Senator Robert Ray asked the Special Minister of State, upon notice, on 5 December 1997:

(1) What information has been received on the rate of return of Constitutional Convention ballot papers by indigenous Australians.

(2) What has been the effect of the massive downgrading of resources available to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Electoral Information Service on the participation of indigenous Australians in the convention ballot.

(3) Why was the Australian Electoral Commission directed on the issue of resources to the service rather than being given the discretion as to where budget savings would occur.

Senator Minchin (Special Minister of State;Minister Assisting the Prime Minister) —The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

(1) It is impossible to ascertain nationally the number of Constitutional Convention ballot papers returned by indigenous Australians, as electors are not identified by race on the electoral roll.

(2) It is not possible to provide participation levels as explained in (1) above. During the Constitutional Convention election, the AEC conducted a special remote area information program in Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. As part of this program, AEC staff visited electors in remote areas and provided information about enrolment and voting procedures for this election. A separate field operations program in the Northern Territory also visited remote communities where a regular postal service was not available to provide ballot materials. Electors could return their completed ballot papers to these teams.

The AEC information campaign included the provision of advertising and public relations materials to a wide variety of media. AEC advertisements were translated into 9 aboriginal languages for radio and placed in media circulating in areas where aboriginal electors lived.

(3) The AEC was funded to undertake the original Aboriginal Electoral Education Program (AEEP) in 1979, in addition to its ongoing program funding. Over the years the original program evolved into the ATSIEIS program. Funding for the ATSIEIS program was withdrawn by the Government in the context of the 1996-97 Budget.