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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 153 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

minister responsible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs and Attorney-General, I will ensure that they are involved.

We will support the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee in developing its Aboriginal justice strategic plan, due for completion by the middle of next year, and we have agreed to a request for an indigenous consultant to help complete the plan. The government is determined that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will have the opportunity to tell us of the priorities and the directions they choose for their own lives.

The government recognises that a strategic whole-of-government approach to addressing community needs will deliver the best outcomes for the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. The government has a comprehensive plan to improve the lives of indigenous people and my ministerial colleagues will be discussing their priorities over the coming months. My priorities are to make real progress in the areas of health, the justice system and creating life opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Understanding the needs of the community extends beyond consultation. To help gain a deeper understanding of the circumstances and the consequent needs of the community, a comprehensive demographic profile of the community in the ACT will be undertaken. For example, it is our commitment that all existing and proposed measures for reducing incarceration levels are rigorously evaluated. ACT Corrective Services is developing a database that will use court statistics to measure recidivism and the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs. This data will be made available across government to assist the development of policy that addresses indigenous arrest and custody issues.

The government will also develop reports each quarter on the current state and effectiveness of services delivered to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the ACT. This will ensure that at regular intervals assessments can be made on achieving policy and program objectives. The first of these reports will be published by March next year.

As part of our commitment to reconciliation, the government has acknowledged the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original occupants of this land, and that the land and its waters were settled as colonies without treaty or consent. My government will work with the traditional owners of the ACT to ensure that they are appropriately acknowledged.

In the context of resolving outstanding disputes between various groups of traditional owners, the government recognises the importance of land connectedness to the Aboriginal people of this area and will not interfere with the processes of the community to resolve its own issues about its traditional lands.

This notwithstanding, my government is most strongly committed to making an acknowledgment of our shared history and of the consequences of European settlement and will consult with the traditional owners to properly and appropriately acknowledge them. Further, protection of cultural heritage will be maintained in a reinvigorated consultation process with traditional owners and the interim board of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre.

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