Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Hansard source

Labor supports the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment (2007 Budget Measures) Bill 2007. The bill seeks to amend the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 by appropriating additional funding of $26.1 million over the period of the 2007 and 2008 calendar years for Indigenous students in the school, vocational education and training, and higher education sectors. This will expand the Indigenous Youth Mobility Program and the Indigenous Youth Leadership Program. It also provides infrastructure funding for boarding school facilities and extra funding to cover the conversion of Community Development Employment Projects into ongoing jobs in the education sector.

Approximately one in four 15- to 19-year-old young Indigenous people live in remote areas. The proportion of Indigenous people living in remote areas who reach year 12 is about half that of their metropolitan peers. Given that only one in 10 actually completes year 12, you would not be surprised to learn that Labor would support additional resources being spent to encourage higher levels of attainment in education for Indigenous people. The Indigenous Youth Mobility Program will expand by about 860 places over the next four years. The program currently provides assistance to around 600 Indigenous people from remote areas, with access to a broad range of training and employment opportunities on offer at major regional centres.

The program’s focus is on accredited training options across a range of occupations, and post-school work and study opportunities in nursing, teaching, accountancy and business management. The bill also provides for an increase in the number of scholarships available through the Indigenous Youth Leadership Program. The budget increases the scholarships by 750 over four years. This will bring the total number of the scholarships to about 1,000. Also, funding of $14.1 million over two years is being made available under the bill to fund infrastructure for existing boarding schools catering for Indigenous students. In addition, funding of $5.3 million will be made available to convert—where government and non-government education providers agree—Community Development Employment Project places into ongoing jobs in the education sector.

Labor believes that these measures will go some small way towards lifting the educational attainment levels of Indigenous Australians. One would expect that this would in turn lift the employment rate for Indigenous Australians. However, it has to be acknowledged—and I am sure it is acknowledged widely within this chamber—that these measures are grossly inadequate. At all levels of educational attainment, we see Indigenous Australians falling behind the rest of the nation. According to the Higher education report 2005, which is produced by the government’s very own Department of Education, Science and Training, the number of Indigenous students attending Australia’s higher education institutions decreased by 5.9 per cent in 2005. The report noted that Indigenous commitments particularly in nursing, initial teacher training and medical practitioner courses had also declined. The total commencements in these and related courses had declined overall in 2005 by eight per cent. So, at a time when we need more Indigenous students undertaking professional programs to service remote communities, we actually have fewer people taking up those educational opportunities. DEST admitted in its Higher education report 2005 on page 21 that this was part of an ongoing trend. It states:

Continuing declines in Indigenous involvement in higher education will perpetuate disadvantages experienced by Indigenous Australians and hinder their full participation in Australia’s economic and social development.

The report acknowledged that these continuing declines will perpetuate disadvantage and inequality in this country. While this situation in higher education is a national shame, it is worse in other parts of the education sector. There are far too many Indigenous children who continue to be unable to read, write and count at even a most basic level. Indigenous children fall further and further behind the longer they stay at school. Fewer Indigenous students meet the year 5 and year 7 benchmarks in literacy and numeracy than meet the year 3 benchmarks. In 2005, fewer Indigenous children in years 5 and 7 met basic literacy and numeracy benchmarks than their older brothers and sisters did in 2002.

Poor educational attainment levels have a direct impact on employment prospects and on general health and wellbeing. So it is somewhat telling that Indigenous unemployment levels are many times higher than the national record unemployment lows that this government talks about at every opportunity. If we take, for instance, the Elizabeth area of North Adelaide, Indigenous unemployment is as high as 34 per cent. In Macquarie Fields in Sydney, Indigenous unemployment is 30 per cent.

The same is not true everywhere. Many Indigenous communities are close to booming in terms of the mining industry, for instance. We should recognise the good that has been done in that sector to improve the job prospects for Indigenous Australians—and I do acknowledge it, particularly in the north-west of Western Australia. The Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining report into Indigenous employment in the Australian minerals industry highlights the steps taken to date in this area. It points to the benefits for our society, our nation and our industry from taking a long-term view not just towards the provision of employment opportunities to Indigenous Australians but also towards working with local communities to address the root causes of Indigenous socioeconomic problems.

The key issues are education, health and poverty. Those three factors are intimately linked together. I would say, therefore, that a great deal more needs to be done in terms of our society’s claims to be democratic. Unless these critical issues of education and health are addressed, Indigenous people, especially those living in remote and rural communities, are likely to remain a marginal and largely unskilled labour force. This is why I say that much more needs to be done in economic development and in providing opportunities for Indigenous people to fully participate in this country. A country such as ours that locks out so many of its citizens cannot claim to be fully democratic. This is the most obvious and most graphic indicator of neglect and disadvantage that this country faces.

I turn now to statements made in recent times by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma. In 2005, he noted:

What data exists suggest that we have seen only slow improvements in some areas ... and no progress on others over the past decade. The gains have been hard fought. But they are too few. And the gains made are generally not of the same magnitude [as] the gains experienced by the non-Indigenous population, with the result that they have had a minimal impact on reducing the inequality gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians.

The percentage of Indigenous Australians under the age of 10 is more than double that of the rest of the Australian population. Labor recognises the fundamental importance of investing in a child’s early years—and this applies to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. However, this does not diminish the importance of providing continuous education and learning opportunities throughout life. Indeed, lifelong learning has many benefits, and this bill goes some way towards acknowledging that, but it falls short of where we need to be as a nation. Labor recognises the social and economic imperatives for lifting the education standards of all Australians, particularly Indigenous Australians. As a Commonwealth, we have to assess those things that we did in the past as well as where we are at today.

There are some things that, on the ground, we know work in practice; however, it requires a long-term bipartisan approach from this parliament to ensure that they are effective. It is in that context that the Leader of the Opposition spoke only a week ago, on the 40th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, on the need to set new national bipartisan goals to close the gap between black and white Australia. It requires goals that are achievable and measurable and fulfil the spirit of the referendum held some 40 years ago. Mr Rudd has made it perfectly clear that Labor is committed to following those bipartisan goals, including the elimination of the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation. Labor is committed to at least halving the rate of Indigenous infant mortality within a decade. Further, Labor is committed to at least halving the mortality rate of Indigenous children under five and to doing so within a decade. Labor is also committed to halving within 10 years the difference in the rate of Indigenous students who fail to meet the reading, writing and numeracy benchmarks for years 3, 5 and 7.

Labor are committed to meeting these goals and a range of other health and family initiatives. We argue that education is the key plank to achieving these objectives. Under Labor, all Indigenous four-year-olds will be eligible to receive 15 hours per week of government funded early learning programs for a minimum of 40 weeks a year. Labor will provide $16.9 million over four years to support the rollout of the Australian Early Development Index in every Australian primary school. This will be adapted to establish a culturally appropriate and nationally consistent means of addressing key aspects of Indigenous children’s early development that are central to the readiness for learning at school.

Labor will ensure that every Indigenous child has an individual learning plan based on his or her needs, which will be updated twice a year for every year of schooling up to the age of 10. It is that sort of personal attention that is needed to address the gross inequalities. Labor will spend $34.5 million over four years on the provision of professional development to teachers to equip them to complete these learning plans. Through their children’s teachers, parents will have access to these plans so they can be part of their children’s learning improvements. Labor will expand intensive literacy programs and develop a new intensive numeracy program to help underachieving students catch up with the rest of their class. Literacy and numeracy are the building blocks upon which each and every individual builds his or her participation in society in respect of their capacity to work and to lead a healthy and active life.

Labor want to halve the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students’ performance in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade. We are setting ourselves very tough targets, which is the only way we can drive reform in these areas. Labor will provide $21.9 million over four years to expand intensive literacy and numeracy programs in our schools. As part of this commitment, a new intensive numeracy program will be developed and implemented. Labor support measures to lift educational retention rates and to assist those most in need to help themselves.

Labor believe strongly that more can and must be done and that the Commonwealth has a critical role to play. It is insufficient to look at only one aspect of Indigenous Australia. We need to take a global perspective. After years of neglect, Indigenous Australians have manifold issues that require a comprehensive approach. Education is crucial—and this begins in a child’s early years—to building the foundation stones for a successful life. Health is another crucial issue, and more must be done to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia. That is why Labor support the second reading amendment that commits to the goals I outlined earlier. I would like to take this opportunity to move the second reading amendment. I move:

At the end of the motion, add “but the Senate commits to the following goals:

        (a)    to eliminate the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation, so that every Indigenous child has the same educational and life opportunities as any other child;

        (b)    to at least halve the difference in the rate of Indigenous students at years 3, 5 and 7 who fail to meet reading, writing and numeracy benchmarks within 10 years;

        (c)    to at least halve the mortality rate of Indigenous children aged under five within a decade; and

        (d)    a long-term bipartisan national commitment to work with Indigenous Australians towards achieving these goals, and overcome generational disadvantage”.

I commend the bill and the second reading amendment to the chamber.