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

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I'd like to start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunawal and Ngambri peoples. I'd like to pay my respect to their elders both and past and present. The Closing the gap report for 2018 is a report on our shared effort amongst successive governments across state and territory governments and, above all, Australia's First People to deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to address 230 years of disadvantage by working together to ensure all Australians have the same opportunities to succeed in our great nation. This is the latest report card against seven Closing the Gap targets.

But it is much more than that. It is also a report that showcases many Indigenous success stories in education, in business, in employment and in community. This year's report reveals three of the seven Closing the Gap targets are on track. This is up from one target this time last year, and it's the first time since 2011 that three targets have, in fact, been on track. I'm pleased to report the target to halve the gap in child mortality is on track this year. Over the long term, the Indigenous child mortality rate has fallen significantly. We have seen continuous improvements in Indigenous child and maternal health outcomes, boding well for future reductions. The target to have 95 per cent of all Indigenous four-year-olds enrolled in early-childhood education by 2025 is also on track for the first time. We've got this target back on track by working with communities and with service providers like our Community Development Program providers to ensure so many Indigenous four-year-olds—around 14,700—are today enrolled in early education and getting the opportunity of the very best start in life. This is an outstanding achievement, and the benefits of this flow right through the educational cycle.

Nationwide, 83 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are attending school on a regular basis. Although the school attendance target is not on track, the vast majority of Indigenous children are going to school. They're sitting in the classroom, ready to learn. Our Remote School Attendance Strategy teams, or yellow shirts, as they've become known, are making a real difference. Our RSAS policy was developed in partnership with communities, and they're made up of local community members who are making a real difference. Over 500 Remote School Attendance Strategy workers across Australia are turning around the declining rates of school attendance that were unfortunately ignored for the first half of the last decade, and we're seeing real progress. Remote School Attendance Strategy teams in Camooweal, Yalata, Kenmore Park, Borroloola and Yirrkala are leading the way, with school attendance rates over 15 per cent higher in each of these communities. About a month ago I was in the Territory joining the Gunbalanya remote school attendance team on the first day of the new school year. Helping out with the morning run was a powerful reminder of just how effective simple actions can be. Communities want to do the right thing by their children; that much is clear.

There is still a great deal of work to do in academic outcomes. Having said that, the past 10 years have seen the gap narrow across all NAPLAN areas. Improvements in reading in years 3 and 5 and numeracy in years 5 and 9 are particularly strong. More and more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are getting to school, progressing through the system, completing year 12 and going on to university. In terms of the year 12 or equivalent attainment target, this too is on track, with improvements across all the states and territories. In 2006 fewer than half of all Indigenous 20- to 24-year-olds had achieved year 12 or equivalent. Ten years later this has increased to more than 65 per cent, and indicators point to this progress continuing. We have seen particularly large gains over the past decade in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The government recognise that we must work with Indigenous students, with families and with schools to open up to our First Australians the very same educational opportunities that other Australians have access to and take for granted.

Since the commencement of the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, in July 2014, we have invested more than $400 million in activities designed to help over 25,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to stay engaged and complete their school education. I want to acknowledge the work of organisations like Clontarf Foundation, the Stars Foundation and Role Models and Leaders Australia, who we are partnering with in this important work. Because of this, and their work, the number of Indigenous Australians signing up for university degrees is also growing at twice the rate of the broader population. The reforms I introduced, through the $251 million Indigenous Student Success Program, to better support Indigenous university students are not only encouraging more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to enrol in university but, more importantly, are ensuring they are supported to complete university.

Although the target to close the life expectancy gap within a generation is not on track, it is clear there have been measurable improvements in a range of health outcomes, which are often masked by the target result. For example, there have been significant improvements in the rate of Indigenous mortality from chronic diseases, particularly circulatory disease, since 1998. There have been improvements in the early detection and management of chronic disease and reductions in smoking, which will contribute to long-term improvement in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of Minister Wyatt, the first Indigenous Australian to hold a ministry in this place, and his announcement of Australia's first four-year Tackling Indigenous Smoking program, which will provide certainty, continuity and record funding for proven local campaigns and new initiatives to save lives and reduce the devastating impacts of tobacco related disease.

As I said before, the health issues faced by Indigenous Australians often stem from extremely complex social and cultural determinants of health and the long-term effects of intergenerational trauma. Addressing these will take time. The time I have spent in community over the years has proven to me there's nothing more powerful or transformational than a job. We're seeing more Indigenous women working than ever before, which empowers and enables them in the pivotal roles they play in contributing not only to their community but to the economy. We have more Indigenous rangers caring for country than ever before. The Community Development Program is continuing to transition First Australians out of welfare and into work, and more than 7,600 Indigenous jobseekers have now found meaningful employment through the vocational training and employment centres.

Indigenous jobseekers are taking advantage of the jobs boom this government has been responsible for ushering in—400,000 jobs have been created over the last 12 months across the economy. Our specialist Indigenous employment programs have supported 7,000 Indigenous jobseekers into work, and mainstream employment programs have supported a further 35,500 Indigenous jobseekers. That means more than 10 per cent of the jobs that have been created are a direct result of our government programs. In fact, the number of Indigenous Australians with a job has increased by 23.3 per cent between 2011 and the 2016 census. Every one of those people represented in these new statistics now has the dignity of work, they are providing for their families and becoming role models for their communities. If only we celebrated them more often. However, there are challenges that we can't shy away from, like the challenge of youth unemployment. The target to halve the employment gap is not on track.

Beneath the Closing the Gap targets, there is much to uncover to showcase success and achievement. For instance, as the Prime Minister said earlier today, Indigenous businesses have won $1 billion—I repeat $1 billion—in Commonwealth contracts since July 2015 under the government's Indigenous Procurement Policy. That is up from $6.2 million in 2012-13, and that is a 161-fold increase, for those interested in numbers. This is not something for the government to pat itself on the back about; it is actually a testament to the Indigenous businesses delivering everything from advanced technology to legal services, construction work, engineering and facilities management. As Katina Law from West Australian IPP business Indigenous Professional Services said:

The Indigenous Procurement Policy is really giving the opportunity to Indigenous businesses and Indigenous business people to become part of the mainstream economy by providing them with opportunities that they wouldn't normally have.

Or Troy Rugless, whose firm PSG Holdings has just been awarded—