Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Ellison. Mr Aird, from the NIC, told the committee:

... there has been so much consultation with Indigenous people over the years on so many topics. I think this one is different because we knew that the abuse and neglect of children was ongoing. So for every day, every week that you were out there consulting—and with some known outcomes, dealing with personalities that you would expect to be consulted—the person who delayed action would knowingly be allowing more abuse, more neglect ...

The time for action is here. The time for an on-the-ground emergency effort is with us.

The protection of children is the top priority. There has been reference to the Racial Discrimination Act and the exclusion from part II of the Racial Discrimination Act, noting that that is limited to the five years. That was discussed at length in the committee hearing. Departmental officials from FaCSIA informed the committee:

The bills make it clear that those measures in relation to the emergency response are special measures, and special measures are based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which allows concrete measures to ensure the adequate development and protection of individuals. The provisions in the bills are intended to provide a benefit to Indigenous Australians and to secure their adequate advancement and enjoyment of their human rights on the same basis as others.

So that is in fact the direct opposite to what Senator Brown has indicated in terms of our government being racist. The exact opposite is happening. We are trying to lift these Indigenous children and their communities so that they can partake in Australian society in the same way that other Australian men, women and children partake. So with respect to the Racial Discrimination Act, the way the legislation is written is entirely appropriate.

Yes, there have been views put on the permit system. I want to put on the record that there have been both criticisms of and support for the permit system. The Mayor of Alice Springs Town Council said:

... the Alice Springs Town Council has resolved that it does agree with getting rid of the permit system in major communities and on major roads.

That was the view put by the Mayor of Alice Springs Town Council, and I strongly support that. The question has to be asked: why would you want to have a closed community? There needs to be persuasive and overwhelming evidence to support that, and that evidence is not there. A review into the permit system was done last year. Over 100 submissions were made to the government. Interestingly, the Combined Aboriginal Organisations of the Northern Territory gave evidence that the group had not even made a submission to that review, on the basis that it considered the issue of permits to be within the expertise of the Northern Territory land councils. The government decided on balance to leave the permit system in place for 99.8 per cent of Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory. The permit system applies to towns, places with roads, shops and public places like other towns. That is how it is planned to work under this legislation. The objective is to provide for strong and safe communities that can thrive and prosper like other smaller communities throughout Australia.

There has been discussion on the changes to the Community Development Employment Program and the income management regime and the funding of the $580 million package. That is the level of commitment being given—$580-odd million—to address these issues. That highlights the priority that this government places on the health and safety of Indigenous children in the Northern Territory. The Mayor of Alice Springs Town Council noted in her evidence:

Eighty-five per cent of police work here in Central Australia is alcohol related ...

The issues relating to alcohol, drugs and pornography were discussed at length.

I just want to comment on the restrictions on pornography. We had submissions from the Festival of Light and the Australian Christian Lobby, and I note that on 10 August this year the Prime Minister announced, with Minister Helen Coonan, new initiatives in relation to the provision of free on-line content filters to Australian families and public libraries, as well as access to internet server provider filtering on request. What an excellent measure! That is something I have been supporting for many years and I am thrilled with that measure. I think it will provide support, encouragement and opportunities for safer protection to be provided to these communities.

I want to talk about monitoring the measures which deal, in the national emergency response, with the possession and supply of X-rated films to assess the effectiveness of those measures in preventing that use of these films in the sexual abuse or sexualisation of children and young people in these prescribed areas. There should be ongoing monitoring to see how that affects these communities—how it benefits them, whether it is working and whether it needs to be extended or not. That is a question that remains open.

Yes, we did make recommendations. It was not just a carte blanche. In fact we made six recommendations, and I just want to touch on those very briefly before my time expires. Firstly, the committee recommended that the operation of the measures implemented by the bills be continuously monitored and publicly reported on annually through the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage reporting framework. We believe that that is an important framework. The reporting will happen annually. It will be a public document and you will be able to see how the progress is going.

Secondly, the committee recommended that the emergency task force make publicly available its strategic communications plan and its other operational plans, and that that should be done within six months. The longer-term plan should be tabled and made very clear within 12 months, so that the public knows—there is a transparent process—exactly what is going on. Thirdly, we recommended that the whole process be properly reviewed within two years of the commencement. You need a little bit of time for the emergency task force measures to be implemented and to see how they work.

Fourthly, we recommended a very thorough, culturally appropriate public education and information campaign to explain to the people on the ground, particularly in the Indigenous communities, exactly what is going on and who is doing what, when and where, so that they understand how the measures in the bills will impact on them, and what their new responsibilities are. Fifthly, we have asked the government to develop explanatory material with respect to the quantity of alcohol greater than the 1,350 millilitres set out on the bill and the definition of ‘unsatisfactory school attendance’. Finally, we have recommended to the government that it should closely examine the need for additional drug and alcohol rehabilitation services in the Northern Territory and, if necessary, provide additional funding support for those services.

In conclusion, I support the legislation. It is built on compassion and the need for action to provide for the safety, health and welfare for Indigenous children in the Northern Territory.