Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Day for the question; I would like to also acknowledge his 40-odd years working in remote Indigenous communities. First of all, there should be no distinction between the wages and conditions available to our First Australians and to any other worker in Australia. For those issues in South Australia, changes in the hospitality industry within Adelaide should certainly be available in other areas like the APY lands. I understand that these are processes at a state level. Hopefully, if those matters are good for them in one state, they should be good for individuals in another.

The focus of this government in Indigenous employment in remote areas is to ensure that we seize every single opportunity to transition people into training and, ultimately, real sustainable employment. That, of course, was the whole focus of the Forrest report, Creating parity. We have a strong, coordinated employment strategy to ensure that Indigenous people are able to take up job opportunities. So from 1 July this year, major reforms to employment services in remote communities will end passive welfare and give people a pathway to real jobs. Twenty-nine vocational and training centres are going to end training for training's sake. The employment parity initiatives to help big employers get to employment parity of three per cent, which I announced last week, will create 20,000 jobs. By 2020, three per cent of new government contracts will be afforded to Indigenous businesses. And by 2018, three per cent of Australian Public Service employees will be Indigenous. We have made a good start. Since September 2013, 23,100 Indigenous Australians have been assisted into employment under our new job programs.