FOR MEDIA 18 NOVEMBER 1987
I want to make a brief general statement about the
Aboriginal Employment Development Policy before Gerry Hand
and Clyde Holding answer your questions about the detail of
this new policy.
The Aboriginal Employment Development Policy represents a
major commitment by my Government to enhance the economic,
educational and employment opportunities of Australia's
Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders.
This nation has few problems as tragic and as complex as the
persistent poverty in which the majority of Aboriginal
people live. Despite the earnest endeavours of Governments
over the past twenty years, Aboriginal unemployment persists
at unacceptably high levels five or six times higher than
among the rest of the community and Aboriginal Incomes
remain on average only half those enjoyed by other
Australians In response to the pleas of the many Aboriginal people who
reject the welfare dependency of the past, we must look to
ways of ensuring the progressive development of Aboriginal
economic independence.
This is the fundamental objective of the AEDP. To achieve
that goal it will create jobs for the nearly 50% of the
Aboriginal population who live in remote and rural
communities; ensure fair access for Aboriginals to jobs
throughout the wider Labour market; and improve the
educational and training opportunities for Aboriginal
people. The AEDP is a carefully tailored and carefully measured
approach. It arises from the recommendations of Mr Mick
Miller's 1985 report on Aboriginal Employment and Training
Programs. I want to congratulate Mr Miller and his
committee for their hard work and for their valbiable
recommendations.
In 1986 the Government endorsed the broad findings of the
Miller Committee and established the AEDP. Today we are
embarking on a long-term co-ordinated policy involving a
substantial financial commitment by the Commonwealth to
achieve employment equity for Aboriginals and Torres Strait
Islanders. 0 0 0-1 .1
I have written to the six Premiers and the Chief Minister of
the Northern Territory seeking their cooperation in the
adoption of complementary measures. That cooperation, which
I hope will be readily forthcoming, will introduce a new era
of effective and efficient delivery of public sector
services to Aboriginal people.
I want to commend AEDP also to Aboriginal communities and
organisations, trade unions and employer groups, all of
whose support will also be critical for its effective
implementation.
The two hundred years of European settlement of Australia
have been characterised by the development of Government
policies which all too frequently have failed to answer the
legitimate demands of the Aboriginal people.
I believe a program such as the AEDP avoids the pitfalls of
the past because it is based on the oft stated views of many
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that they want
to be involved in the decisions about their future and about
the way in which they will earn their livelihood.
It is my hope that the Bicentenary celebrations will allow
us not only to reflect on the richness of the 40,000 year
old Aboriginal culture but also to appreciate with greater
clarity the need for Aboriginal people today to achieve
economic independence.
This new policy cannot of course achieve results overnight:
the imbalances in the standards of living of Aboriginals and
of the rest of the community are too severe for that.
But the AEDP does provide a tangible demonstration of the
community's capacity to direct its resources in an effective
way to alleviate the very real problems facing the
Aboriginal people. 00U2 ) 02
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