QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS

Senator THORPE (Victoria—Independent VIC Whip) (15:37): I move: That the Senate take note of answers given by the Minister for Indigenous Australians (Senator McCarthy) to questions without notice I asked today relating to Indigenous housing. When faced with real people facing real problems, what do ministers from the Albanese government do? They say they are concerned.

They write a letter to someone to say they are concerned. But they will not actually take any real action, even when it's in their power to do so. They will always pass the buck.

And the minister for Indigenous Australians is sticking to the Labor 'do nothing' playbook. Right now, in Mount Isa, 15 families are facing homelessness in the next month or so. But, when I asked the minister today what the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, a statutory office under her responsibility, had done to intervene when requested by the housing provider itself in April this year, she could not name a single real action.

In 2012, ORIC knew the housing provider had major governance failures, and it took some action and returned control in 2013. In 2019, ORIC got a complaint about the housing provider but then didn't do anything until 2025, when it successfully took the housing provider to court. That's six years later.

The housing provider's governance failures did not get fixed, and ORIC did not call in a special administrator, did not liquidate the provider and did not take any other action. They could have done that but have not, and this could have led to real-life consequences for 15 families who could be homeless in a month. When ORIC, an office under Minister McCarthy's responsibility, does not do its job, the buck must stop with the Minister for Indigenous Australians.

When I asked how many families she had secured housing for, the minister could not provide a number at all. She has not secured housing for any of the families. She said she is speaking with the affected families, but my office has repeatedly been in contact with several of the families, and none of them have met with the minister.

They have trouble getting hold of their local National Indigenous Australians Agency office. Not once has the minister been clear on what options are actually being considered and pursued. I have a letter from Mount Isa council which states that, if the rates for individual properties are being paid, it will not be able to auction those off.

Is the minister doing anything to pursue this avenue? We're talking about a million bucks here. Minister McCarthy must intervene today and save 15 families from homelessness and from any further anxiety and stress about where they are going to live.

Question agreed to.