Inquiry into petrol sniffing in remote Aboriginal communities
Terms of Reference
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On 5 October
2005 the Senate agreed to the following motion:
- That the Senate:
- notes that despite the efforts of
communities and governments, the problem of petrol sniffing remains
widespread and endemic in remote Aboriginal communities;
- recognises the efforts of local
communities and work underway between the Federal, Northern Territory,
Western Australia and South
Australian Governments to work in collaboration to implement a
comprehensive strategy to tackle petrol sniffing;
- notes that an additional
$6 million over 2 years has recently been announced by the Government to
expand the roll out of Opal petrol in the central desert region and that
total expenditure for Opal subsidies is $19.6 million over 4 years;
- notes that the Government is
considering a limited supply of Opal petrol in Alice Springs for residents
of affected Indigenous communities and for people visiting those
communities;
- calls on the Government, should it
proceed with the limited supply of Opal petrol in Alice Springs, to work
with petrol retailers and communities to develop a code of practice and an
education strategy in relation to responsible trading; and
- notes that supply of non-sniffable
Opal petrol can only be one part of the solution to petrol sniffing.
- That the following matters be
referred to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and
report by 9 November 2005:
- the effectiveness of
existing laws and policing with respect to petrol sniffing in affected
Indigenous communities;
- the effectiveness of
diversionary initiatives and community level activities; and
- lessons that can be learned
from the success some communities have had in reducing petrol sniffing
including the impact of non-sniffable Opal petrol.
Written
submissions are invited and should be addressed to:
The Secretary
Senate Community Affairs References Committee
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
The Committee will continue to receive submissions to the inquiry. The Senate
has extended the reporting date to 20 June 2006.
The Committee prefers to receive
submissions electronically as an attached document - email:
community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au
Submissions become Committee documents and are made public only after a
decision by the Committee. Publication of
submissions includes loading them onto the
internet and their being available to other interested parties including
the media. Persons making submissions must not release them without the
approval of the Committee. Submissions are covered by parliamentary
privilege but the unauthorised release of them is not protected.
Following consideration of
submissions, the Committee will hold public hearings. The Committee will
consider all submissions and may invite individuals and organisations to
give evidence at the public hearings.
Information relating to
Senate Committee inquiries, including notes to assist in the preparation
of submissions for a Committee, can be located on the internet at
https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm
For further details contact the Committee
Secretary, Phone: (02) 6277 3515, Fax: (02) 6277 5829.
E-mail:
community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au
For further information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia