Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was chairman of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs when we got the reference for that inquiry, but I was no longer chairman by the time that inquiry reported to the parliament.

I was concerned that for a very long period successive governments in Australia were endeavouring to redress the ongoing issue of Indigenous disadvantage by throwing money at the problem. There was far too much emphasis on process rather than on outcomes. I share the concern of the honourable member for Canberra, who has just spoken, that, despite the fact that all sides of politics appreciate that it is simply unacceptable that Indigenous people do not have the same health outcomes or, for that matter, economic outcomes as other Australians, we continue to have this problem in 2007.

This government has focused on the issue of practical reconciliation. Our efforts on practical reconciliation have not always been greeted by support from members of the Indigenous community. In referring to the inappropriate process of removing Indigenous children from their homes, I think that we ought to recognise that many of those people who did what we now deem to be completely unacceptable did so for what they believed were the right reasons. We ought not to judge the actions of those people in those days by today’s standards. Having said that, what occurred was completely unacceptable.

This government does have a proud record in the area of Indigenous affairs. In my view, we have been getting many of the policy fundamentals correct. The honourable member for Canberra is correct when she says that, even though there seems to be the best will in the world, the outcomes that we have seen and continue to see are not what we would always want to achieve. When I was on that inquiry and the member for Canberra was an active participant, I became worried that what was happening so often was that, while huge amounts of money were being spent, we were not achieving the positive outcomes that everyone would want to occur. I am particularly mindful of a visit to Kintore in the Northern Territory. I think the member for Canberra was present at that time. What we saw was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

We ought, however, to look at the positives and they are that there is an appreciation that we need more than money to redress Indigenous disadvantage. Indigenous disadvantage in 2007 is an unacceptable situation. But the government has been endeavouring, through the actions of the minister and the department, to improve the situation and I believe that there are some very bright spots on the horizon, some glimmers of hope. People like Noel Pearson, who has indicated great enthusiasm to work with governments generally, are people who have an important leadership role to play in the Indigenous community. I suspect my time is about to expire, but let me say that we must continue to do whatever we can—

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