Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to ask a question of the minister, and I thank him for making his time available. I also want to acknowledge Minister Scullion and the interest that he has taken in my electorate of O'Connor, which is 880,000 square kilometres in the south-east of Western Australia and is home to around 5½ thousand Indigenous people, many of whom live in very remote communities and face all the challenges that come with that.

The questions I want to ask today are specifically about the government's support for the Indigenous employment through the Indigenous Rangers program. Could the minister please advise how the government is supporting Indigenous ranger groups across Australia, particularly in my electorate? Why is this investment in rangers so important to regional and remote Indigenous communities and to the protection of the environment in these places?

I know from talking with a lot of my constituents that the Indigenous Rangers program is very important, not only for the jobs it creates but to ensure Indigenous communities are able to work on and protect their country. For example, I have been talking with the Spinifex Rangers group, who I have been able to secure funding for from the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, to deliver land and cultural management across the Spinifex and Pilki native title areas. This will support 28 rangers to work on the land. Importantly, it will also deliver training and capacity building for these rangers as part of this investment in their employment. These rangers have a close relationship with their school, and the students participate in the Spinifex bush ranger program as part of their school activities. How does this investment in the Spinifex Rangers contribute to the Turnbull government's investment across Australia in jobs for Indigenous Australians and the important work that Indigenous Rangers deliver?

Secondly, I would like to ask a question about native title and how the government is supporting native title holders to use their land. I want to acknowledge the importance of native title to Indigenous Australians and the significant determinations that have been made across Australia. Forty per cent of Australia is now subject to native title determinations in recognition of Indigenous ownership of country, but it is important that we make sure that native title does not restrict development and can be used to promote the economic future of Indigenous communities. Native title should be used to deliver jobs and commercial opportunities for Indigenous communities. How is the government investing in native title holders to deliver these jobs and economic opportunities?

I know that, in my electorate, organisations like the Goldfields Land and Sea Council and the Central Desert Native Title Services body work closely with native title holders and that they have the economic future of these communities they represent as the focus of their work. This is why I am pleased that I was able to secure funding for Central Desert Native Title Services to hold workshops with native title holders to consider what economic development opportunities they want to pursue on the land that they own. The minister will be able to correct me if I am wrong, but I understand that this funding has been delivered from capacity-building funding allocated by the Turnbull government and that this is the first time the Commonwealth has allocated funding directly to native title holders, in line with the Turnbull government's commitment to working directly and in partnership with Indigenous Australians. Can the minister advise how the government is supporting these native title holders?

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