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

I rise tonight to talk about the Learn Earn Legend! Work Experience in Government program which was conducted last week in parliament. This was the second year of the program. The program is designed to give Indigenous students the chance to come to Canberra to see the great opportunities available working in government and in the Australian Public Service. Last year, about 70 parliamentarians participated. This year that number increased to 96 members of parliament and senators hosting students. Twenty-six departments and agencies were also involved in hosting Indigenous students. There were 100 students from across the country in Canberra being hosted in the offices of ministers, MPs and senators from every party. Students had the chance to learn about how government works, experience life in a political office and watch question time, before spending two days in Public Service agencies and departments.

Throughout the week students saw the numerous opportunities that are available to them with a good education and a lot of hard work. We hope that some of these students will decide to come back to Canberra to study and work and become the departmental secretaries, politicians and prime ministers of the future. Students also had the chance to meet a range of Learn Earn Legend! ambassadors during the week, including tennis legend Evonne Goolagong, co-captain of the Gold Coast Knights Scotty Prince and editor of the Courier Mail, Kirstie Parker.

The Learn Earn Legend! program aims to encourage young Indigenous people to stay in school and get their training so they can gain great jobs and careers. It is part of the Australian government's commitment to closing the gap on education and employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians. It was also, of course, a great opportunity for members of parliament and senators to work with and meet some wonderful and fabulous young Indigenous Australians and to learn a bit about Indigenous culture—the importance of family and the importance of the land—and something of the hardships that many of these young Indigenous students go through.

In my own office, I was lucky to have Naomi Nelson and Trent Garlett, both from Balga Senior High School in Western Australia. To hear their stories and to talk to them about their life experiences was, for me, extremely rewarding. During the two days they were in my office we set them a number of policy tasks and talked to them about what they believed was important in the transition from school to employment. Both those students participated as valued members of the staff on those two days, and the work they were able to provide to me was of an extremely high quality. I appreciate the effort that they put in over the two days. I have received the same feedback from members of parliament and senators from all sides of the parliament. This was a very useful exercise, for not just the 100 students and the teachers but also the members of parliament themselves, to learn about some of the experiences that these young people go through.

One of the young men who went through the first program, Frank Lowah, now works for me as part of my staff. He has spent a great deal of time in Canberra and Sydney. He comes from Cairns and is excelling in the job; he is an important part of my team. His career in the parliament started on the work experience program, and I hope he will be the first of many young Indigenous Australians to go through that program and have it provide a pathway into employment with a member of parliament, in a department, in an agency or in another part of the public sector. As a government, the Australian Labor Party has set a target of 2.7 per cent Indigenous employment in the APS. Currently we are at 2.2 per cent, or around that. There are a large number of opportunities inside the Australian public sector for Indigenous Australians to meet these targets. There are graduate traineeships, there are cadetships and there are a large number of scholarships available. We need to ensure that Indigenous Australians understand what is available and have the resources and knowledge required to take up those opportunities. Otherwise, they will be squandered. This program is targeted at doing just that.

This was not an easy program to pull together over the last two years. It took a great deal of work from a number of people and I want to put on the record thanks to those people who have been involved. Can I say to my department, DEEWR: thank you for all the work you have put in to make this possible. Thank you to Robert Griew and Jo Wood for backing the program and giving it the full weight and support of the senior levels of the department. I also thank the staff who worked day in, day out to make it happen—in particular, Jodie Sexton-Bock, Brenda Love, Terri-Lee Amato and Gretl Judd. These are only six members, but there are dozens of members of DEEWR who were involved in making this program happen and ensuring it worked extremely well.

I thank the 16 teachers from across the country who accompanied the students, who took time out of their own busy teaching schedules. They are dedicated to the cause and spent the week in Canberra. I thank them for the work they have done and I hope they also learnt a great deal from it. This year, to improve the course, we put in place training and a seminar for those teachers in the hope that they could gain a greater understanding of the opportunities. The feedback I have received from them has been extremely useful and supportive. Thank you to those teachers for attending and thank you for the support you have given to make this possible. We could not have held this program without you.

I thank our organisational and community partners, including the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, the AIEF, and in particular Andrew Penfold. I thank Dare to Lead, which is a school based program operating throughout the country, supporting teachers and principals by giving them the skills to assist Indigenous students. I also thank the Stronger Smarter Institute. People would be aware of Chris Sarra and the great work that he does. Thank you, Chris, for all the support you have given the program. I also thank the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Association, which operates across the country as well. Thank you for the support you have given us.

Can I personally thank one of my own staff members, Audrey Maag, for the work she has done in making this happen, for all the work she has done dealing with all the little issues and challenges that accompany a program this large and for her personal drive to make sure the program succeeded. I should also thank all the parliamentary staff, ministerial staff, Senate staff and Reps staff for the work they have done in mentoring these students over the week. I know a great deal of effort has gone into it. They have been bringing students into meetings, giving them an insight into the parliament and also talking to them about what goes on in parliament. Thank you for all your support and work. Can I also thank all our ambassadors—Evonne Goolagong, Scotty Prince and the many others who have been involved.

Last but not least, I thank the members and senators who backed this not just by words, not just out of obligation but with a great deal of effort. I appreciate and commend them for the work they have done. They have changed the lives of many young Australians and I urge them to keep in contact, keep mentoring. We look forward to a new crop of young Indigenous students next year.