Today I signed a five year bilateral agreement between the Australian Government and the Northern Territory to improve service delivery for indigenous communities.
This is the first bilateral agreement under the new Council of Australian Governments (COAG ) indigenous service delivery framework. Under this framework, governments are committed to achieving better outcomes for indigenous Australians by cutting unnecessary duplication between jurisdictions, reducing bureaucratic red-tape and harnessing mainstream government programmes to ensure they meet the needs of indigenous Australians.
The agreement I signed today with the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, the Hon Clare Martin MLA, includes a housing schedule that will cut administrative duplication. Under this schedule, the Australian Government will shift approximately $22 million per annum in existing funding to the Northern Territory, who will administer housing programmes on behalf of both governments from 1 July 2006.
The agreement will be underpinned by a rigorous accountability regime so that both governments can be confident that the new arrangements are working to meet the needs of indigenous people.
The agreement emphasises shared responsibility, with governments and communities committing to work together on practical measures to address priority areas of need. Later today I will be visiting the Wadeye community, one of the COAG trial sites where shared responsibility is being put into practice, and one of the most remote and disadvantaged indigenous communities in Australia. The community has implemented a range of measures including a 'no school no pool' policy, which has substantially boosted school attendance. In turn, governments have been listening to community needs and are delivering services in areas the community has identified as priorities.