Is the Commonwealth governments overall level of funding to ATSIC adequate?
The National Aboriginal Health Strategy estimated that it was going to cost about $2.5 billion to meet the housing and infrastructure needs of Aboriginal people. There are many Aboriginal organisations that do assist people with their housing and infrastructure needs, and in terms of housing needs the backlog is huge. There is a perception that Aboriginal people are getting too much. But really there are a whole range of needs that you can’t actually see straightaway. People are having to rebuild their societies again. Like Pat Dodson [chairperson of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation] said, the money that goes to Aboriginal people doesn’t just go into some big indigenous vault. This money gets spent in the wider economy. Who really benefits in the end is the white business man, the bloke who sells the building products, or the plumber. Question: What sort of role do you see ATSIC playing? Aboriginal organisations have been around for a lot longer that ATSIC. They began when the
