Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services, Housing, Youth and Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to make a statement today about the Community Development Employment Projects program run by the Redfern Aboriginal Corporation. I met with local residents in Redfern recently, and they have grave concerns about the proposed changes to the CDEP program in Redfern. This program has been in existence since 1977. Since that time it has seen many changes and has also assisted many Indigenous people to move from welfare into work. Associated with the program are a textiles business, a removalist business and a cleaning business. They are all run by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people and are part of the vibrant community in Redfern.

Two groups of people depend on these services: the participants in the program, who are getting real work experience in real jobs doing important work, and the beneficiaries of the program. It is impossible to imagine how some of the poorer residents in Redfern would ever be able to afford to move without the removalist services offered by the Redfern CDEP. I am seriously concerned that both of these groups will miss out with the changes proposed to the CDEP which will see the RAC in Redfern close. A community meeting held recently universally expressed dismay about the CDEP program in Redfern closing. The Redfern Aboriginal Corporation would not be able to run without the CDEP funding that subsidises the wages of the people working in their associated businesses.

It is also a little difficult to imagine the minister’s justification. Interestingly, Kevin Andrews put out a press release on 20 October 2006 saying how fantastic the CDEP program was and then not much more than a week later, on 6 November, he said that he was going to trash it, cut it completely, in urban areas. His rationale is that, if you work in an urban area, it is easy to get a job. An Aboriginal person who says they live on the Block in Redfern and wants a job serving customers in David Jones perhaps has a couple of barriers to overcome before they are treated in the same way as any other potential employee turning up for the job. The fact that there is employment in urban areas does not mean that many of the people applying for those jobs will not face the same difficulties, racism and discrimination that they would in the areas that the Deputy Speaker represents. I urge the government to reverse its decision to cut the CDEP in urban areas and particularly to restore funding to the RAC. (Time expired)