❓ Opposition questions the Premier's commitment to providing essential services to remote Aboriginal communities following potential community closures. The Premier responds with a story highlighting challenges in these communities, leading to heated debate and the suspension of a member.
AnsweredQoN 201Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
REMOTE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES — CLOSURE
201. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Just to confirm, when the Premier advised the rally this morning that no
Aboriginal people will be forced from their communities, what he meant was that
people could remain living in the houses and the communities, some of which
they lived in for thousands of years, but without —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Joondalup, I call you to order now for the third time.
Mr
M. McGOWAN : But they would be without essential services, such as power, water,
schooling and child protection and police services. Is that correct?
201. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Just to confirm, when the Premier advised the rally this morning that no
Aboriginal people will be forced from their communities, what he meant was that
people could remain living in the houses and the communities, some of which
they lived in for thousands of years, but without —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Joondalup, I call you to order now for the third time.
Mr
M. McGOWAN : But they would be without essential services, such as power, water,
schooling and child protection and police services. Is that correct?
AnswerView source ↗
The reality is —
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : It is easy to say the nice things. It is not easy to say the
truth and the reality.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
We will progressively work with those communities and some of them, probably a significant
number, will not be viable in providing the level of protection, care, health
and education for the people there. There are many good Aboriginal communities
that do not have these problems.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member
for Cockburn, I call you to order for the first time. Member for Pilbara, I
call you to order for the first time. Can you just wind it up please, Premier?
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
If members can indulge me for a few seconds. At the end of the year, we go around
and talk to our school principals. I talked to a school principal and he had
come from a remote community. He said that when he went to the school there,
little girls were coming in and sleeping through the day. He did not know what
was going on, but he got beanbags in his office and let these little kids, as
young as five years old, sleep in his office all day. He was new; he had no
experience with an Aboriginal community. He told me a story —
Several members interjected.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite do not like to hear this, do they?
Mr
B.S. Wyatt interjected.
Suspension of Member
The SPEAKER : Member for Victoria
Park, will you please leave the chamber. I have called you to order now four
times. Thank you.
[The member for Victoria Park left
the chamber.]
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I conclude with this —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members! Member for Cannington, member for Kwinana and member for Mandurah,
that concludes question time.
Ms R. Saffioti :
Racist!
Withdrawal of Remark
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan, I want you to withdraw that comment.
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : I withdraw.
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : I refer to the same comment from the member.
The SPEAKER : That
has been withdrawn, and that is the end of question time.
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : It is easy to say the nice things. It is not easy to say the
truth and the reality.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
We will progressively work with those communities and some of them, probably a significant
number, will not be viable in providing the level of protection, care, health
and education for the people there. There are many good Aboriginal communities
that do not have these problems.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member
for Cockburn, I call you to order for the first time. Member for Pilbara, I
call you to order for the first time. Can you just wind it up please, Premier?
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
If members can indulge me for a few seconds. At the end of the year, we go around
and talk to our school principals. I talked to a school principal and he had
come from a remote community. He said that when he went to the school there,
little girls were coming in and sleeping through the day. He did not know what
was going on, but he got beanbags in his office and let these little kids, as
young as five years old, sleep in his office all day. He was new; he had no
experience with an Aboriginal community. He told me a story —
Several members interjected.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite do not like to hear this, do they?
Mr
B.S. Wyatt interjected.
Suspension of Member
The SPEAKER : Member for Victoria
Park, will you please leave the chamber. I have called you to order now four
times. Thank you.
[The member for Victoria Park left
the chamber.]
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I conclude with this —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members! Member for Cannington, member for Kwinana and member for Mandurah,
that concludes question time.
Ms R. Saffioti :
Racist!
Withdrawal of Remark
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan, I want you to withdraw that comment.
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : I withdraw.
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : I refer to the same comment from the member.
The SPEAKER : That
has been withdrawn, and that is the end of question time.
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