Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Employment. Will the minister update the House on how the government's new employment services system will improve employment outcomes for Indigenous job seekers?

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. Might I say that employment is one of the keys to closing the gap and creating a brighter future for Indigenous Australians.

The Prime Minister's Closing the gap report makes it clear that much more work is needed to close the gap on Indigenous employment. The majority of Indigenous job seekers live in regional and metropolitan Australia and are supported by the government's employment services system. Some nine per cent of the current employment services case load—or about 74,000 job seekers—identify as Indigenous, and if we are to close the gap it is vital that these job seekers get the support they need to get and keep a job. To provide this support, the government has included specific reform to boost Indigenous employment outcomes in the new employment services system that will start on 1 July this year.

I have made some significant improvements in the system to address this concern. For the first time there will be targets for Indigenous employment such that employment service providers will not be able to pay lip service to the important task of getting more Indigenous job seekers into work. The system will be changed to provide more incentive to deliver results, and the important outcome that we want is to get more Indigenous job seekers off welfare and into work.

I will be holding employment service providers accountable through the star-rating system to ensure they are meeting their obligation to get appropriate numbers of Indigenous job seekers into work—to ensure that they are meeting their Indigenous employment targets. To support them in their work, we are providing subsidies for employers to take on more Indigenous Australians and offer those Australians the opportunity to work. I am pleased to note that many companies have recently announced that they are taking on more Indigenous Australians—companies such as QANTAS, Westpac and Leighton—giving some of our first Australians a leg-up into the workforce, giving them the opportunities that employment would bring. I would certainly be encouraging all Australian employers to consider taking on an Indigenous job seeker to give them the benefits of work and to enable them to enjoy the opportunities that work can bring.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moreton!