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

I thank the senator for the question. I thank him for his continued interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs.

There is a quiet revolution going on in my portfolio. Senators will recall that the government had consolidated 150 separate policies and services into five program areas within a new Indigenous advancement strategy—the IAS. The five programs are: jobs, land and economy; children and schooling; safety and wellbeing; culture and capability; and remote Australia strategies.

The IAS provides $4.8 billion in funding over four years for organisations delivering services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It was announced in the budget that organisations which had a reasonable expectation of funding continuing into this financial year would have their funding extended either six or 12 months. And that happened. The next major step is an open funding round, which opened on 8 September and continues until 17 October. This funding round will fund activities from 1 January 2015 and, in some cases, over the next three years.

Priority will be given to applications which can demonstrate tangible outcomes on the ground. Particular priority will be given to those applications for funding which can demonstrate the support of government's key objectives in Indigenous affairs: getting children to school, getting adults into work, and ensuring communities are safer. My department is now out in communities, talking with service providers and stakeholders, explaining the new arrangements, and working with them to ensure that applications for funding reflect the needs of communities and that local solutions are tailored and funded to provide for local problems.