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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-28 Daily Xml
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APY LANDS, SAFE FACILITIES

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood) (14:36): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Why, three and a half years after Commissioner Mullighan made his key recommendation to establish safe house facilities for women and children on the APY lands who need short-term protection from abuse, has the government not yet built one such facility, and what is the time frame for responding to this recommendation, a recommendation accepted by this government with a facility at Alice Springs as requested by the NPY Women's Council?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers, Minister Assisting the Premier in Social Inclusion) (14:37): Whether you like it or not, the fact is that we were advised by other people on the lands that, if we built a safe house on the lands, it would not get used.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: What are we doing?

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Norwood, you have asked the question; listen to the response.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: We have not built a safe house on the lands because our advice is that it would not be used. That is very important advice, and we have taken that seriously. So, what we are doing, what my agency is doing—and this matter was the subject of discussion this morning with minister Macklin—is working with the commonwealth and with the Northern Territory government, because our advice is that Alice Springs is probably the best place for such a facility. However—and minister Rankine can augment this—we have not been sitting on our hands in relation to this matter. We have augmented—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: They do not like the answer.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: They do not like the answer, because they refuse to acknowledge that these are complex matters.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Norwood, you are warned for the second time.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: I have to say that 45 out of 46 Mullighan recommendations were accepted. I think we are doing very well, but the task is a difficult one and we do not shirk our responsibilities. The fact is that the community has told us, 'We're not going to use a safe house if it is built on the lands. We think it should probably be in Alice Springs.' We are working on that but, in the meantime, we have augmented the service delivery we have so that women are not vulnerable, so that women and their families can access support services.

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