Nova Peris (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to take note of answers given by Senator Scullion to questions without notice. I will firstly say that I think it was fantastic that our Prime Minister went out to East Arnhem Land and spent some time there with the Yolngu people. However, in saying that, a lot of people in the Northern Territory would know that, whilst Yirrkala and the Yolngu people certainly have their challenges, it is not as challenged a community as most others. Next time I would recommend that the Prime Minister go to a community called Whitegate, which is just 10 kilometres outside of Alice Springs, where the mates of this government have turned off the water to the Aboriginal people of that community, to remove them from their country.

I want to ask the question: what did the Prime Minister learn on his trip to Arnhem Land? There was never any mention of the reversal of these half-a-billion-dollar cuts. A couple of weeks ago, I went to a childcare centre with our leader, Bill Shorten—Bubup Wilam childcare centre. That childcare centre told Bill Shorten and me that it is in need of $500,000—$500,000 that will keep 80 Aboriginal kids at school, in early childhood education. What we are saying is: you have seen the Twiggy Forrest report where they talk about the importance of early childhood education; what this government is doing is denying one of the most basic, most fundamental human rights of every child—that is, access to early childhood education. There are 38 of these centres around this country that are clearly underfunded.

I will now turn to the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, a legal centre in East Arnhem Land. That service will close its doors, which means that we are going to continue to incarcerate Aboriginal people at an absolutely disgraceful level. This country should not be proud of its history. And when you hear the people on the other side, those in this government, talk about funding and money and all that sort of thing, think: it is $350 a day to keep an Aboriginal man or person in jail—$350 a day. It is $200,000 a year to keep an Aboriginal kid in a juvenile detention centre. We are asking for half a million dollars to keep 80 Aboriginal children in a facility that will allow them to grow and to appreciate the value of education in this country.

The minister today said that everyone was delighted with his decisions. I do not know who he is talking to, because that is certainly not the case. I, as an Aboriginal woman, speak to a lot of people, day in day out, and Aboriginal people are hurting. They are hurting, every single day, because people are confused. You come up with an Indigenous advancement strategy and you ask Aboriginal people to go and compete in an open tender. You could have a person in New South Wales delivering a service to a remote community that was never even consulted, without setting foot in that community. This whole system is unfair.

We have a Prime Minister who says that he wants to be the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Australians, but he has not done one single thing that has been of positive effect for Aboriginal people in this country. And we should not stand by and think that Australia is a country full of opportunities and we are about advancing the cause, because it is just not true.

As to the cuts to the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services: an Aboriginal woman in the Northern Territory is 80 times more likely to be hospitalised through assault, and cutting this service will see that go through the roof. Everyone says, 'I've been to this community; I've met Aboriginal people.' Well, guess what? Until you are an Aboriginal person, you do not know what it is like. I can put my hand on my heart and say I know that my people across this country are hurting. If the minister were fair dinkum—he says he understands Aboriginal people—he should know that levels of chronic disease in this country are unacceptable and the only way to combat that is to invest in primary health care. Primary health care is the one-stop shop where someone goes to an Aboriginal medical service. He says that he is doing all the great things. Well, guess what, Minister? Thirteen Aboriginal people from World-Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, where he is running around trying to get people to sign over their leases, have lost their jobs, including rangers, due to the government budget cuts. It will do harm to other gainful employment skills. All gone; kaput.

Question agreed to.