00:00I would say let's actually first respect the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
00:08People tell me they are going to be celebrating Australia Day.
00:12It is not all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
00:15who are opposed to celebrating Australia Day on the 26th of January.
00:19And again I go back to, you know what, there are people who won't even be able to participate
00:23in celebrating Australia Day because they haven't got the health,
00:27they haven't got the house, they haven't got the safety that they actually need to join in celebrations.
00:32That's what my focus will be and that's what the Coalition's focus will be going forward as we develop our policies.
00:39Well I say to you as I do to everyone I speak to, I don't know what this obsession is around incarceration rates.
00:46You know one of the most protective factors is kids in schools, healthy kids and healthy parenting.
00:52That's what I want people to focus on.
00:54Let's focus on keeping kids out of custody, not focus on what we do with kids who are in custody.
01:01And if they're in custody, let's focus on making sure they don't end up back in custody.
01:06That's what I want to be focused on.
01:07And that's why I keep going back to those organisations that are charged with taxpayers funding
01:13to deliver services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to do it as effectively as possible.
01:19And the government, the federal government is responsible for a large proportion of that funding.
01:24So I say get on with it. Get on with the stuff that matters the most.
01:28If you are an Aboriginal person who has a child who is sick, who has an ear infection,
01:33and your organisation that you rely on is in turmoil because of its governance,
01:40you're not going to be getting the best possible service delivery.
01:43It's really that simple. This is not rocket science.
01:46So we need to be demanding better of those services, whomever they are, to deliver better for people.
01:52Ʊas.com
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