Question regarding the impact of the Commonwealth government's decision to end the Closing the Gap National Partnership Agreement on Aboriginal health programs in WA, specifically concerning funding for existing programs and the future of specific initiatives.

AnsweredQoN 713Legislative Council
Asked
25 June 2014
Portfolio
Health

QuestionView source ↗

ABORIGINAL HEALTH — CLOSING THE GAP NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP
AGREEMENT
713. Hon AMBER-JADE SANDERSON to the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to Aboriginal health programs previously funded under
the Council of Australian Governments' Closing the Gap National
Partnership Agreement.
(1) Which programs will be impacted by the loss of
commonwealth contributions?
(2) Will the
government commit to funding other Aboriginal health programs previously funded
jointly by the state and commonwealth governments?
(3) If not,
which programs will be cancelled within the next 12 months as a result of the
loss of commonwealth contributions?
(4) Will the
government continue to fund the south metropolitan Aboriginal men's
health program and the prisoner health program over the next 12 months?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for some notice of this question.
(1) Under the
COAG Closing the Gap National Partnership Agreement the state and commonwealth
governments each committed to contributing funding. Both levels of government
directly funded programs. As a result of a decision taken by the former Labor
commonwealth government, the commonwealth elected to separately fund the
programs it supports thus ending the partnership arrangement. The commonwealth's
decision does not impact on the state-funded programs.
(2) Programs
were not funded jointly under the COAG Closing the Gap agreement. Governments
independently funded their own programs.
(3) Funding
for programs delivered by the Western Australian government under the COAG
Closing the Gap National Partnership Agreement will be continued in 2014–15
as state own-purpose expenditure under the title of the WA Footprints to Better
Health Strategy 2014–15. This includes the state own-purpose
expenditure component of the Indigenous Early Childhood Development National Partnership
Agreement.
(4) No. The
government will not continue to fund the south metropolitan Aboriginal men's
health program and the prisoner health program after 30 June 2014. These
programs failed to meet their contractual obligations and neither was assessed
as demonstrating value for money.

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