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

My questions are to the Minister representing the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Indigenous Affairs, who I understand is Senator Santoro today. My question relates to the reported comments by the minister for health proposing administrators get wide-ranging powers to run Indigenous communities and ‘that a form of paternalism is unavoidable if Aboriginal communities are to be well run’. Do these comments reflect the government’s official policy towards Indigenous Australians? Is the federal government already attempting to force Aboriginal community councils to accept the appointment of administrators? Can the minister confirm that the Pukatja community, the largest community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands, is facing a complete shutdown of services on 30 June, with FaCSIA yet to provide full written details of a new funding agreement? Will this and other funding agreements with Aboriginal councils from the federal government require appointments of administrators or the replacement of existing Indigenous workers?

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The briefs before me do not address the questions that have been asked of me by Senator Bartlett. I am unaware of the comments made by the minister for health, but I undertake to seek a proper response from the minister for health and also the minister responsible for Aboriginal affairs. I will get back to Senator Bartlett as soon as possible.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I ask the minister to also follow up on the comments reportedly written by Minister Abbott that, normally, a dysfunctional local government would mean sacking the council and imposing an administrator to sort out the mess. Something like this was tried in South Australia’s Pitjantjatjara lands in early 2004. Can the minister confirm that the particular decision to appoint an administrator for the APY lands back in 2004 was made without any consultation, resulted in the appointment of three different administrators in as many months and was widely considered to be a complete and costly failure? Can the minister reassure the Senate that the federal government’s new paternalism, as outlined by Minister Abbott, towards Indigenous Australians is not going to repeat the failures of the old paternalism?

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Obviously, I reject any suggestion within the statements made by Senator Bartlett that the federal government undertakes a paternalistic attitude and develops paternalistic policies towards Aborigines. We obviously seek to empower Aboriginal communities as much as possible so that they can determine their own destiny and their own future. However, I do make a commitment to follow that up, as requested by Senator Bartlett in his supplementary question.