Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Scullion. Will the minister advise the Senate on the progress being made to provide real employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?

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

I would like to thank the senator for his question and his interest in this government's efforts to ensure our First Australians are being embraced in the real economy. I think we have all heard the litany of dashed expectations created by previous governments' attempts, well-meaning though they may have been, to keep Indigenous Australians busy doing activities that, I believe, had no real purpose. Our First Australians deserve better.

Real jobs are the only way to end disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The government has started a quiet revolution in this area. The government is providing up to $45 million to support new employer driven and demand driven vocational training and employment centres. VTECs provide intensive training and wrap-around support, leading to a guaranteed job and ending the cycle of training for training's sake. VTECs are based on the GenerationOne employment model—a proven model—driven by employer demand for skills to fill real jobs. We have now secured job commitments for 4,070 Indigenous men and women through our VTECs. That is over 4,000 Indigenous people in 21 VTECs across Australia being trained in industries such as hospitality, mining, construction, retail and health services and many other industries, including small business. Most importantly, I am so delighted to report, 70 of those people have moved from training and are now enjoying work, often for the first time, in training centres in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Will the minister advise the Senate of the scope of the vocational training and employment centres across Australia?

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

By the end of this year 5,000 Indigenous men and women will have been trained through the VTECs, taking up real jobs and ending the history of keeping our First Australians out of sight and out of mind through meaningless activity. VTECs have been set up to support and to employ Indigenous job seekers in employment in all the regions, particularly the South Coast of New South Wales, the Kimberley, the Pilbara, North and Central Queensland, the Hunter region and capital cities. Very few areas in Australia will remain untouched by this new way of doing business to end the appalling disparity suffered by Indigenous Australians for far too long.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate of successful partnerships to achieve employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through the vocational training and employment centre model?

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

The breakthrough in this intractable problem is the result of the government's ability to work in partnerships with other agencies and other jurisdictions, particularly those who share this government's approach and aspirations to end Indigenous disparity. I have to note that this could not have been done without the great work of GenerationOne. GenerationOne manages the Australian Employment Covenant, which secured 60,000 job pledges from Australian companies for Indigenous Australians. Both of these were founded by Andrew Forrest of the Fortescue Metals Group. I would like to congratulate Twiggy and the Fortescue Metals Group for their leadership in this regard. I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate GenerationOne and thank them for their vision. I think that vision is now shared by many other Australians. I pay tribute to the providers and employers right across the country who have their noses to the grindstone, determined and dedicated to improved job outcomes for First Australians.