Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on his visit to East Arnhem Land last week, and how is the government deepening its engagement with Indigenous Australians?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hasluck for his question and I acknowledge his place of great honour in our country's history as the first Indigenous member of the House of Representatives. As many members would recall, during last year's election campaign I promised to spend a week in Yolngu country, and last week I kept that commitment. Along with the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Scullion, and my parliamentary secretary, the member for Aston, we spent five working days in Gulkula, Yirrkala and Nhulunbuy. We were joined at different times by the Minister for Education, the Minister for Health, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Veterans Affairs and also the Assistant Minister for Health and the Assistant Minister for Infrastructure, and of course the member for Hasluck himself was there. The relevant departmental secretaries were there too. For the best part of a week, Indigenous affairs was a key focus of government. This is a very good way of demonstrating to Indigenous people that their concerns have not been lost amongst those of the general community.

On Indigenous policy the government's priority is absolutely crystal clear—to get the kids to school, to get the adults to work and to keep communities safe. I wish to acknowledge the commitment of the Yolngu people to education, and I wish to acknowledge their determination to ensure that their land is an economic asset as well as a cultural and spiritual one. I also wish to acknowledge their yearning, along with the yearning of so many people, black and white, right around Australia for Indigenous recognition in our Constitution. This is a fully bipartisan cause and I do wish to thank the Leader of the Opposition for the constructive dialogue we have had on this subject. Most of all, I wish to thank Galarrwuy Yunupingu for the hospitality he showed to me and my colleagues over the last few days. He is of course one of our country's greatest ever Indigenous leaders. I am the seventh Prime Minister that Galarrwuy has dealt with. I acknowledge the goodwill of all my predecessors and I pledge to do what I can to build on their good work. I should also thank the Army for providing me and my colleagues with accommodation and catering, and I pledge, myself, to continue to spend a week a year in an Indigenous community as long as I remain in public life.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I do commend the Prime Minister on his visit to Arnhem Land last week. After meeting with Aboriginal communities and learning more about the challenges they face, is the Prime Minister now prepared to reverse the $500 million cuts in his budget to Indigenous services?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There have been some modest reductions in funding for some programs, but I think the Leader of the Opposition will find that overall Indigenous spending continues to increase every year. What we are seeking to do is to bring about efficiencies in Indigenous spending. I should point out for the benefit of the Leader of the Opposition that the changes which he refers to in his question were well and truly discussed and workshopped with my Indigenous Advisory Council, led by a former National President of the Australian Labor Party, and those changes were supported by the Indigenous Advisory Council.

Members of the Indigenous Advisory Council—all Australians of good will—are determined to ensure that we do get maximum value from our spending. The Leader of the Opposition and everyone in this House, certainly not simply members on this side of the House, should understand that the important thing is not what you spend; the important thing is the results you get, and that is what we are determined to achieve: better results when it comes to Indigenous policy and better results when it comes to getting the kids to school, the adults to work and the communities safe. That is what I am determined to do. I am very confident that we can get a better result for the Indigenous people of Australia with the changes that we have announced. It is my determination to get better results through more efficiency, more focus and more targeting in this spending.