Page 1010 - Week 03 - Thursday, 23 March 2017
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The ACT government was also an early signatory to Supply Nation, which is a business-to-business membership body to help identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses for organisations that are looking to improve supply. The ACT government includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses as a priority under its social tendering policy. I hope that information is of interest to Mr Milligan.
ACT Health—mental health data submission
MR RATTENBURY: Yesterday Mrs Jones asked me about matters relating to the mental health data submission, specifically whether my office advised me that we had received an advance copy of the ROGS report in mid-January and that the ACT had failed to submit data on time for publication. What I can inform Mrs Jones is that I was briefed by the health executive on 9 January about the issue and, yes, my office did indicate to me that we received an advance copy.
Personal explanation
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Community Services and Social Inclusion, Minister for Disability, Children and Youth, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations) (3.52): Pursuant to standing order 46, I seek leave to make a personal explanation.
MADAM SPEAKER: Do you claim to have been misrepresented?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: Yes.
MADAM SPEAKER: Please proceed.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: On his website today Mr Milligan claimed that yesterday in question time I was, “Laughing at the plight of the unemployed Indigenous people.” “The minister laughed and then joked that employment was the responsibility of the commonwealth government.” He goes on to claim that I have a lack of interest in the many issues impacting Indigenous Canberrans.
I claim to have been misrepresented by Mr Milligan. I have reviewed the Hansard, which clearly shows that I was asked this question as Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations yesterday. In that context, I thought it was important to make it clear that the ACT Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations does not cover the issue of employment support, which is, indeed, a commonwealth issue, but then I said:
However, the ACT government—
At which point the opposition interjected loudly, and I may have smiled or laughed at something they said in their interjection. Madam Speaker, I categorically deny that I was in any way laughing at the plight of unemployed Indigenous Canberrans. I would never do such a thing. Also, I made the effort yesterday to provide further
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