Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation) Share this | Hansard source

There are a range of questions there: Indigenous rangers, native title, the ANAO report, incarceration and the justice target. They are all good questions. Let me start by answering the member for O'Connor's question on Indigenous rangers, which is a program I thoroughly commend. It has been an absolutely fantastic program. I know the member for O'Connor has been a very strong advocate of this program with the spinifex rangers, and he helped secure funding for $580,000 to increase the capacity of the spinifex rangers group in southeast Western Australia. It was a terrific effort to get that up and running.

Indigenous rangers are an important part of this government's commitment to provide more jobs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people whilst managing and preserving important environmental assets. That dual purpose has been part of the great success of this program. I am pleased to update the chamber that more than 2,500 First Australians are now employed as Indigenous rangers as a result of this government's investment of more than $500 million over seven years through to 2020 for Indigenous rangers and the Indigenous protected areas.

The government has been a very strong supporter of Indigenous rangers since they were introduced back in 2007 by the Howard government. We have maintained and built on this support by increasing the funding available for Indigenous rangers to record levels since we came to government in 2013. Funding is now at $70 million per annum, an increase of around 15 per cent on what was provided under the previous government. So this is a program where we are really doubling down and investing because we believe it is working.

Just like police and health workers, Indigenous rangers are frontline services that will be funded from now into the future, and we have committed to work with those groups to extend their contracts to reflect that commitment. They of course undertake very, very important work in a range of areas, protecting and conserving threatened species, marine systems and cultural places and addressing environmental threats caused by feral animals, invasive weeds, marine debris and wildfire. They deliver very considerable environmental and cultural benefits while supporting better outcomes in a range of areas from improved health to increased wellbeing and self-confidence, lower rates of violence and crime, and greater economic security. A number of my very close friends have been deeply involved in this program, and they have seen firsthand and commended to me the extraordinary results they have seen on that front.

In the 2017 budget, we committed funding to secure the Indigenous Protected Areas program at similar levels for another five years from 2018-19, and that includes $15 million for new IPAs to be used over time. Let me make a couple of comments on native title. The Turnbull government respects the importance of native title and the recognition of Indigenous land rights. We are just as committed to ensuring that we support Indigenous Australians to have their rights over Indigenous land recognised and that this leads to better outcomes for communities. We are providing just under $90 million in 2016-17 through to the end of this financial year to support native title representative bodies, service providers and native title corporations. That includes $20.4 million over four years for native title corporations. This is the first time that the Commonwealth will have allocated funding directly for native title holders. It will build the capacity of the PBCs to take advantage of economic opportunities and others arising from native title rights.

The member for O'Connor is absolutely right in saying that funding for native title holders has been provided to his electorate. I acknowledge the work that he undertakes with the local community to secure this funding—again, a hardworking local member from the coalition.

There were other questions here in regard to the ANAO. Can I answer the question from the member for Barton in regard to that report. The department has accepted the four recommendations contained in the ANAO report. We have taken action. We have implemented those recommendations. The evaluation at the end of the day is an important part of every program. It should be an important part of every program. It is a tiny fraction of the total cost of the Indigenous Advancement Strategy of $5 billion over the coming forwards. We are spending a very, very small proportion of that on evaluation, but it is crucial. It is absolutely crucial that we see how this program is performing and that we continually improve it in every way we can. That is part of this government's philosophy, and that is— Time expired

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