National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:29): Supplementary arising from the answer: do the Minister for Human Services' departments have any role whatsoever in these negotiations?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:29): The Minister for Human Services' department and indeed the minister herself has been a key player in terms of the negotiations over a long period of time. The commonwealth government, in a number of areas in terms of national agreements, not just in terms of remote housing but, as my ministerial colleagues will know, the health agreement, the education agreement; the former commonwealth treasurer and now Prime Minister and the current commonwealth Treasurer have a view that, in significant funding agreements between the commonwealth and the state, the treasurers should be taking the lead role in relation to the negotiations of many of the agreements—not all of them, but many of the agreements.

That was certainly the case in relation to the health agreement and the education agreement. It has turned out to be the case in relation to the remote housing agreement. There was a particular interest the current Prime Minister and former treasurer and the current Treasurer both had in this particular agreement, and treasurers were involved in the discussions between the commonwealth and the state.