Page 3148 - Week 07 - Thursday, 30 June 2011
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To that end, I am concerned that this government’s focus on youth issues is too narrow. I do not think they are fully taking into account the raft of issues which impact on the quality of life of young people in the territory.
MR HANSON (Molonglo) (12.56 am): I rise to speak tonight about Indigenous affairs, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs, here in the ACT. It is an area where there is a real attempt by all parties in this place to have a unified view. It is not an area on which I think any of us are looking for a particular point of difference. But there are a number of issues which were covered in the estimates inquiry, one of which is the genealogy project, which is due in the next couple of months. This was an election promise by the government for $150,000, now $100,000.
The concern I have arising from estimates is that there is some thought that this project may not be made public. I think that it needs to be. The intent of this is to clarify a range of quite sensitive issues, and if we do not have this made public in full—and there may be some names or personal particulars that can be deleted—and if we do not make sure that this is a public document, I think we are not going to actually resolve some of the concerns that we have in the Indigenous community.
There were concerns raised about the Billabong Aboriginal Development Corporation, particularly in relation to contracts. I think that has been acknowledged by the ACT government. And I hope to see that they will take that away. I notice that they have agreed to the recommendation that they will report to the Assembly when the contractual agreement has been finalised with the Billabong Aboriginal Corporation.
With the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, again, this is an area that warrants improvement. There were 173 people who voted in that election. It cost $45,000. So when you consider the amount of resources that need to be put into the Indigenous community—and I think we all recognise there is much work to be done—I do not know whether that is an effective way for that money to be spent when it produces that sort of result. We have to make sure that, if we are spending money, we get the best result. It is quite clear that we need to do better if we are going to get representation from a broader section of the Indigenous community to provide advice to the government, because 173 people voting for seven representatives at a cost of $45,000 is actually a decline in terms of representation from previous elections. It is really not up to the mark.
I acknowledge that the government has accepted that and is going to make efforts to improve it, and I certainly look forward to seeing what those are.
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Community Services, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Women and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs) (12.59 am): The Community Service Directorate provides significant programs and supports across all ages and areas of our community, but I will just speak to a few of them. I realise that providing support services to those with a disability is important for a government but it is also important across our community.
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