Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Hansard source

In summing up the debate on the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Bill 2006, I take this opportunity to thank all previous speakers, particularly the member for Kalgoorlie and the member for Fisher, for their contributions to this important debate. The bill amends the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 to increase appropriations over the 2006-08 calendar years to provide additional funding for intensive tuition for Indigenous students in year 9 and Indigenous students in vocational and technical education, support for community festivals for health promotion activities addressing substance abuse by Indigenous youth in remote areas and delivery of school-based sporting academies and related activities for Indigenous students.

Specifically, $14.5 million in new funding appropriated under this bill will encourage Indigenous students in year 9 to continue with schooling to complete year 12, thereby enhancing their opportunities for further education and training and employment. Extending intensive tuition to Indigenous students in vocational and technical education through additional funding of $11.2 million will complement a suite of measures under the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme. Up to 18,000 young people annually will benefit from allocating $7.3 million to the Indigenous youth festivals initiative; this is a component of the Community Festivals for Health Promotion program. Funding of $1.5 million will be used as part of a whole-of-government response to address substance abuse issues. This measure further consolidates the whole-of-government regional approach that was announced in September 2005. Funding of $9.1 million is being appropriated to support 18 school based sporting academies by the end of 2008 and related strategies. Over the four years that will, in fact, total some $20 million.

During the course of the debate, the opposition made a number of unfounded assertions. While it is very tempting at this hour to ignore those assertions, I believe they should be rebutted—at least for the record. The opposition’s amendment seeks to condemn the government for failing to deliver urgently needed funding for Indigenous students by insisting on bureaucratic process. In addition, the opposition claims that red tape has led to a decline in the involvement of Indigenous communities in the Parent School Partnership Initiative. The government rejects absolutely this assertion; it is just not supported by the facts.

Since the Whole of School Intervention Strategy was introduced in 2005—of which the Parent School Partnership Initiative is a component—its administrative procedures have been streamlined considerably. Two funding rounds per year have replaced the initial five rounds per annum; a single application form has replaced the previous two-stage application process; and contracts have been significantly simplified, especially for those of up to $50,000.

The Australian government views parental and community engagement as being an important—indeed, essential—strategy for improving Indigenous educational outcomes. Australian government expenditure has significantly increased for projects specifically designed to enhance the participation of parents and communities in the education of their children. As at 31 December 2005, $36 million had been approved under the Whole of School Intervention Strategy. By May 2006, approvals had increased to some $50.6 million. The 2,186 projects approved by May had leveraged around a further $34 million from other sources.

The opposition accuses the government of overseeing a $126 million underspend through bureaucratic processes; again the government totally rejects this accusation. Reported shortfalls in expenditure for 2004-05 were due, in part, to extended negotiation with some 20 major and 230 minor education providers in reaching agreement on education outcome targets to accelerate further closure of the education divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and to strengthen the accountability and reporting arrangements for the 2005-08 quadrennium. The act appropriates funding on a calendar-year basis and allows 18 months for that funding to be expended. So all of the funding appropriated for 2005 had been spent within the time allowed by the act, with more than $226 million in funding actually being paid to providers in calendar year 2005.

The opposition further accuses the government of failing to provide sufficient resources for early intervention in schools to raise Indigenous literacy standards. Again this assertion is absolutely rejected by the government. The Australian government recognises early childhood is a critical period for the physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of children. The government has committed an additional $5 million over the remainder of the quadrennium to strengthen early childhood education. Parent school partnership initiatives will focus on strong partnerships between Indigenous parents and early childhood educators and will help Indigenous children make a smooth transition from preschool to school. Indigenous specific funding is supplementary to mainstream funding and is designed to accelerate improvements in Indigenous education outcomes. It should not substitute for mainstream funding by state and territory government and non-government education providers. Mainstream areas should fulfil their responsibilities for all students, including Indigenous students.

Tutorial assistance is now more strategically targeted to key points in education where the mainstream has failed Indigenous students, particularly those who do not reach the national literacy and numeracy benchmarks. There is flexibility in the funding arrangements for the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme. This flexibility enables tutorial assistance to be made available to Indigenous students in years 1 to 9 who are at risk of not meeting the relevant literacy or numeracy curriculum outcome levels.

The opposition’s amendment claims the government has reduced the number of Indigenous students who can access tutorial assistance by making eligibility requirements more restrictive and short term. A part of the Australian government’s approach to accelerating Indigenous students’ school outcomes involved reshaping the tutorial assistance program for Indigenous students from 2005. At the same time as increasing the funding for this Indigenous-specific tutorial assistance, the Australian government is determined to make mainstream programs and services work more effectively for Indigenous students, particularly those in metropolitan areas.

Indigenous specific funds provided by this government are targeted to areas of greatest need, and the tutorial assistance program is now more strategically targeted towards identified key points in education for Indigenous students. Tutorial assistance is available to metropolitan schools with 20 or more Indigenous students. This funding should not be used by mainstream education providers to substitute for their own shortfalls in providing assistance to Indigenous students. Australian government mainstream general recurrent and targeted funding is available to all students, including Indigenous students in metropolitan areas. These Indigenous students generally have greater access to mainstream services than those in remote areas.

I can confirm to the House that over the last decade this government has tied its supplementary Indigenous funding for education providers to accelerating significant and measurable improvement in Indigenous student outcomes and to funding programs that have shown demonstrable success—and real progress has been made since 1996. For example, Indigenous school enrolments have increased by 46 per cent to 135,097 in 2005. Year 12 Indigenous student enrolments have almost doubled—3,427 in 2005 compared with 1,738 in 1996. Year 12 Indigenous student retention has increased from 29 per cent to 39.5 per cent in 2005. Six of the nine 2004 literacy and numeracy benchmark test results for Indigenous students are the best results to date. Indigenous vocational training enrolments increased 94 per cent to 62,726 in 2005.

The opposition’s amendment calls for the government to reform the funding criteria and guidelines. This is not supported by the government because Indigenous specific funding arrangements were reformed for the 2005-08 quadrennium to heighten the requirement for education and training providers to accelerate Indigenous educational outcomes. The government’s strategic directions for 2005-08 are to improve mainstream service provision for Indigenous students, redirect existing resources to initiatives that work and to provide a greater weighting of resources to Indigenous students at greatest disadvantage—those in remote areas.

Indigenous education is a major priority of the Australian government. The government’s approach is to give Indigenous Australians the same opportunities given to other Australian children to receive the best education available to develop their skills, to secure employment and to share in Australia’s wealth. In conclusion, this bill will appropriate an additional $43.6 million to accelerate further closure of the education divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The Australian government places great importance on achieving better educational outcomes for Indigenous students. To achieve this, new investment is necessary in schools, vocational and technical education and health related activities. The Australian government is committed to developing the capacities and talents of Indigenous people so they have the necessary knowledge and skills and values for a productive and rewarding life. I commend this bill to the House.

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