Here's what we know so far. The Abbott Government has decided to cut funding to South Australia’s regional and remote Aboriginal communities and homelands. From 1 July next year Aboriginal communities will say goodbye to vital funding for roads, power, water and rubbish collection. The simple truth is that this will set communities back decades and may spell the closure of Aboriginal homelands. Here in SA, more than 4000 Aboriginal residents across sixty locations rely on this funding. From the Coorong to the Nullarbor Plain and remote homelands on the APY Lands. The majority of funding delivers basic services that we would all expect, including roads, rubbish, dust and dog management, not to mention power and water to smaller localities. I mean honestly, where do they expect the Royal Flying Doctor Service to land their planes if funding for landing strip maintenance ceases? How will a remote community get their rubbish collected if funding disappears? For many communities this is their only source of funding. What’s more, this has all occurred in the absence of consultation with our Aboriginal citizens. Federal Governments have long understood and recognised the uniqueness of these remote communities, which is why they have continued to fund essential services for more than 50 years. Yes, you read that right- 50 years! So what can we do to fix this? Well for starters, please tell your friends so we can keep the momentum going. Secondly, rest assured SA is standing firm, we will not do a deal with the Feds until there’s adequate payment to these communities. We’re not going to let them walk away from more than 50 years of responsibility without actually investing in those communities for the future. You only have to look at Western Australia to see that the situation is pretty grim– they did a $90 million deal with the Feds and are now saying they will close 100-150 remote Aboriginal communities. In comparison, all the Feds have been prepared to invest in SA is a pathetic $10 million! (Just one years expenditure) Thirdly, we need to support and empower our Aboriginal leaders to fight back. We need to hear Aboriginal voices in this debate. Don't forget, Prime Minister Abbott has the power to intervene and put an end to all of this tomorrow. Thank you for your support. Ian Hunter MLC Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation South Australia