Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Hansard source

I am indeed happy to stand to speak in support of this matter of public importance today:

The impact of the Abbott Government's decision to cut half a billion dollars from indigenous programs in its first Budget.

This has been the most appalling doublespeak, in my view, of the Abbott government, the government which said that Indigenous people would be at the heart of a government. That was from the now Prime Minister, prior to the election. He said that he would be the minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. But, in the first opportunity, the very first chance, to show that those words were ringing true, what did they do? They cut half a billion dollars out of the budget that provides services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples right across this country. This is a hollow promise. We said that then, but it is now becoming absolutely clear that that is the fact right across the country.

Let us go to some of the detail. This government ripped $534.4 million from Indigenous programs. That is half a billion dollars. One hundred and sixty-five million dollars was cut from Indigenous health programs, including a really important program, the Tackling Smoking and Promoting Healthy Lifestyles program. Given that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are smoking at much, much higher rates than other Australians, this was an important program to improve health outcomes. Three point six million dollars was cut from the family violence prevention legal service, which helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their children escape family violence. And then there was a raft of cuts to community legal services, including $15.6 million from community legal centres, $13.4 million from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services and $21 million from legal aid, and there is no funding certainty for legal centres past 30 June this year.

Nine and a half million dollars was cut from the Indigenous Languages Support program, and they axed the Indigenous tutorial assistance program. That was the cut in education.

And, in health, the government did not renew the National Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Early Childhood Development, which has left 38 children-and-family centres, built by the Labor government, facing the real risk of closure. They did not renew the National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes. That leaves the Closing the Gap health targets without a nationally coordinated approach to achieve them. Labor had committed $777 million to renew that national partnership agreement.

They have forced all Indigenous organisations across the country, in a shambolic debacle, to apply for funding in an open—so-called—competitive tender. It has been chaos out there. Every Aboriginal organisation that I have spoken to over the last six months has only spoken of chaos. The expectations that particularly Minister Scullion raised in the community about how wonderful these programs were going to be and how everyone was going to get great services have come to nothing. We know that 41 per cent of organisations that applied for funding were successful. More than 1,300 organisations applied for funding and have missed out on that funding.

But the thing that really sticks in the craw of Aboriginal organisations and the people who are talking to me in Far North Queensland is the way it was promulgated. In the north, press releases were put out by all coalition members of parliament and a coalition senator, and they talked about the boost in funding for Indigenous health services. That is frankly offensive. There is no boost in funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services in the north, particularly in the Aboriginal community controlled health services. This is 'business as usual' funding. This is no boost; this is in fact a cut.

We know and we can expect that, as a result of these cuts, we will see diminished outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. You have to fund health services if you are going to get health outcomes. You have to support Indigenous children in schools to improve their educational outcomes. But to call these vicious cuts to Indigenous health services a 'boost' really got the goat of people who have been coming through my office to tell me about the cuts that have happened. The Torres Strait Regional Authority has lost $3½ million in funding by 2017-18, and we have heard nothing from the local member. These cuts will have ramifications. There will be an impact that flows from cutting half a billion dollars out of Aboriginal services and programs into the future, and that will be measurable. We also know that the Closing the gap report that came down last fortnight was not good news for anyone in Australia. But I am fearful that, the next time we see a Closing the gap report, we will see more.

There are many good Indigenous-run organisations that have worked hard to improve the lives of their people. There are many Indigenous organisations who spent hours and hours putting in applications for the Indigenous advancement program, simply to receive a letter last Friday to say that they were unsuccessful. Programs which range from tackling youth suicide and addressing drug and alcohol abuse to those that support community night patrols and early childcare programs will cease to exist in communities that need them the most.

Sadly, it seems to stand true that Mr Abbott sees Indigenous disadvantage as a lifestyle choice. If this is Mr Abbott's commitment to closing the gap, it is an utter disgrace.