Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to one of the hardest working ministers in the place, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Scullion. Will the minister advise the Senate why the government is implementing changes to the Remote Jobs and Communities Program and what this means for remote communities?

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

I thank Senator O'Sullivan for the question. Clearly, the settings of the Remote Jobs and Communities Program introduced by the former government in July 2013 were not good. Some 60 per cent of the job seekers in remote communities return to sit-down money. That is not a partisan comment. I really understand and respect the difficulties that they had at that particular time. It demonstrates why we had a need for this government to instigate the Forrest review and refocus our efforts on ensuring training leads to real job outcomes. Applying the mainstream style employment models in remote areas that have limited or no real labour markets clearly fails. If people can work, they should. If jobs are not available, then people should undertake meaningful activity that builds their skills and contributes to their community.

An overhaul of the RJCP is underway to produce real long-term outcomes in remote communities. These reforms will commence from 1 July 2015 and will help build work ethics, skills and experience for job seekers that will lead to employment. The reforms are tailored to the unique social and labour market conditions in remote areas and will apply to all job seekers, whether they are Indigenous or not. Adults between 18 and 49 years who are not in work or study will undertake work for the dole for under 25 hours a week, five days a week, all year round. Work-for-the-dole job plans will be individually tailored to job seekers to provide a pathway to employment and will comprise all activities needed to meet their participation requirement. Twenty five million dollars will be provided each year to support the establishment of local businesses to provide job seekers with real work experience and, ultimately, real jobs in remote communities. At the same time there will be strong incentives for providers to find people jobs and for employers to employ Aboriginal Australians.

Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for that comprehensive answer. Will the minister advise the Senate of other measures the government is implementing to improve Indigenous employment?

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

This government is investing $4.8 billion over four years through the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, focusing on achieving real results in our key priority areas of getting children to school, of getting adults into work and of safer communities. In 2013-14, under the government's previous Indigenous focused employment programs, 14,538 Indigenous job seekers commenced employment. Between July and December 2014, 8,271 Indigenous job seekers commenced employment with support through the IAS. Funding includes $45 million to support the vocational training and employment centres, which have been an outstanding success. Twenty eight of these centres now operate in urban, regional and remote Australia, with contracts to train a further 4,500-odd Indigenous people into guaranteed jobs. With 921 Indigenous people now working in jobs through VTECs, we are on track, with more than 5,000 people trained into real jobs by the end of the year. (Time expired)

Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the minister explain to the Senate why Indigenous employment is a priority for this government?

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

A key priority of this government is to end the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and the best way to do this, clearly, is by getting people into jobs. Employment for Indigenous Australians went backwards under those responsible for the Labor era. The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 to 64 who were employed fell by 6.3 per cent from 2008 to 2013. This compares with a one per cent rise in the same time period for non-Indigenous Australians. This highlighted the need for a new approach to secure employment outcomes for our first Australians. As Mr Forrest found in his review Creating Parity, released in August 2014, there has been too much training for training's sake. This government—and I am sure this parliament would agree—is ending the cycle, ensuring all Indigenous employment programs focus on training people into guaranteed jobs.