Page 1778 - Week 06 - Thursday, 30 July 2020
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As outlined in the bill, new time lines for the presentation of and responses to reports by and to the elected body are included. This will ensure that reports do not languish unattended or unconsidered for extended periods of time and provides some assurance that issues will be addressed in a timely manner.
It is my hope that the strengthening of the role of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body will engender greater trust from both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members and government ministers and officials in the elected body’s ability to provide frank and fearless advice.
Certainly, as a former Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs here in the ACT, I have been pleased to see the evolution of the elected body. At the time I became the minister, the body was still relatively new. Over time I believe it has really grown in stature, as successive members have worked incredibly hard to build its reputation, to advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT and to contribute to and influence government policy and resource allocation. I hope that that trend continues because their role has the potential to make a significant difference in the ACT. I think they have done that already, and there is room for that to continue to grow.
As the elected body state themselves, “Nothing about us without us.” This legislation ensures that the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders inform the way that services and programs are developed and delivered, and that is as it should be. The Greens are pleased to support this bill.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Children, Youth and Families and Minister for Health) (4.34), in reply: Thanks to Mr Milligan and Mr Rattenbury for their contributions to the debate and their support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body Amendment Bill 2020. From the commencement of the original elected body act Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the ACT have had the right to a democratically elected voice to the Legislative Assembly and ACT government. The ACT government fundamentally believes in the importance of the elected body as a voice and is committed to strengthening it, in line with the views and expectations of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
As we have discussed, this bill will: strengthen the ability of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body to advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the ACT, including on a national level and with non-government organisations; enable and protect a broadcasting service in relation to elected body public hearings; impose reporting time frames to enable more timely reporting and response processes; and clarify the application of the Electoral Act 1992 to elected body election processes.
I am particularly pleased that the bill makes amendments to acknowledge the new advocacy role of the elected body at the national level, as the ACT representative and member of the coalition of peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and its involvement with the joint council on closing the gap to progress the work on developing and implementing the national partnership agreement on closing the gap.
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