Question - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Question

Number
740
Subject
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
(Message Stick Foundation)
Asked by
Emerson, Thomas
Directed to
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs
Question asked on
28 November 2025
Answer due on
04 January 2026
Question asked
  1. What assurance can the Minister provide that the Government recognises the urgency of securing premises through a peppercorn lease for the Message Stick Foundation’s first youth hub, given the delay of more than a year to do so despite prior government commitments, and that the ACT continues to record some of the worst Closing the Gap outcomes in the country, particularly for youth, and that the most recent Closing the Gap report made this clear, and the Jumbunna Review further confirmed the serious over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT’s criminal justice system.
  2. What immediate steps is the Government taking to restore and sustain critical First Nations services, especially the Message Stick Foundation which provides an evidence-based, therapeutic, and culturally safe model as a youth-led initiative with Elder endorsement offering an innovative and viable diversionary program to address these ongoing challenges, and whose work with at-risk youth remains jeopardised by the prolonged delay referred to in part (1).