Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Hansard source

That's what the other side doesn't seem to understand. There's more to be done, but it's fair to say that First Nations people continue to face barriers to skills, with tertiary education attainment significantly lower than other Australians. That's the truth of it. To take one example, 47 per cent of First Nations people aged between 25 and 34 have attained a tertiary qualification. It is 76 per cent for all other Australians. There's a 30 per cent gap between the educational attainments, and we need to do much more.

It's also estimated that 40 per cent of First Nations adults have minimal English literacy. It's why the government is fundamentally reforming the way the Commonwealth delivers foundation skills. Last month in Darwin during NAIDOC week, accompanied by the member for Solomon and Senator McCarthy, I announced a specific Indigenous stream which will engage local communities supporting 2,000 First Nations people. There's also a very good pilot run by Literacy for Life Foundation at Tennant Creek which I visited with the member for Lingiari. The reason why it works is that it engages directly with First Nations people.

These are good but piecemeal initiatives. We need an engagement that's deeper and broader and that will be provided if we have a voice—something those opposite genuinely understand but refuse to support.

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