Patrick Dodson WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Senate)
2:00 pm
My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Scullion. The National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing, which comes to an end in June 2018, provided over $5 billion over 10 years. What amount of Commonwealth funding is the Turnbull government prepared to provide to state and territory governments through bilateral arrangements?
Nigel Scullion NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs
We've indicated that we will be taking a view similar to the one we've taken in the NPARIH process, which is that it's done on the number of houses that are required to take the overcrowding down to whatever notional level has been applied. So it's just down to the number of houses. Each one of the bilaterals will be based on the amount of funding that is required to do those houses. I don't wish to affect the negotiations, but I've just—
Louise Pratt WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment and Water (Senate)
What negotiations?
Nigel Scullion NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs
Well, the negotiations with the states. That's actually who we're negotiating with in this. You should try to keep up, Senator. I've just finished meeting with the housing minister, Minister McCarthy, from the Northern Territory, literally an hour or so ago, and the negotiating base is that we want to see what the Northern Territory government are going to put up, and they've put up some substantive funds and we're matching those funds. I indicated yesterday that the fundamental difference in the negotiation is that we want Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people standing there. We want Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people actually being a part of this deal, and I want them to be ensuring that—
Scott Ryan President
Order! Senator Scullion, please resume your seat. Senator Cameron.
Doug Cameron NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services
The point of order is on direct relevance. What the minister has been asked is: what amount of Commonwealth funding is the Turnbull government prepared to provide? He has not gone to that issue.
Simon Birmingham SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training
The minister has been very clear in explaining that the government is negotiating agreements that relate to the number of houses that would be supported, and of course the amount of funding relates to the number of houses. He is clearly being directly relevant.
Scott Ryan President
Thank you, Senator Birmingham. I consider the minister to be directly relevant. I can't instruct the minister how to answer a question that is asked by another senator, but I remind him of the terms of the question asked, which I was assisted on from the chamber. Thank you.
Nigel Scullion NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs
We have an independent report to guide the parliament on these matters. The independent report indicated that the funds should be on a 50-50 basis between the jurisdictions of the states and territories and the Commonwealth. On that basis, we are entering into bilaterals where we're putting a 50-50 basis on the table. We are currently in negotiations. The Northern Territory government have indicated that they're putting about $1.1 million a year on the table. If that's going to be the case, and I indicated today it would be, then we would be matching that. That's the quantum of funds that has been broadly agreed to so far, and I'm looking forward to the remainder of the negotiations.
Patrick Dodson WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Senate)
2:03 pm
I take note of what the minister just said, but can the minister confirm that he is not walking away from the $1.1 billion that the Northern Territory government has put on the table?
Nigel Scullion NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs
I can confirm actually that there's not $1.1 billion on the table from the Territory government, because I spoke about that today. They don't have a forward estimates in the same way as the Commonwealth does. They have an annual budget, and they've indicated that they have in their annual budget $1.1 million over the next year. We have about an $80 million residual, and they've indicated that the following year is about $1.1 million and that's what they're prepared to put into the fund, and we will match them dollar for dollar.
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
That's not what Turnbull said. Who's telling the truth?
Nigel Scullion NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs
I'm sorry about the interjections. I can tell you, I'm negotiating with the Northern Territory government.
Opposition senators interjecting—
Nigel Scullion NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs
You've asked me a question. If you don't like the answer, that's tough.
Senator Wong interjecting—
Senator Wong, you may not be interested in the answers about housing for our First Australians, but I tell you I am and they are interested in answers to these questions. The answer is: we will match them dollar for dollar.
Opposition senators interjecting—
Scott Ryan President
Order. I'm not going to call Senator Dodson until I can hear him. Senator Dodson, a final supplementary question.
Patrick Dodson WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Senate)
2:05 pm
Yesterday, the minister told the Senate that he:
… will be meeting shortly with the ministers for housing in South Australia and in Western Australia.
Can the minister confirm that he has ignored the Western Australian Minister for Housing's request to discuss and negotiate ongoing contributions from the Commonwealth for remote Indigenous housing?
Nigel Scullion NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs
I've written to the housing minister in Western Australia to seek a meeting about these matters.
Louise Pratt WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment and Water (Senate)
When? He's been seeking a meeting with you for months!
Nigel Scullion NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs
Listen, one of the normal things in this place is you would write someone a letter. You don't 'blark' in the media, 'Oh, I've done all these sorts of things.' So look, I will be meeting with the Western Australian government, I will be meeting with the South Australian government. And one of the questions I will be asking them is: why, over the last decade, have they walked away from any investment in Indigenous housing for their constituencies? Why is it that surreptitiously, from the day the Commonwealth walked in there, the special purpose payments for housing and the homelessness fund have had nothing put into Indigenous housing by those states? I'm looking forward to meeting those people and, if you give an absolute fig for any of those people who live in those houses, you wouldn't be supporting those states with their, I suspect, very racist approach to allocation of housing.