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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-10-27 Daily Xml
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INDIGENOUS TOURISM TRAINING

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon) (15:18): Can the Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I can't hear the member.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: —tell the house what opportunities could arise for Indigenous South Australians from the purchase of the Ayers Rock Resort at Yulara by a consortium including the Indigenous Land Corporation?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (15:19): Thank you very much—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —Madam Speaker. Last week I visited the Anangu—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Davenport, you are on your second warning.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands to look at employment and training for Indigenous Australians in that part of the state. I am pleased to say that great effort has been put into new initiatives in the APY lands to increase opportunities for Aboriginal communities there. While I was in the lands, I was also encouraged to hear that a consortium involving the Indigenous Land Corporation announced plans to acquire the Ayers Rock Resort and to establish a national Indigenous tourism training academy at Yulara.

Over the next five years they hope to train 500 Indigenous workers in hospitality and tourism with the intention to gain employment at the Ayers Rock Resort and in other positions in the hospitality and tourism industry. I am encouraged by this initiative and intend to talk to the Indigenous Land Corporation to explore what support TAFE can provide and potentially engage students from the APY lands.

One of the programs that I was most pleased to see was the OZ Minerals award-winning pre-employment program which gives students from the APY lands the chance to gain nationally-accredited qualifications in mining. Students have been trained across five communities in the lands using community-based lecturers and e-learning, and successful graduates have been offered employment with OZ Minerals to work at its Prominent Hill mine.

While I was in the lands there was a community graduation for students completing their courses. I attended one of these at Fregon and was pleased to celebrate the students' success and to acknowledge the wonderful community support from their family and their friends. There will be another graduation ceremony at Prominent Hill tomorrow to coincide with the students' first week of work.

It is a great example of cooperation between TAFE SA, industry and the community that leads to real employment outcomes across regional and remote South Australia. Programs like this are only successful with the great dedication of industry, and I applaud OZ Minerals for its continuing contribution in training and employing local indigenous workers. The commonwealth and state governments are also looking to enhance training on the lands and $449,000 has recently been promised for a new training centre at Indulkana and another $550,000 for a similar centre at Fregon to support the training needs of local communities.

The state government is working with the commonwealth government to try to secure funding for a new trade training centre at Umuwa for students from across the lands to undertake industry specific training. Much needs to be done to bridge the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people in the lands but I am pleased to say that with continued goodwill, the local community working with industry and the state and commonwealth governments, progress is being made.

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