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

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Scullion. The Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators 2014 report, released today, indicates that there has been little if any improvement in the areas of reading, writing, numeracy and family and community violence; things have become worse in areas such as mental health and suicide and self-harm; and there has been an alarming increase in incarceration rates such that the adult imprisonment rate has increased by 57 per cent between 2000 and 2013. My question is: in light of these concerning figures, will the government finally commit to a justice target as part of the Closing the Gap strategy?

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

No we will not be, and it is not something we have taken lightly. The setting of a target is probably one of the easiest things we do in this place. We can simply set a target. I am not suggesting anyone has just set a target and forgot about it. But it is a very complex area. You would know the statistics that many of the people who are incarcerated are incarcerated because of circumstances invariably involved with alcohol and violence. Tragically, that violence is perpetrated against other Aboriginal people. So we think that, by action rather than targets, we can change that circumstance by changing the circumstances that people find themselves in where they are so disconnected that they self-medicate, particularly with alcohol, and then lash out at their own families and their own communities. We need to engage them.

If you are school aged, you need to be engaged with school. You know we are trying very hard to engage people in school with our school attendance strategies. I think it is very important that one of the fundamentals of a life of engagement is a job—work—and all the self-esteem that gives you, so we are very much focused on ensuring that we readjust our inherited programs to ensure people are working in purposeful activity so they are in the best position to move into work when they are ready.

Of course, the last of our fundamentals is to provide safer communities. Whilst it is not the complete answer, I certainly think in our investment of some $54 million in the budget—around $3 million of that for police stations, around $3 million for Aboriginal police officers—we have made a number of investments that I think will have a fundamental outcome, particularly relating to the last part of your question about incarceration. But I, like every Australian, share your legitimate concerns about this indicator. It is not only the highlight indicator of people who are incarcerated; it is also the mental health circumstances. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I will note that you have changed your opinion on targets since you set the school attendance target earlier in the year. The budget contained significant cuts to spending on Aboriginal programs. In light of these appalling statistics will the government now reverse those cuts to Aboriginal spending?

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

I have in this place explained what has been put glibly as these 'monstrous cuts'. Sadly, those in the opposition and others always try to paint this without the offsets of those—about the additional investments we have made. Those additional investments are considerable and I will run through them in a moment.

Of everybody in this place, Senator Siewert, I know that you would appreciate that throwing money at this problem continually is not going to solve it. We have had governments with the right will over a long period of time who said, 'We will just keep throwing money.' It is about putting the funds in the right place. It is about making the program settings correct. It is about getting community ownership. It is about ensuring that we can have some synergies. That is why we have employed 570 Aboriginal people in getting people back to school. Those are the things that are going to make a difference, not simply throwing money at the challenge. That has not worked in the past and it will not work in the future.

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. WA Premier Colin Barnett announced this week that they are likely to close up to 150 communities. Again, given the appalling statistics in this report and that closing communities will likely add to that, what action will the federal government take to ensure these communities are not closed?

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

It is beyond the ken of the Commonwealth government to dictate to the Western Australian government about whether they close communities or not. But I would make this point.

Senator Siewert interjecting—

They may well blame it on me, and that is not too difficult to do. It is a fact that they are already paid through the financial assistance grants which are indexed against both Indigenous people and against remoteness. The Western Australian government and the South Australian government—every jurisdiction around this country—gets that money already. I am not sure where that money goes in Western Australia and South Australia and other places. It is not reasonable to ask for the Commonwealth government to then further subsidise their payments to white people in leafy suburbs somewhere else when they should be making those payments to the most needy constituents. However, I will always work with the jurisdictions, including a very positive working relationship with the Western Australian government, to ensure that our first Australians get the very best deal they can.