Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for COAG) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Indigenous Employment and Development, Senator Wong. I refer to the ongoing uncertainty for job placement providers under the Indigenous Employment Program. Is the minister aware of New South Wales based Booroongen Djugun Aboriginal Corporation, which has placed 58 Indigenous Australians in jobs in conservation, land management and aged care on the New South Wales North Coast under the IEP, and which has a further seven businesses on its books ready to take on trainees, whose future is under threat due to the freeze on IEP contracts? What steps is the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations taking to engage with the corporation on these issues?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. I do not have any substantial information on the particular circumstances that she references. I will seek some information from the minister and see what I can find subsequently.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for COAG) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for the undertaking. I have a supplementary question. Is the minister aware of the Replay Group, to which I have referred in a question before, which has placed 1,100 Indigenous Australians into jobs in the aged care and childcare sectors since 2000, all of whom have completed at least 26 weeks of continuous employment? Can the minister explain why the department refused to guarantee ongoing funding under the IEP and advised the Replay Group to apply for funding under the National Workforce Development Fund, despite the fact that a review into IEP providers commissioned by Minister Collins found that the placement program was the best of the providers selected by the minister?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have some general information about IEP contracts, which I think I gave on the previous occasion. IEP contracts, as I understand them, have start and end dates—that is, they are not ongoing—and any new contracts have to meet the guidelines and criteria of the IEP. I do not have any information on any ongoing negotiations generally, nor specifically with the provider to whom the senator refers.

I previously provided some information about the IYCP, Indigenous Youth Career Pathways program, which obviously is relevant to this in that it provides a new way for government to support young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders participating in school based traineeships and providing support for mentoring, preparation-for-work activities and other activities directed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. I will seek further information on the specific organisation to which the senator refers.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for COAG) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a further supplementary question. Given we are now one week closer, since I last asked the minister these questions, to many providers who are victims of the freeze having to work out how to continue to operate, can the minister explain how the Indigenous community—and indeed all Australians—could have any confidence that the minister and the government are really serious about achieving the Closing the Gap objective of halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2018?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not have any information before me to confirm the notion of a freeze. As I understand our previous discussions, in the context of the senator's previous question, we have a new approach in terms of the provision of these services. There was a tender process. I refer the senator to my answer in the context of her previous questions, when I went through the nature of the tender and the way in which the tender operated. I also indicated to her that, in relation to IEP contracts, the department was continuing to discuss contracts prior to expiry with existing providers, as is the usual practice. And I have indicated to her that I will seek further information on the specific providers, if that is able to be provided. Obviously, there may well be commercial-in-confidence issues with the provision of some information.