Page 1912 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 6 June 2017
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I will respond to two issues Mr Milligan raised in his speech, regarding concerns about the bill. The first relates to the capacity to bring to the attention of ministers or directors-general any issues of importance. I note that Mr Milligan referred solely to the proposed amendment to section 8B in this amendment bill. That section is part of a much larger section 8 which details a wide range of functions of the elected body that include monitoring and reporting on the “effectiveness of programs conducted by government agencies”. That has been expanded to “effectiveness and accessibility of programs and services”.
There has been an expansion of that part of section 8, and the reference Mr Milligan made to systemic or whole-of-government issues is really a clarification of previous wording that says “advocate for their interest”, so it is clear that it is not the role of the elected body to advocate for the interests of individual Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the community but rather for policy and service delivery issues.
Mr Milligan also claimed that the government is moving away from the closing the gap targets set by COAG because they are not referred to in this bill. I can assure him that we are not moving away from those targets; indeed, the ACT government has consistently supported the expansion of targets in areas such as justice.
In considering the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body Amendment Bill 2017 it is important to understand the development of the elected body. Following the abolition of the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, ATSIC, in 2004, the ACT government announced it would establish a democratically elected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representative body for the ACT.
The elected body was established in 2008 and its goal was to ensure maximum participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT in the formulation, coordination and implementation of government policies that affect them. Since its establishment the elected body has operated over three terms. Elections were held in 2008, 2011 and 2014 and, as we all know, an election process is currently underway. This bill seeks to strengthen the operating environment for the new elected body.
As I noted would be the case when I introduced the bill to this place, the elected body went into caretaker mode on 15 May, and elections for the new body will be held during NAIDOC Week in early July. Last week nominations were confirmed, and it is great to see that a record 25 elected body candidates have stepped forward to represent their community.
With your indulgence, Mr Assistant Speaker, I encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans to attend a meet the candidates event on Wednesday, 28 June at 6 pm at the 50MC Theatre on Marcus Clarke Street. I congratulate each of the candidates for nominating and wish them all the best for the campaign ahead. I hope the increase in the number of candidates will also be reflected in an increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans who participate in the
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