Damian Hale (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister. I firstly want to voice my strong support for the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment (2008 Budget Measures) Bill 2008. The purpose of this bill is to amend the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 and to appropriate an additional $9.05 million to deliver on two budget measures: expansion of the intensive literacy and numeracy programs, and the building of three boarding facilities in the Northern Territory.

The government’s policy on Indigenous affairs focuses on closing the substantial gap that exists between the socioeconomic outcomes of the Indigenous and the non-Indigenous populations. I just remind those present of what the Prime Minister said in his national apology to the stolen generations. He stated:

Today’s apology, however inadequate, is aimed at righting past wrongs. It is also aimed at building a bridge between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians—a bridge based on a real respect rather than a thinly veiled contempt. Our challenge for the future is to now cross that bridge and, in so doing, to embrace a new partnership between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians ... the core of this partnership for the future is the closing of the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians ...

That was Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 13 February 2008. The $56.4 million builds on the government’s significant investment in programs such as the National Accelerated Literacy Program and Making Up for Lost Time in Literacy. This represents a tangible and important contribution to accelerating improvements in literacy and numeracy achievements of Indigenous students.

My question, Minister, is: how will this extra funding and the building of boarding colleges help reduce the 17-year gap in life expectancy between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians?

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