It’s terrific to be here and there is a very big crowd here this morning – as there should be – because this is a very exciting day. It is, I believe, a watershed day for indigenous people and I think it is one of those days when we very possibly strike out in a new direction for the benefit of every Australian.
I acknowledge the traditional owners on whose land we stand. I acknowledge everyone who has helped to make today possible. I acknowledge Marist Youth Services. There are so many young people here in this area that are doing so much better in their lives because of the passion and the commitment, Kate, that you and your team have brought to the work on this site.
The core of this Government’s approach to indigenous affairs can be summed up very simply: we want the kids to school, the adults to work and the community safe. That's what we want because that is at the heart of a decent civil society. They are the essential ingredients of a good life; you go to school, you get a good start, you go to work, you make a contribution, your community is safe, you and your family can get on with life as best you see it. So, that is at the very core of what we are trying to do in indigenous policy and Andrew Forrest absolutely shares that vision.
When we wanted to explore new directions to try to make that vision a reality, who better to turn to than someone who has achieved so much with his life and in achieving so much himself, has helped others to achieve their dreams. Andrew Forrest is one of Australia's most successful businessmen. He's also one of Australia's most committed and determined philanthropists. He's invested billions and he's employed thousands and he's built from nothing a business which is now on the verge of rivalling some of those household names in Australian business. He's helped to boost our exports, to boost our prosperity and to make our country the place it is today. If you want something done, you ask a busy man and there's no busier man in this country than Andrew Forrest; not only is he running our third largest iron ore producer, but as well as ending the disparity, he's ending modern slavery too. So, Andrew, you are nothing if not ambitious. Frankly, there is no more worthy ambition for our country than to end the disparity between indigenous Australians and the wider community. I want to thank and congratulate Andrew for the commitment and the passion, the time and the energy and the insight that he has brought to this task over the last seven or eight months.
What the Government is doing, what we are already embarked upon, is a campaign to ensure that we end the poison of sit-down money in remote indigenous communities, that we end the dispiriting and corrosive cycle of training for training's sake in indigenous employment programmes and we try to ensure that everywhere in in our country, but particularly in indigenous communities, every child goes to school every day.
We're doing a lot already on the ground to try to make this a reality. There's been a massive expansion of attendance officers in remote communities thanks to the leadership of Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion. We are on the verge of introducing continuous work programmes for able-bodied adults in remote indigenous communities and obviously here at centres like this, we are trying to ensure that up to 5,000 indigenous Australians do the training, but they do the training with a guaranteed job at the end of it.
There is a lot that we already are doing, and Andrew Forrest's report challenges us to do more. He challenges us to think about an extension of welfare quarantining. He challenges us to try to avoid building houses for people in places where there are no jobs. He challenges us to try to be even more focused on outcomes-driven, employer-led, employment services across the board. These are important and meaningful challenges and I want to assure Andrew and everyone who has contributed to this report that we will meet these challenges.
Yes, at times, Andrew's recommendations run ahead of today's public opinion. But why not challenge people to think beyond their current preconceptions? Yes, some of these challenges go beyond what government currently plans, but again, why shouldn't we be challenged to think outside what is currently politically doable?
So, what we now need to do is to launch Andrew's report to the wider world, to have the debate – this is the debate that we have to have – and to constantly focus on how we can build a bigger, better, braver Australia.
Andrew Forrest is someone who has always had big dreams. Andrew Forrest is someone who has never allowed people to say, "it can't be done" and frankly, we need more of that spirit in modern Australia.
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