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 (2007 Budget Measures) Bill 2007, I take the opportunity to thank members for their contributions to this debate on a very important policy issue. This year, 2007-08, the Australian government will invest almost $600 million in Indigenous-specific education programs. I can speak on behalf of all members in this House—and I am sure all Australians would agree—and say that we want to see the gap between education outcomes for Indigenous Australians and those for non-Indigenous Australians closed. The Australian government are committed to that goal. That is why the 2007-08 budget focuses on programs and initiatives that are already working to close that gap. We have enhanced those programs.

This bill amends the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000. We are increasing the appropriations over the 2007-08 calendar year to provide $26.1 million of additional funding. This represents a number of policy initiatives based on programs that we know are working for Indigenous people. In particular, there will be an additional $4 million for the expansion of the Indigenous Youth Leadership Program, with an additional 750 scholarships over four years. That will mean a total of 1,000 scholarships for young Indigenous people who have been identified as having leadership potential within their communities. I have met a number of the young people who are taking part in the Indigenous Youth Leadership Program, and they provide us with great hope for the future of Indigenous people in this country. They are wonderful young people.

There will be $2.6 million for the Indigenous Youth Mobility Program, with an additional 860 places over four years. Again, the Indigenous Youth Mobility Program is working. Young people who need to leave the remote or rural areas in which they live to pursue a trade, a qualification or a career have been identified by their communities and, through Australian government funding, are able to take advantage of this opportunity—with the hope that they will then go back to their communities and use the skills that they have acquired for the benefit of the community.

There is also $14.1 million in funding for urgent repairs to boarding school facilities. This is in addition to an allocation of $50 million from this year’s budget surplus for non-government boarding schools, including in rural areas, that accommodate Indigenous students. I make the point that that $50 million has come from a budget surplus. You are not able to allocate that kind of funding from budget deficits. The Australian government has consistently run budget surpluses so that it can make these one-off payments—in this case $50 million in additional funding for boarding schools that accommodate Indigenous students. There is also $5.3 million to support the conversion of the CDEP positions—the Community Development Employment Project positions—into jobs in the education sector. The new funding of $26.1 million to be appropriated through this bill is only one element of the broader package of $214 million over four years announced in this year’s budget for Indigenous education and training. It will support increased choice and mobility in education and training for Indigenous young people. It will support the CDEP participants to move into ongoing employment within the education system. It will build on the successful programs that the government already has in place. Spending on Indigenous specific programs has increased by almost 50 per cent in real terms over the past decade. Education is the key to providing Indigenous people with greater opportunities and the opportunity for economic independence.

I listened to some of the debate on this bill and noted that some of the statements made in this debate by opposition members were rather ill-informed. I will take this opportunity to make a number of points, particularly in response to the proposed amendment. The Commonwealth do not own or run any schools. We provide significant funding to schools across Australia. In fact, we are providing a record $33 billion for all schools for the period 2005 to 2008. Australian government funding—that is, our share of schools funding—has increased by about 170 per cent since 1996.

In relation to Indigenous education, as I said, the Australian government’s goal is to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous educational outcomes. That has long been a goal of the Howard government. We already have in place a strengthened Indigenous education performance monitoring and reporting framework. The proposed amendment puts this forward, but we already have it in place for the 2005-08 quadrennium. The framework includes standard performance indicators for vocational and technical education, schools and preschools; a revitalised monitoring and reporting process; and new approaches to target-setting and sanctions for noncompliance with Indigenous education agreements. Those agreements are with the state and territory governments and non-government education providers. So this is already in place and endorsed, and agreements are in place with state Labor governments. Realistic and challenging targets have been negotiated with education providers for significant and measurable progress towards closing the educational divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people through per capita supplementary funding. This is already happening.

In relation to the provision of intensive support to raise the literacy levels of Indigenous young people, the Australian government already has underway in 150 schools a series of accelerated literacy pilots that provide proven methodologies and build teacher capacity. Labor puts this forward as if it is a new idea. It is already in existence. Over $19.3 million has already been invested in taking to the next level successful methodologies and approaches, such as accelerated literacy and MULTILIT. For example, the accelerated literacy program is training 700 teachers in 100 schools in the Northern Territory in the successful methodology which is improving the literacy outcomes of up to 10,000 students, including in remote schools. I have visited schools in the Northern Territory and I have sat in on classes using the accelerated literacy program. I can attest to the fact that it is working. The approach is being replicated in 15 Western Australian Aboriginal independent community schools, six Catholic schools in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 12 schools in the Aboriginal Lands District in South Australia, and the Shalom Christian College in Queensland. Either the opposition is ignorant of existing, established programs or it is just playing catch-up and trying to dress up existing programs as new initiatives. We have seen federal Labor do this on a number of occasions in relation to education policy—that is, take other people’s ideas, put an ALP repackaging brand on it and call it ‘fresh thinking’ in education. The Australian public will see through that.

The Australian government is also supporting professional development for teachers through the Dare to Lead project. There are 4,300 school leaders already committed to improving educational outcomes through that program. That is already happening; it exists. Through the Australian government What Works project, some 35,000 teachers have already participated in professional development workshops to expand their skills in improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students.

In relation to Labor’s idea of individual learning plans, in July 2006 all education ministers—federal, state and territory ministers for education—endorsed a policy document that had been thoroughly researched called Australian directions in Indigenous education for 2005-2008. All state and territory Labor governments have already committed to delivering personalised learning plans for all Indigenous students that include targets against key learning outcomes and incorporate family involvement strategies and provide professional learning for teachers to enable them to adopt approaches that result in high levels of academic expectation and achievement by Indigenous students. The opposition is just playing catch-up. That is fine, as long as it does not pretend that it has new ideas, fresh thinking or new policies.

One of the many prevention and early intervention initiatives supported by the Australian government is the Australian Early Development Index. This index is a community based measure of the health and development of Indigenous children at the beginning of their first school year. The Australian government announced in the 2007-08 budget that $3.7 million over three years has been made available for the index—the AEDI—in up to 61 current AEDI communities, and a further 14 disadvantaged communities will develop and trial an Indigenous Australian Early Development Index. An Indigenous index will more accurately assess the early development needs of Indigenous children and will take into account cultural and language differences.

In relation to the amendment proposed by the member for Jagajaga, while I am pleased that the opposition supports the measures that we have introduced that are opening up opportunities for young Indigenous people in education and training, the government will not be supporting the amendment as proposed by the opposition. The Australian government is already vigorously pursuing objectives to close the educational divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Good progress is being made. More must be done. This bill introduces measures that will go some way toward achieving that goal. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

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