Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Hansard source

I can give you some examples. When the bill was first proposed the negotiations in Western Australia for housing and other public works in one large and very overcrowded community with very high housing needs had been running for over two years, meaning that the construction of 20 houses for which funding had already been committed could not commence. Similarly, in two other Western Australian communities negotiations for police facilities and staff housing had also been ongoing for two years and had yet to be resolved. I think those examples do indicate that there was an attempt to conduct those negotiations in good faith, but they did not achieve the outcome of our shared desire for the delivery of much-needed Indigenous housing in that particular community.

I am advised that Queensland and Western Australia are currently building on sites that are not affected by native title under the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing. This will not be the case, I understand, in future years. A 12-month process will not allow the states to meet their targets under the NPA. I hope that is of assistance.