Page 1444 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 9 May 2017
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my dealings with governments and your officials however I don’t see any signs of that at all and I am becoming more cynical by the day.” Given that Julie Tongs is the leading advocate for Indigenous people in Canberra, her rebuke is a damning indictment of this government's management of Indigenous affairs. Chief Minister, how is the government going to restore confidence in the Indigenous community?
MR BARR: I, along with other members in this place, have received that email from Ms Tongs. Suffice to say that there are some issues that have been raised in that email that the government will respond to. I do not think that the characterisation from the Leader of the Opposition is a fair one in relation to the range of issues that the government is responding to. On each of the areas of concern to Ms Tongs, the government is responding.
MR COE: Chief Minister, why have successive ministers for Indigenous affairs failed to deliver on the bush healing farm, Boomanulla Oval and adequate accommodation for health and community services across Canberra?
MR BARR: Again, I do not accept the premise of the Leader of the Opposition’s question. There is a range of complex issues being addressed by a range of ministers, not just the minister who has responsibility for Indigenous affairs. The range of issues crosses into a number of other portfolios, and those ministers, together with the minister for Indigenous affairs, are responding to the concerns that have been outlined. Some of those issues are not quickly or easily resolvable.
MR MILLIGAN: Chief Minister, what is the status of the bush healing farm and will it actually be an alcohol and other drug rehabilitation facility?
MR BARR: I am advised that ACT Health hosted a workshop on 8 May with key stakeholders to refine the model of care to ensure that the service meets the needs of residents and is compliant with land use rules. ACT Health acknowledges that there has been some confusion in the community about the role and purpose of the farm and its zoning. There are some differences within the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community about what services should be delivered at the bush healing farm. Some stakeholders want a medical model of rehabilitation delivered on the site but the government is committed to delivering the vision of the United Ngunnawal Elders Council to deliver a healing service that works to rebuild a fractured community where recurring drug and alcohol addictions are a barrier to better life.
Mr Hanson: On a point of order, Madam Speaker, the question from Mr Milligan was quite clear as to whether it would actually be an alcohol and other drug rehab facility. I would ask that the Chief Minister be directly relevant in answer to that question.
MADAM SPEAKER: Chief Minister, do you have anything else to add?
MR BARR: I have completed my answer.
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