12/08/05
Western Australia has become the first State to conclude a Regional Partnership Agreement - an agreement that will see a greater say and better targeted funding for a Central Desert community.
Indigenous Affairs Minister John Kobelke today joined with the Ngaanyatjarra community and Federal and local governments in signing the country's first Regional Partnership Agreement at a ceremony in Warburton.
Mr Kobelke said the agreement would reduce red tape and give the Ngaanyatjarra people a more effective voice in how their government funding was directed.
"This agreement brings all the stakeholders to the table to develop meaningful long-term strategies that will produce real results in the community," he said.
"It is about developing mechanisms that will ensure Government services are well co-ordinated and that the Ngaanyatjarra community is involved in setting the priorities for its people."
Regional Partnership Agreements have been introduced by the Federal Government since the disbanding of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
Mr Kobelke said WA was the site of the first agreement because of the groundwork already done in the Ngaanyatjarra community.
"The Ngaanyatjarra Council is to be congratulated for the lead it has taken," he said.
"Their leadership has been fundamental to the partnership forged between the community and the Gallop Government over the past three years, and which has now led to this wider agreement.
"Our relationship with them has resulted in the community securing a total of almost $40million in capital funding, programs and services from the State Government in recent years.
"The funding, which incorporates programs and facilities recommended by the Gordon Inquiry, includes better education programs and several new multi-function police facilities with both police and child protection workers."
The Ngaanyatjarra RPA includes:
- funding to establish a committee of Ngaanyatjarra people that will represent the needs of the community to Government;
- a mechanism for the community to work through a central contact point in dealing with government agencies, rather than each agency individually; and
- improved access to municipal services, including housing and power.
Mr Kobelke co-signed the agreement with Federal Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister John Cobb, representing Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Amanda Vanstone.
Mr Kobelke said the Gallop Government was committed to providing long-term solutions to Aboriginal communities with programs and services that worked.
"This Regional Partnership Agreement will provide better services to the people of the Ngaanyatjarra lands and lead to a stronger and more sustainable community," he said.
Minister's office: 9222 9211
