• Senate Select Committee on Regional and Remote Indigenous Communities

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17 May 2010The select committee was established in March 2008 to report to the Senate twice yearly until the end of the current parliament on four broad issues, including the impact of state and territory government policies on the wellbeing of regional and remote Indigenous communities, the health, welfare, education and security of children in these communities, employment and enterprise opportunities as well as the effectiveness of Commonwealth government policies following the Northern Territory Emergency Response.

This fourth report makes 14 recommendations:
 
Recommendation 1 
The committee recommends that all Australian Government and state/territory agencies, provide the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare with reports and publications as they are published, as well as statistics on an annual basis, to ensure that the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse is a relevant evidence base for policy makers. 

Recommendation 2 
The committee recommends that the COAG work on the National Strategy for Food Security in Remote Indigenous Communities include an analysis of alternative agriculture to improve the affordability, quality and
availability of fresh fruit and vegetables in regional and remote Indigenous communities. 

Recommendation 3 
The committee recommends that the Australian Government expand the remit of the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services' reporting mandate for basic service and infrastructure in all regional and remote
Indigenous communities with over 200 residents. The committee considers that the Coordinator General should be afforded additional resources to undertake such an expanded reporting role. 

Recommendation 4 
The committee notes the consultation being undertaken in developing local implementation plans but considers that as a matter of practice, consultation plans which are not readily accessible to the public should be made public prior to consultation being undertaken. 

Recommendation 5 
The committee recommends that on a monthly basis the Australian Government publish the number and location of new, rebuilt or refurbished homes completed under the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing program. 

Recommendation 6
The committee also recommends that the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services conduct a detailed analysis of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing in his next six monthly report. 
 
Recommendation 7 
Noting the success of the Sporting Chance Program, the committee recommends that the Australian Government investigate programs for other extra curricular activities such as a program for students interested in the arts.
 
Recommendation 8 
The committee recommends that the evaluation mechanisms that underpin COAG's investment of the $100 million Tackling Smoking initiative be publicly released to ensure that this funding provides a tangible difference on the
ground in communities. 

Recommendation 9 
Given the evidence that the committee has received about problems with funding models, the committee considers that COAG should expedite implementation of the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services'
recommendation to examine the use of more flexible funding approaches which aggregate departmental funding into a master contract with each National Partnership Agreement on Remote Service Delivery community. 

Recommendation 10 
The committee recommends that all state and territory governments consider the publication of a Quarterly Report in line with that published by the Queensland Government and that this information feed into the Council of
Australian Governments baseline data collection process. 

Recommendation 11 
The committee recommends that the evaluation of the Cape York Welfare Reform trial be made public to inform other governments about the results of the program and its applicability to other regional and remote Indigenous
communities. 

Recommendation 12 
The committee recommends that the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs expand the policy on attendance currently in the draft Indigenous Education Action Plan to include the need for measures that facilitate reintegration of students who have missed large amounts of schooling but recommence attending school as the result of attendance measures. 

Recommendation 13 
The committee recommends that the Australian Health Ministers Conference develop a framework specifying interoperability between social and emotional wellbeing services and clinical mental health services. 
 
Recommendation 14 
The committee recommends that Queensland Corrections consider including routine hearing assessments in the induction and assessment process for persons newly entering the corrective services system.