Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate Kiara Astbury, Rideika Boney, Tanisha Brooksby, Phoebe Gorman, Taliah King, Hayley Marshall and Kale Talbott, who all took part recently in the National Rugby League's marquee Indigenous program and in particular its School to Work program. It's an education and employment program that utilises the profile of Rugby League to support and encourage young Indigenous Australians to stay at school and aspire to achieve their goals and assists them in transitioning into further education. This afternoon I had the opportunity to talk to Taliah King, who recently graduated from the program. She explained to me how the program has encouraged her to stay at school; to reach her goals and, after finishing school, to obtain certificates as a barista and in the responsible service of alcohol; and to engage a tutor, which enabled her to improve her ATAR score.

The program is funded by the federal government and operates in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT. Since 2011 the program has supported more than a thousand Indigenous students, and if the outcome for those students has been as positive as it has been for the students in my electorate, it is doing a very, very good job indeed. In 2016, a social impact report commissioned by the NRL found that the return on investment for School to Work was almost $5.50 for almost every dollar invested. I congratulate the students for their participation in the program and wish them all the best in the years ahead.