Mrs BRAHAM - 1995-06-20
Mr Speaker, is the minister aware that the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Training has conducted an extensive investigation into the educational needs of Aboriginal students? Is he aware that it talked to groups across Australia but failed to come to the Northern Territory, although we have 15% of the country's Aboriginal youth population? Where was Hon Warren Snowdon, the parliamentary secretary to the minister responsible for the Department of Employment, Education and Training? Why didn't he remind DEET in Canberra that we have Aboriginal youth here?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I have no idea where Hon Warren Snowdon was and, as far as I am concerned, the more time he spends in Canberra the better. One could never meet a lazier or more ineffective representative in Canberra than Warren Snowdon, the federal member for the Northern Territory.
Members interjecting.
Mr FINCH: Let me tell you about this. When it comes to Aboriginal people, Aboriginal education and Aboriginal training, either he is missing in action or he is interfering. In this case, the advisory committee to the federal minister, NBEET ...
Members interjecting
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Education and Training has the floor.
Mr FINCH: The National Board of Employment, Education and Training is a very high-powered advisory committee which advises the federal minister directly. The federal parliamentary secretary to that same minister is Warren Snowdon. When the AEP programs were under threat because of Canberra's move to per capita funding, he was missing in action. Fortunately, we were able to recover the situation for Territory Aboriginal people at the last meeting of state and federal ministers.
When DEET prepared this report on the needs of Aboriginal adolescents for education and training, it consulted 145 people and 23 schools around the country, yet it made not a single phone call to the Northern Territory. Warren Snowdon knows that 40% of our students are Aboriginals and that the Territory has 15% of the nation's young Aboriginal people. However, Warren Snowdon did not make a single phone call. What a disgraceful non-performance! It was good enough for him to ensure that, in South Australia, which has something like 6% of the nation's Aboriginal young people, not only were a large number of schools visited but also 30 people were consulted. Nevertheless, not one phone call was made to the Territory.
Among its findings, this report recommends that it should be used for developing the next Aboriginal Education Program. However, where is the Territory interest? It is left out!
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It should not have been a big secret to Warren that we have Aboriginal people here whom he should represent, not only because he is the local member but also because he is the parliamentary secretary to this very same minister. Thus, at the very least, he should have taken up the cudgels on our behalf. He was missing when it came to the move to per capita funding of AEP programs. He was missing when it came to the last federal budget which slashed funds to people in the bush. When he does act, it is only to interfere. Early in the year, he interfered with one of the AEP programs and payment was stopped to each and every school for each and every AEP program. The man is a disgrace and the sooner the next federal election is held and we get rid of him, the better.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I have no idea where Hon Warren Snowdon was and, as far as I am concerned, the more time he spends in Canberra the better. One could never meet a lazier or more ineffective representative in Canberra than Warren Snowdon, the federal member for the Northern Territory.
Members interjecting.
Mr FINCH: Let me tell you about this. When it comes to Aboriginal people, Aboriginal education and Aboriginal training, either he is missing in action or he is interfering. In this case, the advisory committee to the federal minister, NBEET ...
Members interjecting
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Education and Training has the floor.
Mr FINCH: The National Board of Employment, Education and Training is a very high-powered advisory committee which advises the federal minister directly. The federal parliamentary secretary to that same minister is Warren Snowdon. When the AEP programs were under threat because of Canberra's move to per capita funding, he was missing in action. Fortunately, we were able to recover the situation for Territory Aboriginal people at the last meeting of state and federal ministers.
When DEET prepared this report on the needs of Aboriginal adolescents for education and training, it consulted 145 people and 23 schools around the country, yet it made not a single phone call to the Northern Territory. Warren Snowdon knows that 40% of our students are Aboriginals and that the Territory has 15% of the nation's young Aboriginal people. However, Warren Snowdon did not make a single phone call. What a disgraceful non-performance! It was good enough for him to ensure that, in South Australia, which has something like 6% of the nation's Aboriginal young people, not only were a large number of schools visited but also 30 people were consulted. Nevertheless, not one phone call was made to the Territory.
Among its findings, this report recommends that it should be used for developing the next Aboriginal Education Program. However, where is the Territory interest? It is left out!
Page 653
It should not have been a big secret to Warren that we have Aboriginal people here whom he should represent, not only because he is the local member but also because he is the parliamentary secretary to this very same minister. Thus, at the very least, he should have taken up the cudgels on our behalf. He was missing when it came to the move to per capita funding of AEP programs. He was missing when it came to the last federal budget which slashed funds to people in the bush. When he does act, it is only to interfere. Early in the year, he interfered with one of the AEP programs and payment was stopped to each and every school for each and every AEP program. The man is a disgrace and the sooner the next federal election is held and we get rid of him, the better.
Page 654
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016