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

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Scullion. Can the minister update the Senate on how the China-Australia free trade agreement will benefit Indigenous Australians, particularly in regional and remote areas where Indigenous disadvantage is most pronounced?

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

I thank the senator for his question. It is a most important question because the China-Australia free trade agreement will improve the flow of trade across all sectors of the Australian economy and particularly, as the senator points out, across regional and rural Australia, where we have the most disadvantaged Indigenous Australians.

The three principal sectors that are to be affected by the China-Australia free trade agreement are agriculture and fisheries, resources and energy, and manufacturing. These are major employment areas for our First Australians. The industries represent around—certainly, in the 2011 census—18,000 Australian jobs. That represents 12 per cent of the total Indigenous workforce in Australia. In an area that is going to have just so much effect, the China-Australia free trade agreement promises so much in employment to our First Australians.

It is actually no surprise that the former Labor resources minister—who knew much about this and has been of great assistance to the First Australians, even since he left this place, in facilitating the Gove wharf site agreement—says that we actually need the free trade agreement because the potential industries will grow and are the beneficiaries. Our First Australians are going to be the ones who are the beneficiaries. To those on the other side—who must be wondering, really, the direction that they are taking and who have sympathy; and I know there are many—there is an opportunity to reconsider your position on this very important issue.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Will the minister inform the Senate of what the government is doing to ensure that Indigenous Australians in regional and remote areas maximise the opportunities for employment and economic development that the free trade agreement will bring?

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

If the Indigenous job sector is to take advantage of things like the China-Australia free trade agreement, we need to ensure that our First Australians are in fact job ready. In remote areas, since the previous government's remote jobs and community programs, almost 60 per cent of job seekers are not engaged in any activities. There is broad agreement. I have to again acknowledge the opposition and their work to rectify that. They are working very closely with the government.

We are readying communities for change. More than 16,700 Indigenous Australians have been supported by the Commonwealth into jobs in the last financial year. That is 50 Indigenous jobs every day. They have not stayed there the whole time, but there have been 50 jobs every day. When this free trade agreement is signed, they will have a job to move into. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister inform the Senate why opportunities like the China-Australia free trade agreement need to be grasped in order to deliver more jobs for Australians? What opportunities will Indigenous Australians miss out on if the Labor Party does not support this historic agreement?

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

I thank the senator for his question. I call on all of those opposite to actually listen to the voices from regional and rural Australia, who was saying, 'We need this agreement because we need jobs.' In fact, it might be useful to listen to more of their own. What we actually hear most of all is that people are talking down the opportunities that will create jobs for groups like Indigenous communities. We do not need to hear more of the smear and misinformation.

Former Labor Party president and Indigenous leader Warren Mundine says ' it will be an act of vandalism' and:

It’s embarrassing watching Labor dance around why they oppose ChAFTA when they didn’t oppose similar deals with other countries …

I share Mr Mundine's frustrations, as many of us do here, and understand why he says he is deeply angry about the opportunities that our First Australians will miss out on because of what Mr Mundine calls a 'bigoted' and 'xenophobic' approach.