Question Time

National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:17): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Human Services regarding housing.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: For the third time since taking on the portfolio of human services, yesterday the minister was asked to update the chamber on the status of remote Aboriginal housing agreements. The minister started her answer, 'It delights me to be able to place on the record some information in relation to this issue.' The minister then merely regurgitated federal minister Ken Wyatt's response from Hansard in the federal parliament from February of this year, which was:

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 minister was twice further asked if the figure that she rattled off was for Aboriginal housing, to which she stated, 'This is all Aboriginal housing, if you had been listening.' New and further information has come to hand in relation to this matter. An SBS report yesterday on this topic stated:

Mr Scullion said he was disappointed that negotiations with Queensland had taken so long, while other states and territories have since reached new joint funding agreements.

My questions are:

1. Can the minister give the actual figure the federal government has provided for remote Aboriginal housing over the last nine years, rather than the $3.3 billion that she claimed yesterday?

2. Did the minister meet with federal minister Nigel Scullion when he was in Adelaide last week?

3. Given the minister has held her portfolio for three months now, can she outline to the chamber the actions she herself has undertaken to secure new funding from the federal government?

4. What is the split of the new joint funding agreement reached with the federal government, as per minister Nigel Scullion's comments reported in the media yesterday?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:19): I thank the honourable member for that particular question. When he asked me, 'Is this all Aboriginal housing', I was referring to a particular response from the minister, Ken Wyatt, to a specific question in relation to Aboriginal housing. So the honourable member should be minded that, when he wants to interrupt people when they are on their feet, he should take things in the context of the question in which they were asked.

So I did repeat verbatim the response that was given in the House of Representatives in relation to a very specific question from the member from Mayo and a response that the Hon. Ken Wyatt provided to the member for Mayo putting into context all of the funding that the federal government has provided to South Australia over a considerable period of time.

I have had a number of negotiations—well, put it this way: my department has had ongoing negotiations with the relevant federal department, and there is also Treasury-to-Treasury discussions going on. And, yes, I did meet with minister Scullion last week, but I am not in a position to be able to provide the honourable member with details of those discussions, apart from the fact that he said to me that he had rather enjoyed the interactions with the Hon. Mr Maher, and my response to him was that perhaps he didn't know him very well!

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!