Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

That is certainly correct, Senator Crossin. What is the status of that report? Can we just throw this out now? It has informed the government and now we can just forget about it! The recommendations are now gone and irrelevant! The Northern Territory government is actually about to respond to it, as I understand it; are you going to say: ‘Actually, don’t bother now; it’s past us. We’re on to some new world’? Is that the status of the Little children are sacred report? I think it is useful, because a lot of work went into this. There was a lot of trust-building with Indigenous communities. I would remind the minister that it was not the second recommendation but the second part of the first recommendation which said that it is critical that both governments—not just the Territory government—commit to genuine consultation in designing initiatives for Aboriginal communities.

If Senator Scullion thinks that he is the first person on the planet who can design an initiative to assist any community in a colonised society, let alone an Indigenous community, without consulting the community and that it will work, then he really has a messiah complex. That is not even basic public policy 101; it is whatever comes before that—it is high school stuff.

There is a notion that consultation means delay. I guess for a government that are not used to consulting it is understandable that they do not comprehend that it is possible to consult as you are doing things—working with people continually and moving forward. We had some indication in the Senate committee process that there was some intent to do that, and I know that there has been some consultation happening here and there. Consultation does not equal delay; consultation means making sure your implementation is more likely to work, because you are working with the people that you are implementing for.

The key question is: what is going on with the Scrutiny of Bills Committee report and the issues that were raised? Are they just some bit of arcane parliamentary trivia that we in the Senate—or certainly you in the government—do not need to concern ourselves with? What is the status of the Little children are sacred report? Many of the people in the Territory who put a lot of trust in the people putting this report together and who opened up on very difficult issues and provided the data that has been used to highlight the concerns and the need for action are still working off this as something of a guide for the way forward—obviously in conjunction with what the federal government is now doing and in conjunction with what the Territory government is now doing. Is that now all behind us? Has that now been superseded? Is that the understanding that people out in the wider community should have?

I think it is important to be here for the long haul, which we all say we are here for—I certainly commit to that on behalf of the Democrats and me. There is no point in one group of people being here for the long haul and working with this thing, and another group of people working for the long haul and saying that this is all passe. We have to try and get some common ground here. I am sure we will not get common ground on the legislation but we have to have some common ground about where we are going forward from. We need some clarification about what the government’s relationship, understanding and attitude is towards the Little children are sacred report. That is an important issue that we need answers to.