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Labor's plan for a shared future
Special Election '07 Edition - 24 Nov 2007
By Jenny Macklin
OPINION EDITORIAL
NIT ELECTION '07 SPECIAL, November 23, 2007: This month I visited Ti Tree in Central Australia to meet with fourteen Aboriginal trainees at work on a table grape farm. It is hard to believe that there are grape crops flourishing in the desert, but in Central Australia an extensive underground aquifer holds the promise of full employment and a stronger future for remote Aboriginal communities.
Economic development lies at the heart of a Rudd Labor Government's efforts to build a stronger future for Indigenous Australians.
A Federal Labor Government will work in partnership with Indigenous people and private business to create more jobs and build more training opportunities - just like the horticulture jobs and training initiatives being run in conjunction with private businesses in Ti Tree.
Labor recognises how important work is to a person's sense of pride and fulfilment.
Despite the prosperity of the mining boom, Indigenous Australians are still three times more likely to be unemployed.
And yet the potential for Indigenous economic development is vast.
• Indigenous Australians own or have interests in 120 million hectares of land, largely in the remote areas of this continent. The NSW Aboriginal Land Council network oversees a land estate of more than 616,460 hectares worth approximately $2 billion.
• Sustainable timber production and complementary enterprises such as electricity generation, bark collection for paintings, making didgeridoos and bush furniture present strong jobs potential on Indigenous land.
• In Central Australia seventeen sites on Aboriginal land, covering 2,150 hectares are suitable for immediate development in horticulture.
• Sixty per cent of Australia's mine sites are located next to remote Indigenous
communities, providing real opportunities for local employment.
There are also untapped opportunities in tourism, arts, fishing, pastoral, horticulture, construction and land management.
In partnership with Indigenous people, Federal Labor will examine how Indigenous financial assets can best leverage private sector investment for Indigenous enterprise. These assets are currently under utilised and in many cases, burdened with red tape.
Labor will commit $10 million for a Remote Enterprise Centre to connect remote enterprises to other companies for private investment and mentoring, help them to access government contracts and become export ready.
We will also support companies that mentor, develop and do business with Indigenous enterprises.
Federal Labor will work with Land Councils and native title holders towards the better use of royalty monies. Native title holders in South Australia have already joined together to invest in Indigenous enterprises in tourism, arts, fishing and aquaculture, mining, agriculture and wind energy.
Labor has also committed $90 million over five years to train and employ up to an additional 300 Indigenous rangers, $50 million over five years to improve and expand the successful Indigenous Protected Areas Program and $10 million to expand Indigenous business opportunities in fledgling carbon trading markets here and overseas.
We have also committed $10 million to the Land and Sea Country Indigenous
Partnerships Program which included at least $5 million for the employment of Sea Country Officers in Indigenous communities and additional funding for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) to strengthen partnerships with Indigenous communities.
A Rudd Labor Government has committed $7.5 million to strengthening the economic independence of Torres Strait Islander communities by reallocating ownership of Torres Strait commercial line fishing licenses to traditional fishers through the Torres Strait Regional Authority.
Labor will also provide $7.6 million over four years for the National Arts and Crafts Industry Support program to support Aboriginal Art Centres and artists around the country.
Federal Labor has committed to reforming CDEP to get more Indigenous people into
Industry based training and jobs and make it available to all remote Indigenous communities, including in the Northern Territory.
Our Trades Training Centres will also build training opportunities for Indigenous Australians through the provision of up to $1.5 million to all Australian secondary schools to invest in a trades wing.
Building on our commitment to expand jobs and training opportunities in Indigenous communities Kevin Rudd has also committed Federal Labor to the elimination of the 17 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation. As part of this commitment Labor is also determined to halve the gaps in infant mortality and literacy and numeracy outcomes within a decade.
The early years are a critical point in a child's development. Early intervention can make the greatest difference to an individual's life especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
That's why a Rudd Labor Government has a $261 million plan to invest in the early years of Indigenous children nationwide.
An important part of this commitment is an investment of $92.2 million to provide Indigenous mothers, babies and children with health care and early learning support during the early part of their pregnancy, through child birth and until their child reaches the age of eight. An additional $17.5 million will also be spent on supporting parenting skills education.
Labor will also seek $75 million from State and Territory Governments to build comprehensive nurse led home visiting services for Indigenous families, as well as invest $10 million in accommodation facilities for Indigenous women who need to leave their communities temporarily to have their babies.
Education is also central to providing Indigenous children with the best start in life.
Labor will invest $21.9 million over four years to expand intensive literacy and numeracy programs in Indigenous schools to help Aboriginal children develop strong reading and writing skills.
Intensive literacy programs, such as Accelerated Literacy, Making Up Lost
Time In Literacy, and the Yachad Accelerated Learning Project assist underachieving students to catch up to the average level of the rest of their class.
An additional $34.5 million will ensure that every Indigenous student has an Individual Learning Plan up to Year 10, helping to identify the individual strengths and weaknesses of every child to build targets for improvement.
Under Labor, all Australian four year olds, including all Indigenous four year olds, will have access to 15 hours of Government preschool for a minimum of 40 weeks a year.
$16.9 million will also be provided to support the rollout of the Australian Early Development Index in every primary school to identify issues early on that may impact on a child's ability to learn. Labor will ensure that all Indigenous children have access to health and early skills checks - hearing, sight, anguage - so that children are ready to learn.
In addition, Labor will invest $10.3 million in proper treatment for Rheumatic Fever in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. Acute rheumatic fever is almost unknown outside the third world, but rates in some Top End Indigenous communities are among the highest in the world. Federal Labor will also make tackling and reducing trachoma in Indigenous communities a priority.
When the NT intervention was first announced, I recognised that all levels of government and all sides of politics had failed Indigenous children.
The NT intervention is an opportunity to bring unprecedented investment into remote communities in the Territory to make them safer and develop a stronger future.
In addition to current Commonwealth commitments, Federal Labor will invest $20
million to upgrade remote health clinics and expand sexual assault counselling and renal dialysis services in the Northern Territory. We will deliver $15.9 million of alcohol rehabilitation to put more beds and workers in rehabilitation services and build more halfway homes to help people move into fulfilling work.
As part of our commitment to increase Indigenous children's attendance at school, a Rudd Labor Government will provide funding of $60.6 million over four years for 200 additional teachers for the Northern Territory. We will work with the NT Government to make sure that class sizes are kept small.
To improve school retention, Federal Labor will build three new secondary boarding colleges in the Northern Territory at a total cost of $40.9 million over four years, including a contribution to be sought from the Indigenous Land Corporation.
An additional $52 million will be spent upgrading roads in remote Northern Territory, so necessary for safety, services and for economic development.
On the question of permit system, we are mindful of the advice of the NT Police
Association that the removal of the permit system would make children more at risk.
Therefore Labor proposed that, within the permit system, others, such as health
officials, and government officials and journalists should be given access, but we have to get the balance right with the permit system so the predators are kept out of the communities.
Labor's $200 million commitment to the Australian Federal Police will also feature an Indigenous Recruitment Strategy - not only to deliver jobs - but also to expand the force's expertise in languages and promote stronger relations between police and communities.
Across the country, from city suburbs to regional towns and remote outposts, the message that I have been hearing from Aboriginal communities is the need for a
Government that is willing to listen as well as one that is prepared to take real action to lift opportunities for Indigenous people.
In consultation with Indigenous people, Labor will establish a national representative body - different from ATSIC - to achieve greater accountability at all levels of government and to facilitate a real and honest conversation with Government.
Kevin Rudd is also committed to delivering a formal apology over the Stolen
Generations. An apology is powerful and makes new beginnings possible, because it restores respect. Federal Labor will also commit $15.7 million to reunite 1000 Stolen Generation survivors with their families and fund up to 40 more counsellors.
The constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which has had long standing support from Federal Labor, will also be a priority under a Rudd Labor Government.
Federal Labor's approach embodies a new spirit of reciprocal partnership anchored in respect and pragmatism. Labor has outlined a clear plan focused on building a better future for Indigenous people, especially for Indigenous children, through investment in health and education and the development of economic independence.
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