Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Eggleston for his continued interest in this matter, particularly for his constituency in Western Australia. The coalition has targeted funding into the priorities of getting kids to school, adults into work and community safety. But it is not about the dollars, it is about getting results. I was astounded by what I would consider to be the disingenuous remarks of the Leader of the Opposition in his piece in the Australian today stating that this government has betrayed Indigenous Australians. It appears to have been lost on the Leader of the Opposition that for all the billions invested and the chest beating and this is how much money we have spent so it must have of been fixed, reducing disadvantage amongst Indigenous Australians, particularly in remote areas, over the past six years has simply escaped you. You have failed on any measure. The most recent Closing the Gap report says it all: unemployment targets, backwards; NAPLAN targets, backwards; school attendance over the five years, 15 per cent backwards. If I seem a bit galled it is very difficult to be lectured to by somebody who has failed so monumentally in this particular area.

We have reviewed the programs, we are streamlining the programs to reduce duplication without reducing our effort on the ground. Our budget measure does in fact include some new spending measures. We have announced a new target to close the gap on school attendance and I am delighted to say that in May COAG agreed to the new target and all jurisdictions, particularly the communities, are working fantastically together and with government to that end. The school attendance strategy, whilst on a different day we would have said, 'It costs a bit over 46 million,' we are not interested in saying that anymore. What I am interested in reporting to the chamber is that it has lifted school attendance in the Northern Territory this year compared with last year. (Time expired)