Ms SCRYMGOUR - 2011-08-10
Can you please outline how health services are being improved in our growth towns as part of A Working Future?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. Our government signed up with the Commonwealth to work as diligently as we could to improve the lives of Northern Territory Indigenous people. That is as part of the COAG’s attempt to close the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2031, and to ensure access to early childhood education.
In the Northern Territory, it requires a coordinated and consistent effort between the Northern Territory and federal governments, which is what we are doing with the growth towns and regions with A Working Future. We are doing it through coordination at agency level to ensure, with health, education, and local government there is a much better coordinated effort.
We are aware, as this House is, of advice in various reports about Indigenous affairs that consistency of planning is required, and can only occur successfully over a period of time. One of the things we want to do in closing the gap in Indigenous health, in a bipartisan way in this parliament, is ensuring our A Working Future policy does exactly that. Improving the lives of Indigenous people requires an effort by all members not to play politics with Aboriginal people, to make sure …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Braitling, you are now on a warning! Member for Drysdale, you are on a warning!
Ms McCARTHY: … that there is support for our policies and coordination.
Our government is committed to the policies with A Working Future. We are improving health. We have spent more than $1bn to deliver health services, and 60% of that goes to our regional health areas. I say to the men and women on the front line in our regions working to improve the lives with and for Indigenous people, thank you. These men and women work day in, day out, with some of the most tragic situations, and I say thank you for doing the work you do.
Regarding infrastructure, funding has been approved for new health clinics in Elliott, Umbakumba, Ngukurr, Galiwinku, Ntaria, and Numbulwar. Funding has also been approved for upgrades to existing health clinics in Papunya, Maningrida, and Gunbalanya. In Lajamanu, the local implementation plan has identified a new Category 1 health centre as a key priority, and this has assisted with Australian government commitment and funding for a new facility …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. Our government signed up with the Commonwealth to work as diligently as we could to improve the lives of Northern Territory Indigenous people. That is as part of the COAG’s attempt to close the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2031, and to ensure access to early childhood education.
In the Northern Territory, it requires a coordinated and consistent effort between the Northern Territory and federal governments, which is what we are doing with the growth towns and regions with A Working Future. We are doing it through coordination at agency level to ensure, with health, education, and local government there is a much better coordinated effort.
We are aware, as this House is, of advice in various reports about Indigenous affairs that consistency of planning is required, and can only occur successfully over a period of time. One of the things we want to do in closing the gap in Indigenous health, in a bipartisan way in this parliament, is ensuring our A Working Future policy does exactly that. Improving the lives of Indigenous people requires an effort by all members not to play politics with Aboriginal people, to make sure …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Braitling, you are now on a warning! Member for Drysdale, you are on a warning!
Ms McCARTHY: … that there is support for our policies and coordination.
Our government is committed to the policies with A Working Future. We are improving health. We have spent more than $1bn to deliver health services, and 60% of that goes to our regional health areas. I say to the men and women on the front line in our regions working to improve the lives with and for Indigenous people, thank you. These men and women work day in, day out, with some of the most tragic situations, and I say thank you for doing the work you do.
Regarding infrastructure, funding has been approved for new health clinics in Elliott, Umbakumba, Ngukurr, Galiwinku, Ntaria, and Numbulwar. Funding has also been approved for upgrades to existing health clinics in Papunya, Maningrida, and Gunbalanya. In Lajamanu, the local implementation plan has identified a new Category 1 health centre as a key priority, and this has assisted with Australian government commitment and funding for a new facility …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016