Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will be supporting this reference today. It is important that we take a look at the situation in relation to land councils. They serve an incredibly important purpose, particularly across Indigenous communities, and they really are there for the empowerment of local people. Yes, there are some questions that need to be answered and of course the Senate committee is the appropriate place for that to occur, for those questions to be put and for a thorough investigation to be had into the affairs of land councils.

I've spent, as you would know, Mr Acting Deputy President McGrath, lots of time across Indigenous communities and across Australia. Long before I came here to this place, I spent 10 years working across Indigenous affairs, namely in economic empowerment, particularly employment. There are some fantastic examples, particularly across the Pilbara, where organisations and land councils are doing some fantastic economic empowerment work across their communities and using the proceeds and funds that they get from the Indigenous land use arrangements that they have with mining companies and resource companies. They are seeing some tremendous impacts and benefits back to their own communities.

But there are, sadly, cases, or at least accusations and circumstances, where that is not occurring. We hear of audits not occurring within the time frames they are required to be undertaken. Some of them go on for years and years and years. How that could happen is beyond me. I have, as I said, a lot of experience across the employment space, not so much in the native title area. But I think this is an issue that this Senate's relevant committee should take a look at because we know that the money's not always going out onto the ground where it is desperately needed, and the biggest problem we have is a lack of accountability. If we're truly going to end the disparity that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, the most important feature that needs to occur is a mixture of accountability and responsibility. That is the way to address the challenges and the issues that are occurring on the ground. So I think this reference to this committee is important. It is something that we should be looking at. I want to encourage all my colleagues here to allow this reference to go ahead so that this committee can look at these very serious issues that are occurring on the ground.