Llew O'Brien (Wide Bay, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to ask a question of the minister today, particularly because in Wide Bay we do have a significant proportion of Indigenous people. We also have the community of Cherbourg in Wide Bay, which is very important to me. I have spent quite some time in Cherbourg helping where I can to close the gap. Indeed, during the campaign we had several visits from ministers—particularly the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, who spent some time in Cherbourg and Murgon with me visiting with the council and local people, looking at local programs and speaking to the people, particularly in the area of education. We visited the Cherbourg school, and it was very pleasing and encouraging to see what is happening there, particularly in the area of school attendance. Some of the statistics that surround school attendance and achieving a result at school for Indigenous people, and them subsequently not entering into the justice system, are quite staggering. Effectively, if we can get Indigenous people to finish year 10 their potential for going into the justice system is far, far reduced, which is what we all want to see. It was also very pleasing for the government to give Cherbourg a kick on and announce $230,000 for a very worthy program at the Ration Shed.

The coalition entered into government in 2013 with a determination to untangle an absolute mess of programs that were doing very little to reduce the disadvantage faced by our Indigenous people. We had specifically targeted three fundamental areas to help reduce this disadvantage. These areas were: getting the kids to school, employment and also making the community safer. These three priorities are critical to establishing the change needed to support better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly in remote areas, to ensure that First Australians and their communities can realise their hopes and aspirations for the future and that we really do close the gap and achieve our targets in those programs.

Education is the passport to a better future for children everywhere. It is no different for Indigenous children, wherever they live. Without a proper education, Indigenous children are more likely than not to be on the path toward welfare dependence, interaction with the justice system and poor health and housing outcomes, with little hope for the future. Giving kids the best chance in life means going to school regularly and achieving a good school education and then moving on to further education and employment. Obviously, successfully achieving those things, which we are so passionate about doing, is how we proactively prevent circumstances like those tragic circumstances of Don Dale and youth suicide in the Indigenous community, which is what we are about. With this in mind, I ask the minister: can the minister advise how the budget is supporting better education outcomes for Indigenous Australians and what funding has been allocated to support Indigenous students through school and university?

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