Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank you for the question. Clearly, our measures are having an impact. We've seen that child mortality has dropped 33 per cent. The overall mortality has dropped 15 per cent. Trachoma is on track to be eliminated as a public health problem by 2020. The gap in blindness and vision impairment has halved. We've seen since the last census that the number of Indigenous Australians with a job has increased by 23.3 per cent and the number of Indigenous businesses has increased by 30 per cent compared with just one per cent for non-Australians. Clearly, there is more to be done. We need to ensure the huge funding that the Commonwealth gives to the states and territories to deliver services is actually reaching Indigenous communities. Unfortunately, in your home state of South Australia, Senator, the Weatherill Labor government seems to be out of ideas. The school attendance target in South Australia is not on track. The reading and numeracy target is not on track, neither is employment or life expectancy.