Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Scullion. I refer to the minister's announcement in the Senate last week that he had reached an agreement with a number of state governments—including Western Australia—on the provision of municipal and essential services to remote Indigenous communities. The Western Australian Minister Bill Marmion said that your decision was 'reprehensible'. He also said: 'This was not an agreement; it was an ultimatum. We had a gun pointed at our head.' Is Minister Marmion correct?

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

No doubt Mr Marmion was reflecting on how he felt, and that is a matter for him. In terms of the general thrust of your question, regarding municipal and essential services, I suppose the real question is: why would you decide to have two completely different approaches—on the basis of ethnicity and background—to the provision of a basic service?

We on this side believe that municipal services should be provided—as they are everywhere else in Australia—to mainstream Australia by state and territory governments. We believe that should be consistent right across Australia. I have to congratulate Mr Marmion on the decision. Yes, I understand it was a difficult decision, but I congratulate him on taking responsibility for his first Australians in Western Australia.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, I refer again to Mr Marmion, who said: 'A likely outcome of the government's decision to withdraw funding of municipal services is the closing of some remote Indigenous communities'. Could you inform the Senate which remote communities in Western Australia will be affected?

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

Those are the words of Mr Marmion, so there is no point asking me. Mr Marmion said it is likely, but I can tell you right now that the Commonwealth, unlike the Western Australia government, has not had anything to say about closing communities in Western Australia.

I cannot understand why the provision of basic municipal services would lead to closures, given his agreement that in three years time they will take over the provision of municipal services themselves. There is no connection. I completely reject the suggestion that the changeover and the acceptance by Western Australia will somehow lead to the closure of communities in Western Australia. It is just illogical. I am not sure it is reasonable to draw that conclusion from what Mr Marmion has said. (Time expired)

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Try this one: I refer to comments by former Liberal Aboriginal Affairs Minister and Senior Australian of the Year, Mr Fred Chaney who said: 'The decision by the Commonwealth to withdraw responsibility for funding about 180 remote Aboriginal communities will cause alarm in remote communities.' Is Mr Chaney correct?

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

No. He is not correct. It should not cause alarm, given that we have provided, as Mr Marmion has stated, some $90 million funding for an additional three years into the future. The agreement is that in three years Western Australia will take responsibility for the delivery of municipal services in all of those communities. So they have absolutely nothing to worry about.

It does disturb me, though, that there seems to be a bit of a change from that side; when you were in government, you tried to do exactly the same thing. You went to Western Australia; you went to South Australia; you went to Queensland; you went to Tasmania; and you went to Victoria. You wanted to ensure that the provision of municipal services was translated back to the jurisdiction that should have been doing it. But, like most things in Indigenous Affairs, you did not have the grunt and you failed.