Federal Government Failure On Alice Springs Town Camps

Member for Lingiari and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs Warren Snowdon said there could be new solutions in the Prime Minister's request to Australian companies and Departmental CEOs to help overcome Indigenous disadvantage.

But Mr Snowdon said the fact that he has had to do it is an admission of his own Government's failure after eleven long years.

"I am all for realistic and achievable proposals to improve Indigenous people's job prospects, especially those that engage the private sector,' he said.

'Where it has worked, it's a result of groups like the mining industry engaging with Indigenous people on the basis of commercial good sense and a genuine desire to meet their social obligations to Indigenous Australians.

'But today's stunt, coming as it does after 11 years of a government that has got nowhere near addressing the root causes of Indigenous disadvantage, is little more than an admission of failure.

"Why has it taken all this time to get his own public service to address their obvious responsibilities?

'This government has failed Indigenous people across Australia but particularly those who live outside the capital cities and it still refuses to recognise that you have to address what's keeping them in poverty - housing, health and education.

'Like many Australians, I was far from impressed with the performance of his Indigenous Affairs Minister on radio today.

'Four years after the demise of ATSIC he's still trying to blame it for not providing the kind of mainstream service delivery it was neither set up or funded to do.

'Getting departments and companies on board will only work if this government actively engages with Indigenous people.

'But if the Prime Minister and his Ministers and their departments were on performance pay, we'd be entitled to ask for our money back for the job they've failed to do so far,' Mr Snowdon said.

2007-04-16