Mr SLIPPER (6:14 PM) —Like the honourable member for Canberra, I am also a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. While I have also been participating in the discussions—that inquiry that she referred to concerning Indigenous employment outcomes—I must say that I have not drawn the same conclusion from all of the evidence that the member for Canberra has in her contribution.

Having said that, I respect the fact that the member for Canberra is relaying to the House what is her recollection. However, what I think is very reassuring for the country at large, and for our Indigenous communities in particular, is the fact that both sides of politics are now taking a very keen interest in improving Indigenous disadvantage. Historically in Australia, governments have sought to solve the problem of Indigenous disadvantage by throwing money at it. What we need to do, as this government is doing, is to look at outcomes and to look at what we are able to achieve, and to look at practical reconciliation to make sure that ultimately Indigenous communities do attain the same opportunities and the same standard of living as the general Australian community at large.

This government and the current Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs have focused on what have been some of the endemic problems in Indigenous communities. So often governments in the past have tended to throw these problems in the too-hard basket. They find that it might be politically incorrect to talk about violence in Indigenous communities and that it might be politically incorrect to state some of the home truths that this government has stated. It really is important that we spend money as required to redress Indigenous disadvantage. But what is important is not the process; what is important is the outcome. This is what this government has sought to achieve.

Mr Hardgrave —Hear, hear!

Mr SLIPPER —I thank the member for Moreton for his supportive interjection. We are not going to apologise for the fact that we do demand the same level of accountability for Indigenous organisations as for non-Indigenous organisations. Mr Deputy Speaker McMullan, I do know that you yourself have a keen interest in Indigenous affairs and have had for a very long time. I think that it is going to be so much easier for the government of the day to obtain the political support from the Australian community to spend what needs to be spent if we can guarantee to the Australian community that there are appropriate levels of accountability, achievement and successful outcomes.

This government’s approach has been spot on, and I am heartened by the fact that so many Indigenous leaders have supported the position taken by this government. What we need to do is get away from the sit-down mentality, the concept where Indigenous people are paid substantial amounts of taxpayers’ money to basically live a cycle of welfare despair. I am not saying that money should not be made available to those who need it as a helping hand and as a safety net, but ultimately our aim as a community ought to be to redress Indigenous disadvantage so that ultimately Indigenous people are like the Australian community at large. That is what this government is seeking to do. I hope that is what some members from the other side are seeking to achieve.

Ultimately, of course, no-one has ownership of this particular issue. Both sides of politics are endeavouring to redress what everyone accepts is an unacceptable situation. Where the opposition is not supporting everything that this government is doing I think it is, to an extent, playing politics. That is unfortunate and it is regrettable because this government, through the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Bill 2006, is endeavouring to assist Indigenous people.

We are endeavouring to bring forward the right policy parameters to ensure a successful outcome. Ultimately in any piece of legislation you can always say that, while what is being spent is great, more ought to be spent. What a responsible government needs to do, while looking at the resources available to it, is to spend taxpayers’ money in accordance with community priorities. What we have sought to do in the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Bill is to have a balanced situation. We have sought to achieve what we can achieve. I know that, for instance, one of the reasons that year 9 students are being looked at is that there are very strong levels of evidence that year 9 is the time when many Indigenous children actually drop out of the system.

Mr Hardgrave —Kids go off the rails in year 9.

Mr SLIPPER —Kids go off the rails, not only Indigenous kids in year 9 but kids more generally, but Indigenous children have been identified as needing specific assistance at this time. That is one of the reasons why year 9 has been selected as one of those periods when Indigenous children need particular assistance. A statement on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website notes that education is one of the key factors in ensuring that the lives of young Indigenous Australians are improved. It notes that many studies have:

The comments go on to say, however, that a number of factors affect the rates of involvement of Aboriginals in education. These include difficulties in accessing educational facilities, financial hardships and community and cultural pressures. The website also says:

The initiatives we are debating in the bill before the House today aim to have a positive impact in changing what I think all of us would accept is an unacceptable situation. The Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Bill 2006 does provide for significant funds to be directed towards education and training programs that assist Indigenous students to achieve their full potential. It is worthy to note that while the Indigenous community makes up something like 1.9 per cent of Australia’s population, Indigenous students—regrettably—only make up 1.2 per cent of our university population.

The Australian government already has several programs in place to address this underrepresentation in higher learning environments. These programs include the Indigenous Support Program, which arranges for grants to go to higher education institutions to help them meet the specific needs of Indigenous students; the Indigenous Staff Scholarship Program, which has the aim of supporting and encouraging Indigenous staff at our higher education facilities who assist Indigenous students to ensure that they complete their courses; and the establishment of the Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council which, among other things, aims to develop strategies to help increase the proportion of Indigenous Australians on staff at higher education facilities and also to enhance their career paths. These are just three general examples of higher education initiatives for Indigenous Australians through the Department of Education, Science and Training.

The Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Bill 2006 will add to those initiatives by targeting school students and those in training during the 2006 to 2008 calendar years. The initiatives include $14.5 million in additional funds to provide tutorial support services to Indigenous students in year 9. It is interesting to note that the proportion of non-Indigenous students who progress from year 9 to year 10 is around the 98 to 99 per cent, which is pretty high—close to 100 per cent. It is almost unthinkable that a student would drop out at that stage but, sadly, the proportion of Indigenous students who make that same transition is around 89 per cent. With these figures in mind, the year 9 students are regarded as a key group that may benefit from additional support services that will help them make the transition to year 10 education.

In addition, $11.2 million is being provided toward expanding the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme to include those students enrolled in vocational and technical education programs. By widening the net that this tutorial program covers, it is believed that Indigenous students enrolled in vocational education will be encouraged to continue with their training. The upshot of this initiative is that it is hoped that it will help encourage young Indigenous Australians who are neither employed nor involved in work related training to enrol and remain in vocational educational programs.

Eighteen school based sporting academies will be funded for Indigenous Australians at a cost of $9.1 million. This is designed to help male and female Indigenous students become more involved in academic pursuits through sporting programs. Many people in our community may not be aware that sporting programs can also have a positive effect on the health and fitness of young people, their self-confidence and their general social and leadership skills. The bill will also provide $7.3 million for Indigenous youth festivals, and this will promote healthy, active and positive lifestyles among Indigenous Australians.

Finally, this bill will assist up to 1,000 young Indigenous Australians in remote and desert regions who are involved with unproductive and damaging petrol sniffing and other substance abuses with a $1.5 million funding allocation. These initiatives amount to some $43.6 million dedicated to improving the resolve of Indigenous students and their parents and giving them additional support to remain enrolled in schooling and vocational training programs until completion. If we are able to achieve that outcome it will assist Indigenous students to be prepared for the workforce and give them greater opportunities in the general community.

So while it might be okay for the Labor Party to come in here and play politics, to criticise the government and damn us with faint praise and to say that it is great that we are giving this money but that there ought to be more, the Australian community does require all us to be positive and to give credit where credit is due.

Mr Hardgrave —Hear, hear!

Mr SLIPPER —I thank the member for—

Mr Martin Ferguson —Moreton! He’s one of yours.

Mr SLIPPER —No, it was Mr Martin Ferguson, the member from Victoria, the shadow minister at the table, who was supporting me in this and I thank him for that. I commend the bill to the House. It is a very positive initiative. The government is deserving of praise and support for this initiative. It is not a panacea to solve all the problems but it is another important step forward and I am very pleased to add my voice to the voices of those honourable members supporting the bill. I ask the member for Canberra to be a little less condemnatory when she does address these particular matters. She ought not to play politics and she ought to support this initiative, which is very positive.