❓ Mr. Birney questions the Premier about underspending on indigenous programs highlighted by the Auditor General. The Premier defends the spending rate by emphasising consultation and criticises the Liberal Party's past record on Indigenous affairs.
AnsweredQoN 756Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I ask a supplementary question. What excuses can also be made for the finding of the Auditor General that only 49 per cent of the $800 000 allocated for the indigenous community partnership fund, and only 24 per cent of the $601 000 allocated for the safe places, safe people program, has actually been spent? Dr G.I. GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
They do not understand! They asked the same question a number of years ago about the multipurpose facilities in those communities. I give the same answer now. We are not in this business just to spend money. We are in this business to make a difference. We are going to make a difference. How do we make a difference? We consult with the communities and we find out what we need to do before we go out there and spend the money. We are doing this properly, because we believe in it. However, let me remind everyone in Western Australia, through the Parliament, of the attitude to Aboriginal people on the part of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party put through this Parliament legislation that was racist, and that was shown to be racist by the High Court. It took the Labor government to reverse that direction, and to start consulting and to start building communities. However, we will do it properly.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: They do not understand! They asked the same question a number of years ago about the multipurpose facilities in those communities. I give the same answer now. We are not in this business just to spend money. We are in this business to make a difference. We are going to make a difference. How do we make a difference? We consult with the communities and we find out what we need to do before we go out there and spend the money. We are doing this properly, because we believe in it. However, let me remind everyone in Western Australia, through the Parliament, of the attitude to Aboriginal people on the part of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party put through this Parliament legislation that was racist, and that was shown to be racist by the High Court. It took the Labor government to reverse that direction, and to start consulting and to start building communities. However, we will do it properly.
They do not understand! They asked the same question a number of years ago about the multipurpose facilities in those communities. I give the same answer now. We are not in this business just to spend money. We are in this business to make a difference. We are going to make a difference. How do we make a difference? We consult with the communities and we find out what we need to do before we go out there and spend the money. We are doing this properly, because we believe in it. However, let me remind everyone in Western Australia, through the Parliament, of the attitude to Aboriginal people on the part of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party put through this Parliament legislation that was racist, and that was shown to be racist by the High Court. It took the Labor government to reverse that direction, and to start consulting and to start building communities. However, we will do it properly.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: They do not understand! They asked the same question a number of years ago about the multipurpose facilities in those communities. I give the same answer now. We are not in this business just to spend money. We are in this business to make a difference. We are going to make a difference. How do we make a difference? We consult with the communities and we find out what we need to do before we go out there and spend the money. We are doing this properly, because we believe in it. However, let me remind everyone in Western Australia, through the Parliament, of the attitude to Aboriginal people on the part of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party put through this Parliament legislation that was racist, and that was shown to be racist by the High Court. It took the Labor government to reverse that direction, and to start consulting and to start building communities. However, we will do it properly.
They do not understand! They asked the same question a number of years ago about the multipurpose facilities in those communities. I give the same answer now. We are not in this business just to spend money. We are in this business to make a difference. We are going to make a difference. How do we make a difference? We consult with the communities and we find out what we need to do before we go out there and spend the money. We are doing this properly, because we believe in it. However, let me remind everyone in Western Australia, through the Parliament, of the attitude to Aboriginal people on the part of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party put through this Parliament legislation that was racist, and that was shown to be racist by the High Court. It took the Labor government to reverse that direction, and to start consulting and to start building communities. However, we will do it properly.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.