The Wire

Last night the Senate Standing Committee presented it’s report into the Administration of Indigenous Affairs. The report received little mainstream coverage – perhaps because the government has already stripped the peak Indigenous body, ATSIC, of it’s funding, its powers and many of its people. In bringing the report to the house, Labor Committee Chair Clare Moore said she hopes the opinions expressed to the Inquiry will inform future debate. Democrat Senate Committee Member Aden Ridgeway says communities are wondering what demands the government will make of them under the so-called Shared Responsibility Agreements. ATSIC Chair Geoff Clarke sees the report as a vindication, while National Indigenous Council member Warren Mundine backs the report’s call for a nationally elected body.