Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the minister for what he has just said and the undertakings he has given, but I do want to make a couple of observations. The first is that, despite the fact that this proposal, initially for leasing, was derived from conversations between the Northern Territory government and Commonwealth, I do not support it. I have to tell you that the federal Labor Party does not support it. The reason is that principally it was done without discussion. This legislation foists on people a model—which the minister rightly says is ultimately a matter of choice—which I and many other people who are informed think has serious flaws in it. Be that as it may, that will not stop the passage of this legislation.

I also want to pick up on the minister’s observations about Galiwinku. I am not sure if you have read Senator Kemp’s response to part of the discussion in the Senate, but in the context of the discussions you have had at Galiwinku with the proposal for 50 houses he made it very clear—and it is worth reading the transcript—that that deal would require a change in leases. I have had discussions with people from Galiwinku subsequent to your visit and I will be having further discussions with them. It is very clear that they are confused by that proposal. They are confused because they say—rightly, I think—that they have an expectation that housing ought to be made available and provided. Certainly there is no objection that I have heard from anyone to the proposition that if people want to buy them they can buy them. That is not at issue. What is at issue is the fact that somehow or other the proposal for the housing will be subject to them agreeing to the lease.

If that is the case then I suspect that you might be in for a very long discussion and you might not like the response you get at the end. It seems to me that we should be separating the two issues. You can certainly put on the table a proposal for housing and say that one way of addressing this need would be to do it in the way you have described. Then you could say that there are other ways in which it could be done and these are they. Then you could say that they are not bound to accept the proposition you have put if they have another proposition, which means that they will get housing, and if they do not like the idea of leasing a town, well so be it. But we do not want people to be held to ransom by a government implying that the provision of housing will be subject to their agreeing to the lease proposals. That is certainly the message which was given by Senator Kemp in his contribution last night. But, in any event, it is not my intention to frustrate the House or the proceedings. We are happy to allow these to proceed and we will have a discussion about them and other matters at some other time.

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