placed in the group of focus areas to be considered in the future. Of its own volition, the ministerial council agreed that economic development should be priority No 1. Priority No 2 was given as housing and priority
No 3 as employment and training.
This government believes that culturally-appropriate economic development is essential to the future wellbeing of the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory. It is my belief that economic development will lead the way to better health and educational outcomes rather than being the result of them. That is well illustrated in other parts of the world among developing nations. We need only to look past our own doorstep - at Singapore. In the past few decades, it has been economic development that has improved educational and health outcomes immeasurably there, not vice versa.
As a result of the ministerial council meeting, the Northern Territory has been nominated to lead a study of economic development and prepare a paper. To that end, I will be holding a number of meetings with the land councils and various Aboriginal enterprises with a view to determining a framework for encouraging economic development in a culturally appropriate sense. A recent workshop in Katherine was attended by representatives of the Jawoyn association from Djilkminggan, from Kybrook Farm and from Ngukurr. It was a day- long seminar. The impediments to Aboriginal economic development were discussed. When the results have been prepared in a publishable form, I will be happy to table them for the purposes of discussion.
What we are embarking on is not an easy process. It will not be short. The results probably will not be easily attained or easily observable in the short term. However, I am confident that, in time, economic development in Aboriginal communities will lead to better outcomes in both health and education and will lead to substantial resolutions of the radical causes of those poor results in health and education. I look forward to this paper being prepared. I will be happy to table any paper that we prepare for the February meeting of MCATSIA in this House for discussion by honourable members.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016