Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

The reduction in the number of homeless people now in Aboriginal communities is far better than what it was. This government will leave with a legacy that housing has been a strong feature of our Closing the Gap strategy.

The negotiations that we will continue to have with state and territory governments on this are important because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are citizens of each state and territory jurisdiction and must be accorded the same consideration as the general population in terms of the housing bilateral agreements that exist between the Commonwealth and the state and territory jurisdictions. They have to be considered in that context, because what we tend to do is set up separate programs that become the feature and focus of access to infrastructure and housing. This takes this beyond that. This is about Indigenous leaders having raised the issue of the contribution of both the Commonwealth and the states and territories to their living standards, to their way of life and to the equality they seek in every aspect of what they hope to be their journey within our country.

We will not resile from our commitment to housing in remote communities and we will continue to plan, develop and implement the programs that are needed to effect that—and that includes creating jobs for young people, which is what I started with. That is an important economic driver that will give them the wealth and social capital to make a difference to their own lives and not rely on welfare.

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