Question Time

National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Human Services in relation to our National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: The minister has been asked a number of times to provide an update to this chamber in relation to the funding for the construction and maintenance of remote Aboriginal housing. This funding ceases in its entirety at the end of this month, just over a week away.

Last week, as shadow minister for Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation, I was on the APY lands, visiting five communities across the lands. The issue of housing was raised constantly, and I was regularly asked if more funding would become available. Unfortunately, I had to inform both service providers and community members that the new state Liberal government had so far failed to secure a new funding agreement for remote housing and that the existing funding would stop entirely at the end of this month.

I also had to inform community members that the new Minister for Human Services in the South Australian parliament had not ruled out the forced closure of Aboriginal communities because of the housing funding crisis. My questions are:

1. If the minister was to visit a remote Aboriginal community, what would she say to some of the people living in some of the most remote areas, who are desperately awaiting a funding commitment?

2. Has the federal government made any offer to the state in relation to this funding?

3. Will the minister stand up for Aboriginal South Australians and ensure that if there is no more federal funding she will secure adequate state government funding?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:26): It delights me to be able to place on the record some information in relation to this issue. I became aware of the issue in relation to the ending of the agreement between the commonwealth and state government last year. I think it was before Christmas that I was contacted by particular stakeholders and certainly made a number of calls and representations to the minister, Nigel Scullion. I understand that the state government here, at a local level, through the minister for social housing, made some pleadings through the media, but actually never put any money on the table at all. It is typical.

The then state government knew about this issue, I think, well in advance of Christmas last year, and was asked by the commonwealth to put some money on the table so that negotiations could commence. As per usual, the approach of the then Labor government was, 'Give us your money. We are not going to do anything ourselves, but we want money from you,' as has been their wont and has made us a national embarrassment.

This issue came up in federal parliament on 6 February this year. It was a question from the member for Mayo, Ms Sharkie. She asked the Hon. Ken Wyatt, the minister representing the Minister for Indigenous Affairs:

Approximately half of Indigenous Australians in remote areas live in overcrowded housing, with some three bedroom homes containing 17 occupants. In contrast, only five per cent of non-Indigenous Australians live in overcrowded housing. Will the minister please provide the reasons why the federal government has abandoned the National Partnership on Remote Housing, which will mean a shortfall of $24 million for South Australia…Defunding will inevitably lead to more overcrowding and even poorer health, social and educational outcomes for remote Indigenous communities.

Mr Wyatt then replied:

It is a matter of priority for our government and certainly has been part of a priority that has been the focus of a remote Indigenous housing agreement for the past 10 years. The negotiations that are occurring between states and territories that are part of this remote agreement require ministers from the states and territories to also equally commit and match Commonwealth funding. The funding that we provided to South Australia last year—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Let the minister speak.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: No, the history is pretty important—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Let the minister speak.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —and this goes to homelessness funding delays in South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Let me finish.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister, through the President.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: I'm sorry, Mr President, I apologise.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: I'm asking what you would tell Aboriginal communities.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: I will get to that.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: I'll be sending Hansard out again, as I did before.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Yes, very good; look forward to that.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, through the President.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: This is what you want them to read; it's up to you.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Don't you threaten me! He continues:

The funding that we provided to South Australia last year was $430 million for mainstream, or general, housing, but over the last nine years South Australia has received $3.3 billion. The point you make about reducing overcrowding has been a result of that continued partnership. We've seen a 15 per cent reduction in overcrowding in the four jurisdictions that are affected: Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland.

The funding has not been cut. It has not been reduced.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Is this Aboriginal housing, is it?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Yes, yes, correct.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: This is all Aboriginal housing?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: This is all Aboriginal housing, if you had been listening—

The PRESIDENT: Minister, do not respond directly to conversational questions across the aisle.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: That is the question that was put. He continues:

Senator Scullion is in ongoing negotiations with the relevant ministers. Sadly—

6 February 2018—

Zoe Bettison has, so far, refused to put any money on the table as part of those bilateral discussions.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: You've known about this issue since 2017!

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Because it was the commonwealth responsibility. You let them walk away from the responsibility every time.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: You're a disgrace!

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: You won't stand up for South Australians, you never do; you roll over! You're weak!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Order! Let the minister respond.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Take responsibility.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, please!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: He continues:

That is important, because there is a need to consider all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as part of the citizenry of each jurisdiction. Equally, there is an obligation for state and territory governments to come to the table and make their contribution in the same manner that they do for mainstream.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: So, Mr President, where did this leave the incoming South Australian government? We had two funding arrangements for homelessness to deal with. There was the homelessness funding agreement, which I signed last week, which was delayed as leverage with the commonwealth, because we were trying to get some money back on the table. The discussions are ongoing between my department and the federal department—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: For Aboriginal housing?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: For Aboriginal housing, and the Treasurer's—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: You said last time it was Treasury.

The PRESIDENT: Order! If you want to have a conversation with the minister, Leader of the Opposition, have it outside.

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: No, no, no, they're all talking; it may surprise the Leader of the Opposition to know that our ministers talk to each other and our departments talk to each other and they're working for the best outcome for all South Australians. So there are discussions taking place at Treasury level, between the state and commonwealth, and there are discussions taking place between DHS, my department and Nigel Scullion's department. They are ongoing and they are seeking the best outcomes for South Australia. I am not going to go into the details of those discussions, which would have been concluded had the Labor Party come to the party and put some recurrent funding on the table.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: What, rolled over like you did? Rolled over like you did and backfilled their blank hole? It was their responsibility and you let them get away with it.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Oh, give me a break!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: And then the Labor Party goes to the sector and has a meeting with the providers. Do you think they don't know what's going on? They know exactly what's going on. They know that the Labor Party was derelict in its duty under both housing agreements and were slack and have left the Liberal Party to clean up their mess, not just in the economic areas but in the social policy areas as well.