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

I thank the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate for that courtesy. PSG Holdings has been awarded a $213.6 million contract for one of the most significant changes in Sydney, the design and refurbishment of the Garden Island Naval Base. Troy Rugless has talked about his firm's commitment to Indigenous employment and said that the impact of the IPP on PSG is that it has accelerated their growth. He said:

I would say conservatively it has fast-tracked our business by about 10 years.

All across the country, we are seeing this success replicated, with over 1,000 Indigenous firms being awarded over a billion dollars in contracts in just two-and-a-half years. Is it any wonder that Indigenous leaders like Warren Mundine and Marcia Langton have described the IPP as the most successful Indigenous policy since Federation?

We want to build on this success through other initiatives that support other Torres Strait Islander business owners, because we know that an Indigenous business is far more likely than a non-Indigenous business to employ an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person. The average Indigenous workforce in our IPP firms is around 41 per cent, and that's compared with 0.7 per cent in non-Indigenous businesses across Australia—meaning that by supporting more Indigenous businesses, we get more Indigenous jobseekers into work by a factor of 60.

As announced by the Prime Minister earlier today, we have developed the 10-year Indigenous Business Strategy to increase the number, the strength and the capacity of Indigenous businesses across Australia. We will roll out Indigenous business hubs to provide business advice and support, starting in Western Sydney in partnership with the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, who, under the leadership of chairman Roy Ah-See, will ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are there, front and centre, to take advantage of the jobs and business boom that will occur in Western Sydney over the next few decades. We will unlock a wider range of public sector finance and capital through our $27 million Indigenous Entrepreneurs Capital Scheme. We will double microfinance in regional and remote Australia to ensure Indigenous Australians, including young people and women, can turn their ideas into start-up enterprises, especially in regional and remote areas. We will continue lobbying the states and territories to introduce their own Indigenous procurement policies, and I'm so pleased that Western Australia has recently announced a policy modelled off the Commonwealth's IPP.

The private sector is moving. I just came from an event today where the Business Council of Australia announced a range of measures and commitments to increase the number of contracts to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander owned businesses. We've also announced today a significant reform in our country's Indigenous land rights and economic empowerment journey, with a new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land and Sea Future Fund. Following extensive consultations around the country, we will be transferring the $2 billion land account to the Future Fund and expanding the remit of the Indigenous Land Corporation, which derives an annual dividend from this fund, to include sea country.

By sitting with the pre-eminent financial experts, the Future Fund, the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land and Sea Future Fund will be up to $1.5 billion better off over 20 years than in the current investment arrangements. That means more opportunities to grow Indigenous estate to support economic aspirations of our First Australians. We will transfer the management of the Indigenous Land Corporation's land account to the Future Fund's board of guardians, with a view to making it a truly perpetual account, reversing its current downward trajectory. This is a significant reform and one we have co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who have contributed to this reform in nationwide consultations. There will have to be legislation to make that, coming through this place, with an opportunity to cross-examine all elements of that legislation.

In the last year, Indigenous Australians have done great things. In November it was my great honour to celebrate with the Gunyangara community in the Northern Territory the first township lease to be handed over to an Aboriginal community organisation, realising the vision for land rights by my good friend and Gumatj leader Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu. This builds on steps we've taken to amend and improve the Native Title Act. Thirty-two per cent of land in Australian is now recognised by native title, and a further 26 per cent is under claim.

The past year was also a time for Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to celebrate key anniversaries for two of the most significant moments in Australia's modern history: the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the 25th anniversary of the landmark Mabo decision. Another highly significant anniversary will be marked tomorrow: the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples. I acknowledge the momentous importance of the apology, and I am working in partnership with the Healing Foundation to complete proper evidence-based policy work to consider the needs of surviving members of the stolen generations and inform government's response going forward. This is because we know that there are no simple solutions in this place. In the 10 years since the apology, we've learned a great deal. One of the lessons has been the importance of including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the design and delivery of programs and services. With four Closing the Gap targets expiring this year, the government is working closely with the states and territories, and most importantly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to refresh the agenda for the next 10 years and beyond.

Incarceration rates and deaths in custody have rightly been the subject of much attention. I have always thought that a justice target for the Commonwealth was a pretty daft way of resolving that issue, because we just don't have any of the levers. We don't control the sentencing system; we don't control the corrections system. The states are responsible, and they're the ones who need to agree to introduce justice targets to ensure the systemic issues in their policies and programs are working better for Indigenous citizens. I commend all the states and territories for embracing this new opportunity. We're not just going to introduce a justice target that makes us all feel good about ourselves but which we can do nothing about—that is not being fair dinkum with people.

This isn't about passing the buck. I'm determined to work with the states and territories to drive change. Take the custody notification service. This is a state and territory responsibility, but, because we know it saves lives, we've offered to fund it for three years on the condition that they take on their responsibilities following this. We made this offer on 31 August 2016, and I'm disappointed that we are yet to have any of the jurisdictions take up this offer. They include the Western Australian government, who made an election commitment to introduce a CNS, and the Northern Territory government, to whom the royal commission has recommended its introduction. Clearly, there is still a long way to go, but I'm quite sure that we're moving towards that outcome.

I would like to acknowledge the extremely productive special gathering we had in Canberra last week and all of the First Australians who brought their lived experience and wisdom to the table. The advice they provided to first ministers has been invaluable.

In conclusion, this report shows great improvements for our First Australians but it also shows the challenges that remain before us and reminds us that we must redouble our efforts and work harder to improve the outcomes for our First Australians. In 2018, we remain committed to increasing school attendance levels to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children obtain an education that opens up opportunities later in life. We remain committed to supporting economic development and job opportunities because of the transformational impact this can have on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. And we remain committed to making Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as safe as any other community in Australia. Let me assure everyone here in the Senate today: the government remains absolutely resolute in its commitment to staying the course with our First Australians to ensure they live the prosperous lives that they choose.