(1)   Is she aware of reported comments by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts that elements of the Northern Territory Intervention should be considered for dysfunctional urban indigenous communities, such as La Perouse in his electorate.

(2)   Has the Government considered new measures such as welfare quarantine, alcohol bans, and better law enforcement for urban indigenous communities; if so, what are the details.

(3)   Have any such changes been discussed with the States and Territories, and when might any such changes be implemented.

(1)   Yes.

(2)   The Australian and Western Australian Governments are working in partnership to implement income management in selected areas of Western Australia, including the Kimberley area and the Cannington region in Perth. From September 2008, the Western Australian Department for Child Protection will be able to notify Centrelink to apply income management where it has been assessed that children are being neglected and where poor use of available financial resources wholly or partially contributes to that neglect. In addition, the Governments have committed to implementing a trial in the Cannington region in Perth linking school enrolment and attendance with welfare payments. Parents receiving income support will be required to inform Centrelink of where their children are enrolled and to take reasonable measures to ensure their children attend school regularly. Parents who fail to enrol their child or take reasonable measures to get their children to school may have their income support payments suspended until the problem is resolved. If parents have met their responsibilities within a 13 week period, full back pay of their suspended payments will be provided. This initiative will also be trialled in six communities in the Northern Territory and an additional metropolitan site which will be announced in the future. In comparison to Indigenous people in remote areas, those in urban areas have much greater access to programs and services.

(3)   The Government is committed to closing the gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians regardless of where they live. We are working with the States and Territories to develop new approaches and to ensure that non-remote Indigenous people benefit from services designed for all Australians. As part of the reform of Specific Purpose Payments we will leverage better outcomes for Indigenous people in remote, regional and urban areas.