Senator IAN MACDONALD (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment)(7.41 p.m.) —Unhappily, whenever there is media comment on matters relating to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, particularly in the area that I come from in the north, it often involves stories of conflict and division—all bad news stories fuelled by media reporting of comments by particular parliamentarians. So tonight I want to speak about a good news story about an exciting initiative for Aboriginal and Islander people in a community that I had the privilege of inspecting recently in Townsville.

The Shalom community development is a totally interactive community offering principally indigenous Australians—and I emphasise principally, because it is not restricted to indigenous Australians—a complete range of services and infrastructure, including: a coeducational college, both primary and secondary; an elders village and nursing home; a construction and training facility; community housing; and sporting and recreational facilities.

A couple of weeks back, I was taken on a tour of the complex by the head of the Shalom community, Reverend Shayne Blackman. I am sure, following my inspection, that the development I saw is one that well could form a model to help improve the unequal position of Australia's Aboriginal and Islanders right around the country.

The project addresses some appalling statistics of Aboriginal and Islander people. Some of those statistics are well known. Fewer than 50 per cent of Aboriginal and Islander children have any preschool experience; 85 per cent of children of compulsory school age participate in primary or secondary education, compared with the national average of 100 per cent; 11 per cent of 15-year-olds have never attended a school; 30 per cent of 16- to 17-year-olds participate in formal training, compared with the national average of some 85 per cent; and, perhaps most damning of all, 33 per cent of working age people are employed compared with the national average of about 66 per cent.

The Shalom development and Shalom community work to improve these statistics by giving indigenous people the option of choosing an educational and lifestyle option in keeping with their traditional cultures and values, while at the same time providing them with access to the sort of support that all Australians expect.

The total development is an activity of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, which is the Aboriginal arm of the Uniting Church in Australia. It is managed by a board of directors—who all happen to be indigenous people—and Reverend Blackman is the chairman.

The site is located on 31 hectares, approximately 15 kilometres from the centre of Townsville. It is almost in the middle of the rapidly expanding Thuringowa city, which is one of the twin cities that makes up the Townsville geographical area.

The college and the community were opened in March 1992. It was actually established on some land purchased through the generosity of a retired shearer and mushroom farmer from Victoria, who provided an initial sum of $860,000 to the church for this project's commencement. It has grown from providing for only two classes to now offering an impressive array of facilities. Federal and state governments provide some support for the community. Again, that support is principally the sort of support that is given to any school or any nursing home or any accommodation for elderly people right around the country. The community operates largely through church and business donations and through self-funding.

In the short time available to me, I want to mention the array of facilities at the college. There is the Shalom Christian College which currently has an enrolment of 300 students from preschool and primary school through to year 11, with facilities for extension to year 12 likely to be ready for the next school year. The schooling system is designed to prepare students for later life and does so within the Shalom philosophy of involving the total community and educational processes. For instance, parents and respected elders from within the community give valuable input as and when it is necessary. This unique approach supports the efforts of teachers and children to learn and improve their future prospects.

These educational facilities were complemented by male and female dormitories, which are also located on site. They were opened in January 1994. These allow for boarders from remote areas to live and learn as part of the complete community.

The community area has a construction and training facility, which is integrated within the college. The community's construction company and training facility is a particularly impressive initiative and allows both students and long-term unemployed to gain genuine on-the-job work experience by building many of the facilities which appear in the community. So they gain not only real employment but real skills and real qualifications.

There are currently 39 people from the community involved in the construction company and training program. They are performing competency based training and working towards genuine qualifications through apprenticeships. Once skilled, with real qualifications, these people have the ability to enter the work force with much greater prospects for gaining employment.

Some of the projects that training and building initiative have already completed include the primary school and high school, the two dormitories, the three community houses, the training centre, the first class athletic oval, the elders village, basketball courts, a kitchen and dining room, and laundry facilities. It represents $12.5 million worth of work over a three-year period.

In fact, when I visited the community they were in the throes of constructing more classrooms on the site. Having seen these facilities first-hand, I can assure the Senate that the workmanship is of the very finest quality and is a real credit to the people involved. The construction team starts each project virtually from scratch, working from the initial design of the building right through to its completion.

In addition, there is an elders village, which reflects the special responsibilities and the place that elders hold within indigenous communities. The Shalom community also provides this elders village for aged people to live in during their later years of life. That includes a nursing home. It provides for 24 beds for elderly people and allows the community to take advantage of the wisdom and life experiences of the elders. The elders are made to feel very welcome. They are very valued members of the Shalom community, and they are involved in many aspects of community life. Their leadership gives direction to the youth and is one of the development's key support mechanisms.

For all its impressive achievements to date, the Shalom community is still growing and evolving. By the year 2000, it is anticipated that there will be over 1,000 people living, studying and working at Shalom each day—the majority of whom will be Aboriginal and islander people. Its facilities at that time will be complemented with on-site housing, an indigenous art gallery, staff accommodation, a function and conference room, a convenience store and more recreational facilities.

I was terribly impressed with this facility which is right in the heart of the fastest growing area of the Townsville-Thuringowa community. It is a real credit to the people involved. It provides a very strong rejection of the negative stereotypes of indigenous communities that have been aired recently—and they are fairly uninformed and uneducated comments—by some of those amongst us. I believe this development could be a real role model for pioneering improvements for indigenous people.

I am aware that some of my parliamentary colleagues, including Senator Woodley, have visited this establishment. For those who have not, I would urge them to visit if they are in Townsville and have half an hour to spend—although it really takes more than half an hour. They would then be able to appreciate that very fine development. I am so impressed with the whole development that I do think it forms a magnificent model—one that we could well use in other parts of Australia.