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Family and community have always been an integral part of the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This Government will continue to promote the strengthening of family and community structures as a key to improving the lives of Indigenous Australians.
Under the Australians Working Together package, a further $32.2 million will be provided over the next four years to enhance community development and capacity building activities. In partnership with ATSIC, around 100 Indigenous communities across Australia will develop Community Participation Agreements that will enable each community to decide what people should do in return for their income support and plan for better delivery of services at the local level. The agreements will support the development of leadership, community governance and cultural identity and will strengthen community involvement in important programmes such as the National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy.
The Government continues to address the consequences of past family separation practices through its four year $63 million package of initiatives announced in December 1997. The Link-up network and the counselling and parenting programmes which were the centrepiece of the Government's practical package will continue beyond 30 June 2002 at a further cost of $53.9 million over the four years to 30 June 2006.
On 24 October 2000 the Indigenous Community Capacity Building Roundtable was convened at the request of the Prime Minister to discuss ways to strengthen Indigenous families and communities. Roundtable members include senior Indigenous and community leaders, industry and church representatives, academics and individuals with recognised expertise in working with Indigenous families and communities. The roundtable developed a set of principles to guide the Government's work in Indigenous communities. Principles developed by the roundtable are used to develop and assess projects under the $20 million component of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy provided for Indigenous-specific projects.
Projects approved to this point focus on improving capacity in Indigenous communities, particularly in relation to leadership, conflict resolution and strategies to increase social and economic opportunities. The projects include a significant national Indigenous Leadership initiative sponsored by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
A national framework to address Indigenous family violence was developed and endorsed by the Ministerial Council for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in 1999. The Government has set aside $6 million through the Partnerships Against Domestic Violence programme to give practical effect to the strategy by providing direct support for grassroots Indigenous organisations in their efforts to address family violence. Thirty Indigenous organisations received funding of $2.2 million under the first round of the grants programme for projects ranging from children's education programmes to perpetrator programmes. Applications for the second round of funding are expected to be advertised in June 2001. The second round will make available a further $3.5 million to address Indigenous family violence.
Indigenous Australians continue to be a key target group for treatment programmes under the National Illicit Drug Strategy. Under the Strategy the Government has provided funding totalling $7.5 million over four years towards the establishment and expansion of 23 services targeting illicit drugs use, including petrol sniffing, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. In addition, the Prime Minister recently announced a further $1 million for community supported early intervention and prevention initiatives aimed at diverting experimental sniffers and those at risk of petrol sniffing in the Northern Territory.
