Federal Government Dealings With Mutitjulu Community Not Transparent

Member for Lingiari and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs Warren Snowdon said the absence of transparency was keeping Mutitjulu community in the dark about what the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs required of it.

Mr Snowdon said the Department had an obligation to be completely open with the community about what its so-called 'governance problems' actually were.

'The Mutitjulu community has said very clearly that they want to work through these issues with the Department, but they haven't yet had any detail about what they are,' he said.

'The Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations has told the community that FaCSIA has no confidence in the governing committee or the Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation and is using these vague concerns as an excuse for imposing an administrator on the community.

"I understand that the CLP Senator for the Territory is promoting the appointment of an administrator and I think we'd all like to know what he knows that the community doesn't.

'Two weeks after withdrawing funding FaCSIA has yet to explain formally and in detail precisely what these concerns are.

'This is not fair dealing, coming as it does on top of a vicious public attack which vilifies the whole community over allegations of child sexual abuse.

'If those matters warrant further investigation, that's a matter for the police and other agencies, but the issue of governance is separate and should be seen to be kept separate.

'FaCSIA and the Registrar need to be accountable to the community over the way they're behaving and what they're demonstrating is a failure to follow their own principles of good governance by operating secretively and failing or refusing to provide any substantial detail of what they claim to be a problem.

'It seems the community has sought to deal openly and respond, but all they get is either a deathly silence or threats of an administrator,' Mr Snowdon said.

2006-07-18