Scullion stays Minister for Indigenous Affairs

11
973

Nigel Scullion 2
Territory Senator Nigel Scullion (pictured) has remained the Minister for Indigenous Affairs – for the NT the most significant portfolio – in the new Malcolm Turnbull government.
 
This was announced this afternoon.
 
He says on his website that “the greatest honour I’ve had in my parliamentary career was to serve as the Minister for Indigenous Affairs in the Abbott Government”.
 
Since becoming a Country Liberal Party Senator for the Territory in October 2001 he has held a wide variety of portfolios as both a Minister in the Howard Government and as a Shadow Minister in Opposition.
 
Senator Scullion sits with the National Party, and since September 2013 he has been the party’s leader in the Senate.
 
Senator Sculllion was  was born in London in 1956 and spent his early years between Malaysia and Malawi in Africa and England. He was educated in England and Australia.
 
From 1985, when he moved to the Northern Territory, he says he has “worked across a number of industries, including mining, fishing, maritime salvage, security and engineering.
 
“Six years living off the coast of Arnhem Land really cemented my understanding of, and keen interest in the issues facing Australia’s first people, particularly those living in remote areas.
 
“From 1991 I settled in Darwin and there’s nowhere better to live than in our wonderful Northern Territory.”
 
Meanwhile NT Chief Minister Adam Giles says he welcomes the emphasis on Northern Australian development in the new Ministerial arrangements announced by Mr Turnbull.
 
The appointment of Josh Frydenburg to the portfolio of Resources, Energy and Northern Development sent a strong message that the Coalition was serious about developing the north, says Mr Giles.
 
“I will be inviting Mr Frydenburg to the Territory at his earliest convenience so he can inspect firsthand the range of development opportunities that exist in Northern Australia.
 
“I’m confident that the development of the north will continue to be at the forefront of policy development under the leadership of Mr Turnbull and Minister Frydenburg.”
 
 

11 COMMENTS

  1. Yea great experience for his position. I’m sure he will be particularly useful in finding ways to mine their land against their wishes. How to overfish their waters and poison it with mining spoil.
    Render the whole if the Top End’s waters in need of salvage.
    Provide security for miners and others engaged in actions against the wishes of the local people. And engineering us all into a dangerous and unsustainable future.

  2. Nige may be able to resume his fishing soon, if the persistent rumours about a Giles knifing of Scullion’s preselection at the forthcoming CLP Party Council meeting prove to be correct.

  3. @ Bob Durnan: Bob raises an interesting point, as Nigel Scullion has now been a CLP senator for almost exactly 14 years (elected 10 November 2001), having won the position after the CLP dumped Grant Tambling. Tambling served a similar length of time (1987 to 2001).
    However, Tambling’s original preselection for the Senate was an orderly affair (I was a delegate at the CLP Central Council meeting that chose him), coming in the wake of Bernie Kilgariff’s announcement of his retirement from politics. It’s the only such change of senator in the NT to have occurred in this way (Labor’s Trish Crossin was appointed as a Senator upon the retirement of Bob Collins in June 1998 but she subsequently came under serious challenge for her position).
    The warning notice for Grant Tambling that his time in the Australian Senate was up came at the CLP’s Annual Conference held in Alice Springs in 1999, when the then-recently retired CLP politician Barry Coulter quite openly declared it was time for Tambling to make way for “new blood”.
    In 2013 it was Trish Crossin’s turn, after 15 years as senator, to be abruptly told by then-PM Julia Gillard that she was to be replaced by “captain’s pick” Nova Peris.
    So it would seem to be a consistent pattern, that after a period of a decade to 15 years, a Northern Territory senator reaches his or her “use-by” date.
    Incidentally, Senator Scullion has made no secret of the fact of his support for former PM Tony Abbott. The times they are a’changin’.

  4. Given the current mood in his electorate – one would suggest that @ Bob Durnan is on the money.
    Giles will fit in well with Turnbull’s mob – all knife, no substance!

  5. Wonder if they will start finding more black gold to mine – payback might end up being more disabled Aboriginal and white children.
    Did Nigel Scullion happen to be in Coles car park at 5pm 24th September to watch an Aboriginal urinate on someone’s nice new car in full view of the public, or is he ever down at Todd Tavern on Centrelink payday? Wonder how some of the decent Aboriginals feel when they see this sort of thing.

  6. It makes sense to keep Scullion as Minister for Indigenous Affairs, at least until after the next federal election. Having capsized the boat to get that top job, Turnbull would want to not rock the newly-righted ship of state unnecessarily.
    But let’s cast our speculation forward to after the next general election, due sometime next year. If the Libs win, and if Tony decides to stay on, what better person to be given the portfolio?
    Consider this: Any consideration of Indigenous Australia always comes up with an underlying adherence to Law. Tony, through his ardent faith in Christian Catholicism, understands that adherence. Different faiths, perhaps, but both predicated upon Law. They probably understand each other better than most.

  7. Nigel Scullion has now been endorsed to stand again as the CLP’s lead Senate candidate in the NT for the next Federal elections. Given nothing untoward from here on, Senator Scullion is set to overtake former Labor senator Trish Crossin’s record as the longest serving Senator for the Northern Territory.

  8. “Indigenous Affairs” should be abolished with all functions returned to existing relevant departments servicing same issues in wider Australian community we all are part of.
    The “Indigenous” portfolio exists to promote racism by the Commonwealth.
    The Commonwealth manages individuals’ lives whilst obstructing access to opportunities and judicial accountability.
    Commonwealth’s “Indigenous” policies maintains barriers to equality of opportunity, then blames individuals for failing to achieve wider community standards of living, education, health and opportunity.
    These failures foreseeable results from Commonwealth’s ongoing apartheid policies.
    Commonwealth reduction of public discussion of issues around welfare of refugees produces similar results in refugee community.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here