Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

There is a final issue that I would like to raise, and I am hoping that I will get answers to those questions I have asked about the education programs. I do not mind if I do not get them this afternoon. I would like them on notice, although if you want to respond to me that would be bloody fantastic. I want to talk about the Community Development Program. Currently, the Community Development Program covers about 33,000 jobless people in remote communities around Australia.

Here is what we know about this program. Those under the CDP are forced to work up to three times longer than city based jobseekers to receive welfare payments. More than 200,000 CDP fines have been issued to people who are late or have failed to show up to activities. These fines lead to hunger and poverty in some communities. Although I know the minister does not believe that, it is, in fact, true. Since the project commenced in July 2015, less than 3,500 Indigenous participants have found full-time or part-time work lasting six months or more. A Senate committee has been told this.

It is abundantly clear, therefore, that, not only is the project not delivering real jobs for Indigenous people, it is actually pushing them into poverty. So I ask the minister—given the short time available, he will have a minute—given the evidence that this program is not delivering jobs and that it is driving people into poverty, what is the government doing to fix this program? Nothing, obviously—and I am happy to stay on my feet.

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