Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

The reason building these Indigenous businesses works is that, as studies we have done show, 72 per cent of employees in these companies are Indigenous. By supporting Indigenous businesses to grow, you are supporting Indigenous employment.

Again, it is not the only work the government is doing. Since July 2009 there have been over 43,000 employment and training placements through the Indigenous Employment Program, IEP, and over 68,000 placements into employment through Job Services Australia and the Job Network. If we are going to meet our 2018 targets of halving the gap in employment outcomes, we must work with Indigenous communities and build Indigenous businesses. The reason Indigenous businesses are so important, apart from the employment side, is that they provide Indigenous leadership and Indigenous communities with the drive for economic development and to increase commerce within their communities. (Time expired)