Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

At the risk of getting another non-answer from the parliamentary secretary, I want to again ask questions around housing, and to ask him to be very specific in his response. Can the parliamentary secretary confirm how many new houses have been constructed and refurbishments completed under the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing? What were the construction targets for the remaining years of the agreement? Can the parliamentary secretary explain why funding for housing at Borroloola has been cut from $22 million to $15 million? How many houses and refurbishments are states and territories required to complete by 2018 under the government's new remote Indigenous housing strategy? These questions are very specific and not difficult. I would like him to answer them.

I would also like to address the question of the redirection of the $988.2 million in funding over eight years to establish a new national partnership agreement on the Northern Territory Aboriginal investment. We are told by the budget papers that this new NPA will replace the existing NPA on Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory at a net additional cost of $61.3 million over four years from 2015-16. I would like to know where this money is coming from. Could the parliamentary secretary give us a break-up of how this $988.2 million is to be spent, over what programs and over what period for each program? I also ask the parliamentary secretary: how is the government attempting to change the existing NPA Stronger Futures program in the Northern Territory through the NPA? We do need to know what is going to be in this new NPA, how it is going to be described and what the obligations of the Northern Territory government, in this case, will be. I would like the parliamentary secretary to articulate what they will be, please.

The new NPA includes, as I understand it, the new MUNS funding for the Northern Territory of $154.8 million. I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary specifically: what was the process for calculating this amount of $154.8 million? In negotiating its provisions, what was the role of the Northern Territory government? What agreements have been reached with the Northern Territory government over this MUNS funding? What communities will be funded under this MUNS funding? Are all communities which have been previously funded under the municipal services program funding from the Commonwealth being covered by this funding? We need to know precisely that information. Can he inform us as to how the Northern Territory government intends to roll out services under this program?

I then just address a couple of other issues which he has spoken about, not the least of which is the idiocy of the comment that somehow you are going to ameliorate poor housing in Aboriginal communities by building housing in Alice Springs. That ain't going to happen, brother, I can tell you. What we need to do is increase the funding in the bush to address it. To say that somehow or other people are getting these places free is just a nonsense. You ought to know, Parliamentary Secretary, that they are required to pay the rates charged for them through the Northern Territory Department of Housing. That is how it is being administered. That is the money they are being paid. They are asked to pay rent like every other Australian, as a public housing tenant.

I also want to make some comments and ask a question about Clontarf. I know that you acknowledge, Parliamentary Secretary, that we on this side of the House believe that Clontarf is a very, very successful program. It operates in a large number of locations across the country, including in my own electorate in the Northern Territory. While I am about it, I want to commend all of those people who are employed in that program for the wonderful work that they do mentoring young Aboriginal men. But I want to ask: why is it that there is no money being made available for similar programs for young women? I am aware that there was a proposal put to the government under the IAS funding proposal by an organisation called Stars for funding to start such a program, which would develop across the country. I am advised that the Stars program was not funded. Can the parliamentary secretary explain to me precisely why the program did not receive funding. Like the government, we accept the need to address the needs of young people in schools. Like the government, we accept the need to make sure that there is equivalent treatment of boys and girls, but at the moment we are not seeing that treatment. I have to say that there was no money made available for these sorts of programs when Labor was in government either. We need to redress the situation, and information would be greatly appreciated.

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