Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is great to follow the member for Shortland. While we do not often agree, I think that we can agree that there is genuine resolve in this parliament to close the gap. While we in this place are often criticised for the adversarial nature of proceedings, a common sense of purpose surrounds the remedying of myriad inequities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

The task is enormous and demands strong leadership. The 44th Parliament is indeed fortunate to have a Prime Minister who has demonstrated in both word and deed that closing the gap is personal. His update to the House, which marks the sixth anniversary of the Closing the Gap plan, was largely not a pretty report. Nonetheless, the Prime Minister dispensed the raw facts with honesty, with humility and with insight. He spoke from the heart with a clarity and conviction sprung from putting one's shoulder to the wheel.

In his former role as shadow minister for Aboriginal affairs, he resolved to not be just another 'seagull'—the pejorative Aboriginal term for a meddlesome interloper. He filled three weeks in 2008 as a teachers aide in Coen, 10 days the following year as a truancy helper in Aurukun, four days in 2011 on bush carpentry detail near Hope Vale and another four days in 2012 assisting the renovation of the Aurukun school library. Later this year the Prime Minister will spend a week in east Arnhem Land, focusing our nation's eyes in a way that will quite rightly ask questions of all of us in respect of a truly reconciled Australia. The Prime Minister's hands-on approach is complemented by an intimate investment in Indigenous policy. That is why he moved Indigenous Affairs to within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. That is why he has enunciated his desire to become a Prime Minister for Indigenous affairs. As part of this concentrated effort his parliamentary secretary, the Hon. Alan Tudge, is working closely with the Indigenous affairs minister, Senator the Hon. Nigel Scullion.

I now turn to my electorate of Longman. I would like to place on the record a recent visit by the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary for a day of briefings with local Indigenous leaders and social and justice workers. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister is another exemplar of lived experience on Indigenous affairs. Between 2006 and 2009, Alan was deputy director of Noel Pearson's Cape York Institute for policy and leadership and became intricately involved in designing the Cape York Welfare Reform trial. In Longman the highlight of his busy round of engagements with my region's proud Indigenous community was a tour of a not-for-profit Aboriginal owned and run bulk-billing medical centre called Murri Medical—a pioneer clinic run by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people without government funding.

Located in the hub of the electorate at Caboolture, Murri Medical was established two years ago by directors Jennie Anderson and Anita Kemp. Specialising in Indigenous health and chronic disease, it has accumulated more than 5,800 patients. The business model sees Indigenous community groups and corporate and personal donors providing funds, while Medicare rebates supply the much-needed cash flow. Murri Medical is renowned for its friendliness, its high standards of service and thoroughness and outreach capacity, with clinical visits to schools and outlying communities. The personal touch even extends to transporting patients to and from appointments in Caboolture where they would otherwise not be able to attend.

I can report that the parliamentary secretary was more than impressed. In fact, it is his hope that Murri Medical's achievements can inspire the establishment of more privately owned Indigenous healthcare centres with an ability to make strong, trusting and lasting connections, and relationships that result in patients attending to their health requirements in a timely and supported manner. Alan said:

Murri Medical has been started by two entrepreneurs off their own bat. They haven't had government funding and are delivering terrific results … we'd like to learn in terms of what they're doing right—

he added—

so it can potentially be replicated elsewhere in the country.

The parliamentary secretary had more to say about the nexus between health, education and employment. He told local media that Murri Medical's self-sustaining business model and its emphasis on preventative health was in perfect step with the government's plan to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. He said:

They've developed a huge number of clients within a small amount of time and this will hopefully encourage other indigenous entrepreneurs. But most importantly, the service is working. And if people are healthy, they’re more likely to have success in school and more likely to succeed in work.

The Prime Minister articulated that nothing short of dramatic improvement was required in the school attendance and workforce participation of Indigenous Australians. While visiting Longman, his parliamentary secretary agreed that lifting employment rates was a cornerstone of the coalition's path towards closing the opportunity gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Around half of all working-age Indigenous Australians receive welfare payments as their main source of income. We must change that because, if you have a job, it does much to ameliorate other lifestyle issues. A review into Indigenous training and employment programs, headed by Fortescue Metals chairman, Andrew Forrest, is due to report to the Prime Minister in April. Meantime, the government has already made some progress, including investing in new training centres for Indigenous jobseekers where there is a guaranteed job at the end. The parliamentary secretary put it this way:

Many Aboriginal people have five or 10 certificates to their name, but can’t get a job—through training that—

eventually—

leads to nowhere. We want to end this training for training’s sake.

I invited the parliamentary secretary to see firsthand the great local success of Murri Medical, because I am part of the coalition team committed to a better Australia for all Australians.

I would like to take this opportunity to particularly congratulate the wonderful founders of Murri Medical, Jennie and Anita. They are two of the most amazing human beings I have ever met. For them, showcasing to our Canberra decision makers such an outstanding community facility helps inform a government that is serious about tackling Indigenous disadvantage. I am proud, as part of this parliament, to be part of that positive change for our entire nation.

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