Page 3068 - Week 08 - Thursday, 15 August 2019
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service. I want to put on record today my enormous thanks to them for completing this very complex task so smoothly.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety and Minister for Mental Health) (6.10): I would like to speak today to budget initiatives related to Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. During this last year we have seen the development of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander agreement for 2019-28, which sets out a long-term direction in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs and obligates the ACT government and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body to work together towards equitable outcomes for this population group.
We cannot deny that there is significant overrepresentation of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in care and protection, out of home care and juvenile justice systems and that this ultimately contributes to an over-representation in the criminal justice system. We also cannot deny that this is a challenge all governments across Australia are grappling with.
These issues are widespread and ubiquitous and speak to the impacts of colonisation, dispossession of lands, language and culture and successive implementation of ineffectual policies and programs. To overcome this overrepresentation, we must get better at developing solutions with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in order to understand what will work in the most effective way and in order to understand at which point in a young person’s or their family’s life appropriate supports will be most beneficial.
I am pleased to see that this budget does commit funds for several initiatives, including strengthening services for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I am pleased that the guidance of the Our Booris, Our Way steering committee continues to be sought and that there is a commitment to implement the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child placement principles, as this is fundamental to ensuring a child’s connection to family and community, with a sense of identity and culture.
Listening to and working alongside the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community is integral to any success in reducing inequality and this approach is a good example of that. As I have said before in this place, we must engage with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in a way that builds and demonstrates trust.
Without trust, we are doomed. Without trust, we cannot work in partnership and we cannot work collectively together to ensure that we have programs and initiatives that will address and achieve the outcomes the community needs. We must respect and understand that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the knowledge and experience to make the best decisions concerning their children’s and their own lives.
These commitments, not only to implement the child placement principles but to support training and workforce development to increase cultural proficiency and
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