QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE › National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Manager of Government Business in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council) (14:50): Certainly there has been assessment of resourcing for this role that will be provided. The government will, of course, make sure that those resources are available for the commissioner to do their work and adequately resource them to do their work. That goes without saying. In terms of the broader recommendations in Bringing them home—I'm not trying to shift responsibility here—there is work that is done across states and territories. Senator Thorpe interjecting— Senator GALLAGHER: They do have responsibility for the child protection systems. The Commonwealth doesn't run those. But we want to work with them. We want to ensure that the commissioner's role is effective and that they are able to focus on the issues that First Nations people have raised— The PRESIDENT: Please resume your seat, Minister Gallagher. A point of order, Senator Thorpe? Senator Thorpe: The question was whether the government has costed what is required to provide oversight. The PRESIDENT: The minister has been relevant to your question. I'm not sure if she has anything more to add in the six seconds remaining, but I will invite her. Senator GALLAGHER: We have assessed the costing for the commissioner. I said I would come back with further information, if I had it, about the resourcing for oversight of recommendations. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, a second supplementary?