Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Evans, the Minister representing the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The Prime Minister’s historic statement of apology yesterday committed the nation to:

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

Is the government aware that income quarantining in the Northern Territory is viewed by the community as going back to ration days and is causing huge hardships in the NT? Is the government aware that this includes people being unable to pay fines and possibly being sent to jail, that quarantined money is being given to people in the form of gift cards, that aged pensioners—including a lady who has worked for 48 years, has been retired for 10 years and has raised 10 kids—are being subjected to quarantining and that parents are unable to send food money to children who are away attending college? How does the government see ration cards as a new beginning? Isn’t the Northern Territory intervention an example of an old approach which is clearly failing? Will the government commit to an immediate review of the NT intervention?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Siewert for that answer, and acknowledge that she has followed these issues—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators—The question!

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry—for the question. Well, if she has the answer too, that would be helpful. I acknowledge that the senator has been very much engaged with these issues and was very much involved in the debate when the legislation came through the chamber. As the Labor Party indicated then when we were in opposition—we are now in government—we support the Northern Territory emergency response. We will review it after 12 months to see what is working and what is not. That is not to say, of course, that some of the issues that the senator raises cannot be addressed more quickly if there are serious concerns or issues that emerge. I think the previous government did that; we will certainly do that. That is the sensible and appropriate response.

We are committed to the emergency response. We will have a formal review after 12 months. But we do think, and we made this clear in the debate when the legislation went through the chamber, that there was a need for quite radical measures in terms of welfare payments to deal with the cycle of alcohol and drug abuse and the impact that had on child abuse. We did support those measures because we thought we had to try something. We had to support an effort to try something to help break that cycle. As I said during the apology debate yesterday, I think there has been far too much ideological debate among politicians over Indigenous issues, and the people who have suffered from that have been the Indigenous people. We have to try to find a way forward to overcome the failure of successive governments in finding solutions to those very serious social problems that beset Indigenous communities. So we are keen to work with all members of parliament to tackle those issues.

You will note that the Prime Minister offered Mr Nelson the opportunity to join with him in a bipartisan approach to try to tackle some of those issues, starting with homelessness, which is, in my view, at the core of many of the problems. So many of the issues related to the health of children come from overcrowding in homes—trachoma and a range of health issues. I remember going to Wadeye and talking to one of the doctors. I asked, ‘What is the thing we can most do?’ I thought he would give me a health answer but he said, ‘Build more houses.’ He was not the solution, the problem—

Kay Patterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have a factory there.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was not working while I was there; hopefully, it is now. That is not criticism of anybody, but it was not working. The point he was making is that you have to start with the cause and not try to patch up afterwards. I think the great strength of the intervention is that it has attempted to break that cycle.

Senator Siewert, I do not have a response to the range of issues you raise. You got a lot of them into the question. I am certainly sure that Minister Macklin, who has taken a very keen interest in this and has provided great leadership in this area, will be happy to respond to the detailed issues you have raised. I suspect that is probably best done by means of a briefing. But I want to make it very clear that we are committed to the Northern Territory intervention. We are committed to making it work and, if it is not working, to making adjustments. We have some differences of approach from the previous government but the fundamental commitment is there. We think we have to do some things that perhaps we would not have done a few years ago. We have to adopt a more radical approach in order to try to break that cycle that was destroying Indigenous communities.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for his answer and appreciate, as I take it, the offer of a briefing. I also note the minister’s answer in terms of breaking the cycle by a radical approach. Why then are no financial management services or training being offered to those who are currently being quarantined? Will people come out of this process with less money management skills than they had when they went into it, seeing the government is now managing their money? Is the government aware of the deep shame that members of the Northern Territory Aboriginal community are expressing very strongly, and how does that connect with the Prime Minister’s words just yesterday:

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for the supplementary. First of all, I think it fits very well. What we have said, and what I said when I was the shadow spokesman in this area, is that you have to do the symbolic and the practical; one without the other does not take us anywhere. What we saw yesterday was a very important symbolic measure by the parliament. But what we also need are very practical reforms that have clear objectives, clear benchmarks and people accountable for meeting them. That is what we have not had in the past, and we need to make sure that those are there.

In terms of financial management services—I agree with you. I will make some inquiries. I know Noel Pearson, in his trials in the Queensland Cape York area, has put a big focus on financial management services. I saw some quite good progress being made there—not in relation to the trial but in terms of supporting Indigenous people with financial management services. It seems to me that it is the sort of thing that should be included in the response, and I am happy to take that up with the minister as well.