House debates

Wednesday, 7 February 2024

Statements by Members

Stars Foundation, Clontarf Foundation

1:43 pm

Photo of Luke GoslingLuke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

The Stars Foundation supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and young women to attend and remain engaged at school, complete year 12 and move into work or further study. The program's focus is on the Australian government's Close the Gap targets: school attendance, completion of year 12 and successful transition into sustainable employment or study. Stars delivers 21 programs to more than 1,300 students in the Northern Territory. I'm very pleased that average attendance in 2023 last year was 76 per cent and impressively 92 per cent of Territory Stars students graduated last year. I had the honour to attend the graduation ceremonies in my electorate of Solomon at the end of last year and met the students and their incredible mentors and support teams.

Likewise, the Clontarf Foundation works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys and young men. A record 106 young men completed year 12, which is 21 more than last year. That's a terrific outcome. Of the 85 young men who graduated in 2022, 87 per cent went on to engage in some form of work or further study last year. So I just want to thank all of the fantastic teams at Stars and Clontarf who are mentoring and bringing up better opportunities for this next generation of young leaders.