NT: Review panel member says ATSIC often wrongly blamed

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NT: Review panel member says ATSIC often wrongly blamed

By Karen Michelmore

DARWIN, Aug 13 AAP - ATSIC was constantly and unfairly blamed for things it was noteven responsible for, a panel member conducting a review of the organisation said today.

Former federal Labor senator for the Northern Territory Bob Collins is one of threemembers of the panel conducting a review of the role and functions of the Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) for the federal government.

"I think ATSIC has got to improve its performance, no question about it, but it isconsistently, and in my view, constantly unfairly blamed for its failure to deliver programsthat it's not even responsible for," Mr Collins told reporters.

"ATSIC is constantly being blamed for its failure in the areas of health and education,and in fact ATSIC is responsible for neither."

Mr Collins' comments came as the chairman of the organisation, Geoff Clark, was todaysuspended by the federal government for misbehaviour.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Philip Ruddock said Mr Clark's suspension followed hisconviction earlier this year for obstructing police and behaving in a riotous manner inpublic.

Mr Collins, in Darwin to meet with elected representatives from ATSIC's North Zone,said concerns had been raised among members about the lack of accountability of governmentorganisations and the short timeframe allocated to the review.

North Zone Commissioner Kim Hill said it was not only ATSIC that needed to be more accountable.

"(There needs to be) a bit more accountability in regards to being able to hold othergovernment departments and governments themselves accountable for their expenditure ofindigenous dollars," Mr Hill said.

"Here in the Northern Territory, there has been a number of reports over the last fiveyears which indicated that governments in the past have not necessarily directed thosefunds ... to indigenous people.

"What we are looking at is making governments accountable."

He was also concerned at the lack of time given to the review.

"In all, we've had six weeks ... of how we are going to reshape the future of representationof indigenous people in this country," Mr Hill said.

"We tend to question why the hurry. In this part of the world, the NT, ... it can takeyou six weeks just to drive around the Top End."

AAP km/apm/jlw

KEYWORD: ATSIC REVIEW