Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Ellison, the Minister for Justice and Customs. Can the minister confirm that an application to fund a community safety initiative sponsored by the women of the Wadeye community in the Northern Territory has been rejected by the National Community Crime Prevention Program? Wasn’t this application facilitated by the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in their capacity as the lead agency for the Wadeye COAG trial as a response to growing violence in the Wadeye community? Given the problems of violence that Wadeye has experienced in the past year—even in past weeks—why wasn’t the funding granted? Was the application rejected because of Minister Brough’s ban on any new Commonwealth funding for the Wadeye community? Why are the victims of violence at Wadeye now being punished by this government?