Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Employment and Economic Development, Senator Arbib. Given that this is NAIDOC Week, can the minister please inform the Senate of the significance of this event and its importance to Indigenous Australians? And can the minister outline how this relates to the government's Closing the Gap agenda, particularly in relation to employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Crossin for her question and also for her commitment to Indigenous people in the Northern Territory. As the senator said, this is NAIDOC Week, which is an opportunity for all Australians to join together to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of Indigenous Australians and their contribution to the nation. There are events taking place across the country to celebrate the week. The national theme of this year's NAIDOC Week is 'Change: the next step is ours'. NAIDOC Week is therefore more than just a reflection on our proud past. The theme also highlights the importance of taking responsibility for the future and taking action to make it happen. It encourages Indigenous Australians to make positive changes in their own lives.

The federal government has set ambitious targets to close the gap and an unprecedented investment of $5.75 billion over three years is beginning to change the lives of Indigenous people by delivering better services, better houses and healthier communities. But we cannot do it alone. Closing the Gap requires a genuine partnership with Indigenous Australians at all levels. In my portfolio alone, meeting the target of halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people means creating and sustaining 100,000 jobs, which is a big task, and personal responsibility in this area is vital. The most impressive and successful projects we are seeing are ones where Indigenous people are leading the way. The work we are doing in stimulating and working with Indigenous businesses con­tinues. Just last week, the Indigenous Opportunities policy was put in place with major changes to the way we undertake procurement in this country, ensuring that if a company—(Time expired)

Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Could the minister also outline for the Senate some of the successful Indigenous employment initiatives he mentioned and, in particular, could the minister please inform the Senate of the success of some of the mainstream employment focused programs in getting Indigenous Australians into jobs?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have mentioned in the past in this chamber the success of the Indigenous Employment Program. Already, there are over 43,000 placements in jobs and training, which exceed our budget targets by 3,500, but there are also a number of mainstream projects and programs that I have not mentioned in the Senate and which are important to bring to your attention.

The Caring for our Country program has put 625 Indigenous Australians into jobs as rangers. Minister Garrett has put in place a cadetship program for rangers to try to encourage more young Indigenous Aust­ralians through their schools to be involved, to have a career as a ranger and to preserve their traditional country. Through the Jobs Fund and the Innovation Fund, funds were put together during the worst of the global financial crisis to try to stimulate the economy. Over 535 jobs have gone to Indigenous Australians, disadvantaged backgrounds and 11 Indigenous owned companies are benefiting from— (Time expired)

Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I understand that the Australian employment covenant is one of the programs that has been supported by the Australian government, so could the minister please provide the Senate with an update on the progress of the covenant? In particular, can the minister inform the Senate of how many job commitments it has achieved?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday marked the second anniversary of the Australian Employment Covenant. It was established as a partnership between the private sector, led by Andrew Forrest, and, of course, the government. The target of 50,000 job commitments was set two years ago and a great deal of work has gone on since then by the covenant but also by the government to work with corporate Australia to try and encourage businesses to take on Indigenous employees. I am happy to report to the Senate the success of the Australian Employment Covenant. The target was 50,000 jobs and we have been able to secure 55,000 job commitments. Those com­mitments will be filled over a number of years. We have said on a number of occasions that those commitments are over years. Companies have said to us that they will take these jobs over one-year, three-year, five-year or seven-year tenures. Work will now be done to fill those jobs. (Time expired)