Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There has been much media attention and discussion in the House and in the public on Indigenous issues and the significant difficulties some communities face of late. The critical importance of starting and staying with education is universally acknowledged, especially as the rates of satisfactory progress of Aboriginal kids through primary and high school and into further study or training remain low. At La Perouse, in my electorate, there is a program that has been functioning well called the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters—HIPPY. This program helps parents teach their children skills that will assist them to concentrate in their first years of schooling. The program has been operating successfully in La Perouse for four years on a very modest budget of around $100,000 per year to cover the costs of a coordinator, materials and trainers who go into the homes of mums and help them learn how to teach their kids to get ready for school.

The skills taught include paying attention, concentrating, reading and writing. The program has doubled its number of participants since its inception. It is very well regarded by teachers in the local schools and by the aunties and grandmothers who are helping let others know about HIPPY. Importantly, it greatly assists mums, who find that they are able to teach their children and, as a consequence, gain increased confidence to go on to other learning and training activities.

This is a positive, successful and important program, but HIPPY’s funding through FaCSIA is not being continued and will finish on 30 June. I understand that the department is examining ways of enabling HIPPY to continue, as its funding in part derives from the Local Answers program and is not recurrent. Mr Deputy Speaker, I put it to you that it is not realistic to expect a small-scale program of this kind to easily develop business models and operate on a self-sufficient basis after only four years of operation. Yet this is the very kind of program that pays real dividends. HIPPY works. My state colleague the member for Maroubra has made representations to the state government, but this program has been funded by the federal government. It gets kids into school—disadvantaged kids—gives them a good foundation for continuing their education and helps their mums as well. It deserves and needs the support of this government.