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

I have in this place explained what has been put glibly as these 'monstrous cuts'. Sadly, those in the opposition and others always try to paint this without the offsets of those—about the additional investments we have made. Those additional investments are considerable and I will run through them in a moment.

Of everybody in this place, Senator Siewert, I know that you would appreciate that throwing money at this problem continually is not going to solve it. We have had governments with the right will over a long period of time who said, 'We will just keep throwing money.' It is about putting the funds in the right place. It is about making the program settings correct. It is about getting community ownership. It is about ensuring that we can have some synergies. That is why we have employed 570 Aboriginal people in getting people back to school. Those are the things that are going to make a difference, not simply throwing money at the challenge. That has not worked in the past and it will not work in the future.