Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Solomon for his question and for his very real interest and commitment to Indigenous affairs and particularly to young people and their need for education. We recognise that, particularly in the Northern Territory, there is an enormous amount to be done. Before the election, we made a commitment to fund 200 extra teachers in the Northern Territory and, as the member said, to fund three new boarding colleges, because we recognise that there are many, many places in the Northern Territory where children, particularly of secondary school age, just do not have access to secondary school, and of course we want them to attend a school. If they should attend school, they have to have a school to go to. We certainly do support this boarding college approach in both the Northern Territory and elsewhere. We are in the process of discussing the location of these boarding colleges with our Northern Territory colleagues and we certainly look forward to seeing those constructed and to seeing the new teachers coming on board.

The other area he raises is of course the critical area of literacy and numeracy. We understand that the gaps in the achievement of Indigenous children in both the Northern Territory and other parts of Australia are unfortunately a long way short of that of non-Indigenous children. That is why we have, once again as part of our election commitments, indicated that we are going to put additional resources into literacy and numeracy—really targeted resources, especially for little children, because we know that if you do not get it right in the early years then it is very hard to catch up later. These are very significant commitments that we have made.

I will go to the overall area. In this budget—and I am sure the member for Solomon knows very well and understands how desperately needed this is—we have allocated $666 million to the Northern Territory as part of our Indigenous budget. That goes across a wide range of different portfolios because we recognise just how critical it is to invest in education, certainly, but to also invest in health. In the law and order area there is a substantial contribution for night patrols and there are a number of other areas that we understand continue to need our attention. Even with this money, we know that more needs to be done. It is going to take some time before we close the gaps—the life expectancy gap, the education gap and the employment gap—in the Northern Territory, particularly in the remote parts of the Northern Territory. Even in the member’s electorate, which is largely based around Darwin and Palmerston, we understand that Indigenous people are not achieving at school to the same level as non-Indigenous citizens and that they do not have the same health. We intend to work very closely with the member for Solomon, and of course with our other colleagues in the Northern Territory, to really address the shocking gap that exists.

I would like to go back to the member for Warringah’s questions. I will do the best I can with what I have. I just want to make clear that the numbers I have already given you are in relation to the changes that refer to salary sacrifice and superannuation contributions—as long as we are really clear that that is what that was about. On the issue of the net savings from gross income and salary sacrificing with regard to the Commonwealth seniors health card, we expect the net savings to be $20 million. I am advised that we do not have the split here between the gross income and salary sacrificing. If we can get that for you we will. But that is the net saving on that initiative, and we will chase up the other figures.

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