Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

There are two things, remembering how long that is going to take. That is ongoing and one would hope that we would have dealt with this serious issue and would have moved on to the next phase, so it would not apply. But the general point of what you are saying is correct. In the interests of people in the Northern Territory who have been regularly visiting point A, they can ring the number down the bottom and describe where it is and who it is, and people will be able to give them specific advice.

We are asking for the cooperation of Territorians and Australians everywhere—in the way that 400-plus people and doctors have volunteered to help. We are also asking for Territorians, without destroying their lifestyle, to say, ‘Can I make a contribution here to make this work and in doing so help people?’ The short answer is that the theory of what you say is right, but the reality is that it is not about to happen in a short time, and let’s hope that we have dealt with these issues in a fundamental way that would not require that to impact upon people.

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