Member of Parliament calls for better servicing for Aboriginal people
Member of Parliament, Frederick Collard, pointed out the issues Aboriginal people in Western Australia faced in accessing government services, calling for a ‘fairer deal’.
There has not been very much change recently in the entitlements of Aboriginals under the Social Services Act. I refer to the machinery rather than to the benefits.
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In a speech to the House of Representatives in October 1968, Frederick Collard, the Labor Member for Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, called for a ‘fairer deal’ for Aboriginal people seeking social services. This is the Hansard record of his speech.
Collard said it was too hard for Aboriginal people to get Unemployment Benefit and Sickness Benefit. This was even following passages being removed from social services legislation in 1966 that had excluded Aboriginal people from these payments.
One issue was a lack of Department of Social Services (DSS) presence in communities where Aboriginal people lived. For example, in Western Australia, state government officials had taken on the responsibility of helping some Aboriginal people in remote areas access payments. However, Aboriginal activists had strongly recommended that people seek help directly from DSS officers if they could.
Collard suggested DSS place officers in Kalgoorlie, Geraldton and other areas with many Aboriginal people. His view was that while state officials were trying to help, expertise from DSS was required to ensure Aboriginal people got the right government payments.
Collard also noted that many Aboriginal people with jobs received poor wages. In some cases, their wages were less than the Unemployment Benefit rate. He said that because of this Aboriginal people couldn’t ‘raise their standards’ or ‘receive justice’.
Collard pointed out that the Minister for Social Services, William Wentworth, was now also the Minister-in-Charge of Aboriginal Affairs. This was following the 1967 Referendum result, which meant that Aboriginal affairs could become a federal responsibility. Collard argued that Wentworth could improve social services and Aboriginal affairs at the same time.
You can read the Hansard excerpt of Collard’s speech on the Parliament of Australia’s ParlInfo website.
Citation
Australian House of Representatives (10 October 1968) Debates, HR41:1884–1886.