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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-09-25 Daily Xml
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Motions

Clontarf Foundation

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (10:45): I move:

That this house—

(a) notes that it is five years since the former Liberal government brought the Clontarf Foundation into South Australian schools;

(b) notes the dramatic and positive impact that the Clontarf academies have had in improving attendance, behaviour, academic participation and employment outcomes for Aboriginal boys and young men in the program;

(c) commends the staff, volunteers, donors and supporters of the Clontarf Foundation for their achievements, and congratulates those students who participate in the various academies and programs; and

(d) encourages the government to continue support for the program, growing into the future, alongside other relevant programs including those targeting female Aboriginal students, as well as the SAASTA program.

The Clontarf academies are operating around Australia at hundreds and hundreds of locations, it feels like. I am fairly certain it is into the hundreds. They harness the power of sport, the power of mentorship and the power of education to get better life outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people.

The program was conceived by, founded by and continues to be nurtured by Gerard Neesham, who, at one point was best known for being the coach of Fremantle, and having a storied football career prior to that, but is now I think most substantially known for his contribution to South Australia and, more particularly, around Australia, in regard to outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people.

The key focus of the Clontarf program is to take Aboriginal boys and young men who, in many cases, and particularly those boys and young men who are targeted by the program, are vulnerable and at risk of potentially not having an educational completion, and ensure that they are set on a track where they are not only encouraged to attend their school and complete their school but also given life skills that will encourage them to have successful lives, particularly employability skills to encourage them to have jobs.

Clontarf goes beyond that because, through the philanthropic work, the support that is given to Clontarf by a range of businesses large and small, Clontarf will also use those connections to help young people in their academies into jobs where they will be suited and where they will be able to earn money and they will be able to achieve things in their lives.

Clontarf has been going I think for now two decades around Australia—I will check the exact date—but in South Australia just for five years. When I was first approached about this, it was by Corey Wingard, the former member for Mitchell and Gibson. Through his significant connections throughout the sporting fraternity around Australia, he knew Gerard Neesham. Corey, prior to the 2018 election, was eager for us to consider ensuring, should we be elected to government, that we would work with Clontarf to bring them to South Australia.

I also remember, as a result of that initial introduction, I met with Gerard Neesham prior to the 2018 election. I was also pleased when The Advertiser Foundation invited us to go to Waymouth Street and have a lunch at which we were able to talk with Clontarf, talk with some of their people, and also hear from some of the young people who were living fulfilled and prosperous lives, which they accredited, in no small part, to their engagement with Clontarf over the years. I thank The Advertiser Foundation, which was doing it as part of its corporate sponsorship of the program, and I thank so many other large companies around Australia, and small ones as well, which have been significant contributors.

The funding for the program rests on a three-way split between federal government funding, state government funding and the business and philanthropic support that Clontarf is able to attract to itself. Indeed, that is a key to its success, too, because not only is that business and philanthropic support able to make slightly cheaper what would otherwise be a more expensive program but also these businesses invest not just their money but their engagement, whether it is through mentorship or, more usefully even, through ensuring that there are job vacancies made available and people given a chance to have a crack.

In a practical sense, the requirement for the schools that are engaged, and these academies are physically located on school sites—initially we had five, I think: Ocean View, Port Lincoln, Port Augusta, Whyalla and there may have been a fifth. In Whyalla at the time there were of course three public high schools, and those three were consolidated into one academy. It is obviously now one public high school in Whyalla. Ocean View was an R to 12 school, and it was a slightly different model for the academy because it went into the primary years as well.

Those original four or five academies have now expanded into more than 13, I think—there are other sites, including in the northern suburbs and Salisbury, and I know in Murray Bridge and I believe in Coober Pedy and a range of other sites, they are now benefiting from them as well.

Ultimately, it is about providing a physical location, a safe space, a culturally appropriate space and also a space where the boys are encouraged to come to school. It is a space where breakfast is provided and where the people working in the program often have a sporting background, potentially. Certainly, there is the opportunity to engage in sporting programs: the AFL particularly in South Australia, although in other states it operates with rugby as well as with other sports. There is a soccer academy that has been engaged as part of the program too. This is a space that the boys and young men enjoy coming to, but to be able to participate in the program they must also attend school.

When I went to Port Augusta, within six months of the program starting in 2019 they had a board identifying student attendance at school. The average attendance for the cohort of students in that first cohort at Port Augusta had been south of 25 per cent. We know that every day that is lost in school attendance is an educational opportunity lost and a loss in the educational entitlement of that student. It is a lost opportunity for learning and is also to the direct detriment of that child's social and educational development.

From less than 25 per cent attendance on average, they are north of 80 per cent attendance among that cohort of students within six months. Indeed, some of the students—and they were very proud of it—had perfect records. These are young people who had been attending less than half of the time prior, and in many cases less than a third of the time, and six months later having perfect records. It is clearly a program that speaks to the young people, engages with them in their space and encourages them to be there.

All the young people were able to confidently present themselves to me and the other people travelling with us—introduce themselves and shake our hands. This may sound trite or it may sound paternalistic in a way, but, for the life experience of the young people involved, it is in many cases the difference between them successfully getting a job, or not, when they leave school. For any young person, being able to present yourself with confidence—being able to shake a hand, being able to introduce yourself—is a significant thing that many young people struggle with. Clontarf ensures that these things are not left behind.

The achievement, whether it is through academic pathways to university, a vocational pathway to an apprenticeship, or even getting a job in retail straight out of school or during year 12, is a significant thing. When we are talking about children, or sometimes even grandchildren, of people who have not had a job, having that job brings pride and brings purpose and I think is something that those young people should be immensely proud of.

Clontarf continues to grow and thrive and as the academies grow in South Australia so does the opportunity for young people to be engaged. In 2023, across Australia, Clontarf recorded 10,000 young people participating in their program, 836 participants completing year 12 and overall across Australia attendance rates of participants in these programs improving to 78 per cent, with 86 per cent of their year 12 graduates remaining engaged in employment or further education 12 months after graduating. This is why the federal government and successive federal governments have continued to support the program and why I am urging the state government to ensure these programs continue.

In South Australia, the most recent new academies include Ceduna, Christies Beach, John Pirie in Port Pirie, Murray Bridge as I said before, and Wirreanda in the southern suburbs. There may be a couple of academies that were not in the last group that I missed out in-between and I apologise to those who have taken the time to read Hansard that I have missed them out, but the point is that, as this work continues, so will the opportunities for these young people, and as these young people complete school, their contribution to our state, our economy and our society will continue to improve.

When the member for Unley, David Pisoni; Steven Marshall, the former Premier; and I were working on getting this program up in 2018-19, the question in our mind constantly was: why on earth have we not done this before? Clontarf had certainly approached the South Australian education department on a number of occasions. The simple answer is that the South Australian education department or previous South Australian governments had not chosen to invest the money required and I think that was largely because they were very proud of the work that is done by SAASTA, the South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy.

SAASTA is a great program. SAASTA is a program that is particularly designed to ensure that young Aboriginal South Australian men, boys and girls who are in school have their academic opportunities maximised, whether that is to a university outcome or indeed to a skilled or an apprenticeship outcome and SAASTA continues its important work.

I think the insight that had been missing prior to the 2018 election change in government was that SAASTA and Clontarf are largely there to serve different cohorts of young people. The Aboriginal young boys and young men who Clontarf supports are largely those at risk of non-school attendance and SAASTA was there largely to support students to get the most out of their schooling experience.

There are now many young people in the Clontarf academies who are also engaged in SAASTA and that has a great outcome, too. Many of those young people perhaps would not have been able to attend SAASTA and get the opportunities that SAASTA provides them had they not been first engaged back in school or encouraged in their schooling journey more by Clontarf. So, it is not a problem that there is an overlap. It is actually a good outcome, but, ultimately, they are there, and they serve different sectors for what we are trying to achieve for these young people. I commend those people who have been involved in SAASTA over the years, helping those young people achieve strong things.

The other question that has often been raised about Clontarf by the Department for Education over the years and by prior governments is that Clontarf exists primarily to support boys and young men and the question was always: why are we not supporting girls and young women as well? We must, of course, all be seeking to achieve great outcomes for all of our young people—boys and girls, young men and young women alike—but the challenges confronting boys and young men and girls and young women are not always the same, particularly when we are talking about social challenges.

The particular biases and preferences, the particular behaviours and the peer pressures that boys and young men are experiencing are often different to those experienced by girls and young women. The outcomes are very different. Attendance by young boys and young men in schools—the Aboriginal cohort that we are talking about—was much lower than their female counterparts and the opportunities to improve their attendance could be served by the outcomes provided here.

But that does not mean we should ignore girls and young women. That was why I was really pleased, as Minister for Education, to engage with a range of different service providers who were looking at models and academies particularly serving the needs of girls and young women. The first one or two of those academies started before the change in government. I believe they are also increasing now, and they should.

We have a particular challenge amongst our Aboriginal boys and young men, and Clontarf has been an incredibly important part of the response able to be provided by the state government now to address that. The fact that it continues to increase its work—and I trust the education minister will shortly reassure the house of the government's continued support for Clontarf; I certainly hope that is what he is here to say—is good news.

I take great pride in having been part of the Marshall Liberal government that brought Clontarf to South Australia. I think this house and the people of South Australia can have great confidence in the work Clontarf will continue to do. I want to commend Gerard Neesham and all the team at Clontarf—all of its volunteers, all of its mentors, all of its educators, all of its supporters, philanthropists and donors—and special congratulations to all of the young people who are now prospering in South Australia and around our country, particularly as a result of the support they received from Clontarf over the years.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills) (11:00): I rise to speak to the motion from the member for Morialta. I advise that we intend to move an amendment to paragraph (d) of the motion as it stands, which currently reads:

(d) encourages the government to continue support for the program, growing into the future, alongside other relevant programs including those targeting female Aboriginal students, as well as the SAASTA program.

I propose to replace that with:

(d) notes the Labor government's continued support for the program, alongside other relevant programs including those targeting female Aboriginal students, as well as the SAASTA program.

Having said that, I want to acknowledge from the outset the member for Morialta's excellent track record on Clontarf in this area. It is certainly an area of bipartisanship when it comes to not only the support for Clontarf and the fantastic work that it does, but also in terms of Aboriginal education generally. It is certainly something that I have sought to continue in my time as the Minister for Education.

I have had quite a bit to do with Clontarf as an organisation. It has been a privilege, I think it is fair to say, to go and see their work on the ground at a number of the sites where they operate. One that stands out to me is the work at Whyalla. The new secondary college there is just about the most impressive piece of education infrastructure I think probably in Australia. It has certainly been a school that has had its challenges in the first few years of its operation by virtue of having three existing high schools merge into one on a new campus. I do not apportion any blame for that. I dare say that would have been the chosen way forward, no matter who was in government.

That has made for a very challenging start to the school's existence. I think things are much improved there, and I want to commend Tricia and her staff at Whyalla for the great work that they do. Of course, it is a school with a high number of Aboriginal students, and the work that Clontarf has been doing at Whyalla I think has played a really big role in things settling down at the school and making sure that the quality of education that is received at Whyalla and at the other sites on which they operate is of an excellent standard, which is obviously really important.

There are a few other things I would like to touch upon. State government funding of the program, as the member for Morialta pointed out in his contribution, started in 2019. We have then seen in the period since the change of government—and I am not suggesting that we are responsible for all this growth, but I think it has been a bipartisan effort from the former government and the current one to support Clontarf and see growth—the number of Clontarf academies in South Australia double from seven to 14. That has included additional academies at the following sites: Berri Regional Secondary College, Ceduna Area School, Christies Beach High School, John Pirie Secondary School, Murray Bridge High School, Wirreanda Secondary School and Woodville High School.

The information that I have as of today is that across those sites we are seeing a strong uptake—as high as 70 per cent of eligible Aboriginal male students accessing the program. I know the way that that manifests itself on site is high attendance, which is often an issue that is challenging right across our schools, but sometimes particularly amongst our Aboriginal students in getting that consistency of attendance. I think the incredible work that Clontarf does to build relationships, not only with the students but also with the local community and with the parents and elders in that community, builds a really high level of trust and encourages that attendance, which is what you need for all those other things that schools do to follow.

I also want to acknowledge the positive impact that the Clontarf academies have for students and the host schools. Like I just mentioned, the program has had success in achieving agreed target outcomes in areas of attendance and retention, but also improved behaviour, improved academic participation and academic success. Employment outcomes are, of course, vitally important for Aboriginal young men who are enrolled in the program. The data that we collect as part of the agreement that the state government has with Clontarf to fund some of these programs bears that out as well around improvements in all those areas, which I think does show, as the member for Morialta said, that this has been a wise investment by the state government and an area that is worthy of further investment, because it really is getting strong results.

That data shows that students enrolled in Clontarf have a higher school attendance than Aboriginal male students in the same schools who are not actually enrolled in the Clontarf program, and that a higher proportion of year 12 students enrolled in Clontarf programs in 2023 achieved their SACE at a level of 75 per cent, by comparison with Aboriginal male students not enrolled in Clontarf, at the same school where it is provided, in the same year, being 2023, having a 17 per cent SACE attainment level, which is a pretty stark comparison, I have to say.

If there was one thing that I would point to around why or how Clontarf has been so successful and why it has been worthy of continued government funding, it would be to look at the difference between a 75 per cent SACE attainment level for those students at schools where the Clontarf program exists and they are enrolled in it, compared to a 17 per cent SACE attainment at the same school from Aboriginal students who are not enrolled in the Clontarf program. I think that is pretty incredible.

Of course, it means we have more work to do. We would like that figure I mentioned earlier of around 70 per cent participation at Clontarf-participating schools to rise, because we know that one of the direct outcomes from an increased participation level in the program is an increase in the SACE attainment rate and we know there is a direct flow-on there towards job outcomes for young Aboriginal men. I think Clontarf has shown that it is very capable of not just increasing participation rates and attendance at school, but also helping young Aboriginal men get jobs when they leave school as well.

I would like to refer to another part of the motion, given that we are focused on Clontarf, which is a program for young Aboriginal men. The member for Morialta moved in his motion around supporting other programs as well. Of course, there is the Shooting Stars program, which is a program akin to Clontarf, but for female Aboriginal students. I have met with the Shooting Stars team on a number of occasions. The work they do is really important and we know that the link between sport and school is a very powerful one. It is certainly a very powerful one amongst young Aboriginal men, but we need to remember it is also, and can be, a very powerful connection for young Aboriginal female students at school and netball as well.

I am very keen to make sure that the program or the current grant agreement that we have with Glass Jar Australia to provide the Shooting Stars program for Aboriginal girls in Whyalla between 2024 and 2026 is ongoing. I would like to see it expand as well, and we are actively pursuing other sites that might be interested in providing Shooting Stars because I think the kinds of positive outcomes we have seen at those sites offering Clontarf can be seen for female Aboriginal students as part of a Shooting Stars program as well.

I thank the member for Morialta for the motion and again acknowledge his work and his time as the Minister for Education on Clontarf. I note again that it is a strong position of bipartisanship between the two sides of this chamber around supporting it. I hope that in however much time I have left in the role of education minister I can further expand Clontarf into other parts of the state and work on doing the same with Shooting Stars as well.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley) (11:10): I stand to support the motion as well and also support the government's amendment. I was very pleased to see that the government will continue to support the program. As the member for Morialta mentioned in his contribution, the Premier at the time, Steven Marshall, the member for Morialta and I were very interested in this program. I think there is no doubt that there is a bipartisan view in this place that more needs to be done to support Indigenous students and Indigenous kids to get a better start in life and the debate is often about how you achieve that. That is the politics, if you like, of our modern democracy that we have here in Australia in our Westminster system. It is terrific to see that we agree not just on the outcomes but also on part of the process in order to achieve the bipartisan support of the Clontarf Foundation.

The Marshall government was very quick to start to address some of the barriers, if you like, for Aboriginal kids who needed some support to improve their options in life and improve their self-esteem that drives them to have enthusiasm for the future. Using sport in this instance has obviously been the first step that has led to other opportunities that the Clontarf report clearly shows has led to one of the key areas of growth in employment opportunities and those in employment. That is the area that obviously interested me in particular as the minister for skills at the time.

I only have anecdotal evidence of this, but within 12 to 18 months of the funding of this program and the introduction of this program in South Australia we actually started to see an increase in the commencements of Indigenous apprentices and trainees in South Australia. By the time the Marshall government had reached its full term we actually saw South Australia delivering the largest percentage growth of commencements of the number of apprentices and trainees in training and the number of completions. Three ticks in the box that brings joy to every training minister, to see an increase in commencements, participation, training and completions—the biggest growth in the country in that period of time.

I am sure it wasn't just the Skilling South Australia program that helped deliver that outcome, but it was also the work of the Clontarf Foundation in working with those kids and giving them a sense of empowerment and to be able to identify a pathway for them to lead successful and rewarding lives by being gainfully employed with a valuable skill set.

It is one of the areas that has always interested me as someone who has grown up in Salisbury and seen the fewer opportunities that are available for people from working class and welfare families. I, myself, did not finish high school, wanting to get out early and start an apprenticeship, and how difficult it was even with the support of my parents and a close-knit family unit. It was difficult at that time with over 100 job applications that were simply rejected. To be able to then get a start after application number 101 that said, 'Yes, you've got the job,' it obviously is a life changer, and programs like Clontarf are the stepping stones.

I will always use the term 'the ladder of opportunity'. Unfortunately, in every western economy in the world, there are people who are not even on the first rung when they enter this world. As a matter of fact they are born in the ditch before the ladder of opportunity and have to actually get out of that ditch before they start. Programs like Clontarf are part of the opportunity for those who are born into that situation.

I congratulate the member for Morialta, I congratulate the education minister, on their commitment and the government's ongoing commitment to this program, and their passion for delivering outcomes—real outcomes—for Indigenous boys and young men to have control of their own lives, to have self-esteem, to have an ability to have something to offer, to start their journeys on the road to success in South Australia or in their region, in their town, in their city and in their suburb. Partnerships like this should be encouraged with government.

The people who operate philanthropic foundations such as this have a key motivation, and that is to get outcomes for the participants. They are not there for their own careers. They are not there because they need a job. They are there because they are committed to getting an outcome for people who they care for, people who they want to support, people who need that support, and so consequently they are very focused on delivering those outcomes.

The outcomes are the most important issue. Sometimes when people are delivering programs they talk about how many staff they have or they talk about how much money they are spending. With organisations like Clontarf it is very clear from reading their annual report that it is all about the outcomes they are achieving, and for that I congratulate them.

The SPEAKER: The minister.

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services, Minister for Seniors and Ageing Well) (11:19): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, and can I take the opportunity to just express my condolences to you on your loss. We are all here for you, and any time you need to talk, of course, we all have an ear we can lend. Best wishes to you and the family.

The SPEAKER: Thank you very much, and anyone who makes me cry today is going to get kicked out.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: I am really pleased to speak in support of the motion and, of course, the amendment moved by the Minister for Education. Most of you in this place would know that I really do hold a very strong passion for creating pathways that divert young people from what could be a potential path of poor choices, quite often due to lack of opportunity, lack of leadership and mentoring and guidance, and lack of positive role models and opportunities in their lives.

Programs such as the Clontarf program provide such a great opportunity for young people to come into contact with such mentors and leaders and positive role models. It is a really great initiative for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men to make healthier decisions and engage in prosocial and positive activities in a welcoming and supportive community, building on what is already available in schools.

With the program run across Australia, I understand it is supporting more than 11,000 young people and participants. I have met with representatives from the Clontarf Foundation on a couple of occasions and seen some of the good work they do. I understand they have about 580 staff working in this amazing organisation. The stats and the alumni stories are worthy of further interrogation by all people in this place, as they really do speak to the importance and the benefit of the Clontarf Foundation.

The flexibility and transferability of the program is also something to be commended. They have many academy rooms across the country. This allows young people to move between programs if needed, which can be quite common amongst communities. It also provides a place of familiarity for participants to be able to rejoin into those communities—they can slot straight into them.

Mentorship is definitely one of the most important things that I hold close to my heart in terms of young people. Providing someone with a strong mentor to engage participants in this really rich activity, providing a safe space, and keeping young men at school and on the right path are things that the Clontarf Foundation offers and puts at the centre of what they are doing.

The opportunity to connect with mentors must never be underestimated—that constant in the life of someone young, who potentially has not had an adult or a role model who they can trust and has quite often been let down a number of times. To have a committed mentor and a structure around that mentoring system is absolutely vital in the lives of young people. It will allow, and does allow, participants to not only improve life skills but also expand on that personal growth journey, build self-esteem, and build that self-discipline to be able to set themselves up for life to make better, more informed and sensible choices about their future.

School attendance, retention to school, and pathways to completion of a formal qualification are so very important. It is not just important for the young person themselves but it is actually important for community. Last week I was in Coober Pedy and again spent some time talking with local community members about some of the challenges that they face filling the workforce opportunities that are there in Coober Pedy.

This message is reflected right across our community, particularly in rural and remote South Australia, in the many communities that I have journeyed into over the past few years. In fact, this morning I opened a conference that is about just that: planning workforce opportunities in care and supporting career pathways for ageing. That is most definitely something regional and remote communities are thirsty for and that is helping to connect those pathways. For what a program such as Clontarf can do in terms of providing that impetus and that incentive to remain engaged and connected to school and role models, and to seek and learn about pathways for career opportunities moving forward, I think that is an absolute benefit of this program and how it engages in communities.

While it is life-changing for students, I know that the staff also know that it is life-changing for them to be involved and engaged in such an incredible program. The staff, volunteers and supporters—and there are many excellent supporters in both private industry and government—work incredibly hard to ensure that the programs are sustainable and that there are opportunities for growth, and they cannot be commended enough. Run by community and for community, I believe that this program having staff of diverse backgrounds is so incredibly important, especially Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander staff who provide that cultural connection and that cultural familiarity, understanding and guidance. It is just so very important.

I want to thank the staff and the connected people who are helping my community through the programs at Wirreanda and Christies Beach high schools. I know that young people and families in our community are really appreciative of the ability for them to connect and engage in those programs and are achieving outcomes like we have not seen before for these community members. We know from that five years ago to now, and the growth, that it is absolutely true that from little things big things grow. I commend the motion to the house.

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (11:26): I rise to speak on this motion in support of the Clontarf Foundation. As has been mentioned already, there are two academies in my electorate of Flinders, of which I am very proud and always excited to see the positive outcomes that are driven by the work that is done; one is partnered with the Port Lincoln High School and the other one with the Ceduna Area School. Indeed, Port Lincoln was one of the program's pilot locations in South Australia in 2019 when the Marshall Liberal government looked at the good work that the foundation was doing in other states and made a $2.8 million commitment to a three-year trial as part of a 10-year Aboriginal Education Strategy. There were four locations in South Australia then, and now there are 14—as I said, two of those 14 in my electorate.

Operating for 24 years, the Clontarf Foundation now has 158 academies around the country catering for nearly 11,000 boys. The good work that this foundation does is immeasurable, and it is immeasurable because of the fact that they take such a holistic approach to every aspect of the lives of the Aboriginal boys who participate in this program.

Its main aim is to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys to help them improve their education, their discipline, their life skills, their self-esteem and their employment prospects; to come to school, to stay at school and then to transition into employment or further study; and to enhance their overall education experience and increase the likelihood of staying at school which, in turn, leads to greater engagement with their communities and within their communities and, ultimately, to achieving better life outcomes.

To see some of the positive outcomes and to hear some of the stories firsthand of these young Aboriginal lads who, especially in the far-flung parts of our state like in my electorate, have been enabled to be their whole selves through this program is so exciting. The staff mentor and they counsel and they really lead these young people through a range of lifestyle issues, encouraging them to embrace more disciplined, purposeful and healthy lifestyles. The approach is to capitalise on existing passions, and over my way a big one of those existing passions is sport and usually football, but this is not just a sporting program.

There is a statewide year 12 leadership trip, where students get together with their counterparts from around the state. They make a pledge and set goals, both long-term goals and life goals. There is an annual employment forum for year 11s and year 12s in Adelaide, featuring inspiring guest speakers and site visits to workplaces. There is a bit of an eye-opening for the young people involved in this program in workplaces such as Flinders Ports, Australia Post, StarTrack and Bunnings, just to name a few.

A highlight for Clontarf students is the major trip, where all graduating year 12 students, who have fulfilled their agreed-upon commitment at the start of the year, get to go on their final Clontarf camp as students. It is a nationwide camp, which was held in Darwin last year. Twenty-six young men from our South Australian academies were accompanied by 10 staff for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Darwin to celebrate and reward their hard work and commitment to their schooling journey. The group spent five days in Darwin exploring Litchfield National Park, barramundi fishing, a spectacular croc jumping tour on the Adelaide River, the Darwin aquatic park, and they conducted a presentation to Santos.

It is so exciting, as I said, to see the outcomes for these young people and to hear the stories firsthand, especially in my electorate both at Ceduna and Port Lincoln. The Ceduna Clontarf Academy is relatively new, having been founded last year, operating out of the Ceduna Area School. It was a pleasure to visit the facility recently to see the positive outcomes being driven and to hear how as a program it caters for students in years 5 to 12 and currently has 40 young men engaged in the program and to hear some of those individual stories of those 40. They are stories of young men who have not been at school for years, young men who through this program have now been actively engaged not just in school life but also in community life, who are held accountable, who are able to set goals and are able to have support structures in place to achieve those goals.

These academies are actively involved with local businesses, helping to deliver pathways into post-year 12 work arrangements. Last year, I went to the Ceduna Area School graduation and saw the amount of pride within the graduating year 12s, the young Aboriginal men, who no doubt have faced challenges, no doubt have had times when they were questioning why they bothered continuing with their year 12 studies. Having the structure and support of the academy and the wider school community got them to that point of graduation, and it was so exciting.

The academy at Ceduna facilitates certificate II training in resource and infrastructure management for year 11 students, which not only allows the boys to gain 40 credits towards their SACE certificate, but it also creates employment opportunities. The certificate is run by TAFE in partnership with Iluka Resources, which has their mine site 200-odd kilometres north-west of Ceduna. It is the world's largest zircon mine and recognised for its high level of Indigenous employment. The pathways that these students' eyes have opened to, because of this Clontarf participation and the ability for them to be able to attend the course at TAFE as part of their school timetable, including site visits, really opens up the opportunity for them to not just better their own lives and their own positive outcomes but also their community's as a whole, their family and wider.

In Port Lincoln, the academy has been running for a number of years, and it currently has 66 students from years 7 to 12. A number of local Indigenous men are employed to run the program, including providing early morning training sessions, breakfasts, after-school activities, camps, football and basketball, worksite visits, health checks, community activities and obtaining casual employment. The Port Lincoln community as a whole and all local partners should be commended for their ongoing support, which allows such a fantastic program for our young Aboriginal men to be run so effectively. To see the positive outcomes at Port Lincoln really highlights that it is a whole-of-community effort that is necessary and delivered.

We are fortunate to have such diverse industry in Port Lincoln that supports positive outcomes. A number of the aquaculture operations within Port Lincoln have a great relationship with the Port Lincoln High School and are able to provide industry-standard training facilities.

These young Aboriginal men who, as has already been mentioned, often do not have positive adult role models, especially positive male adult role models in their lives, within the structure that Clontarf delivers are able to see their own potential. They are told that they are able to achieve. They are encouraged to achieve. Perhaps a good indicator of the success of the Clontarf program is the annual awards night held at the end of the year. It is a highlight of the year, which last year saw over 130 people attend at the Port Lincoln Yacht Club to celebrate the achievements of the young men who had engaged with the program.

Unfortunately, we were sitting with parliament and I missed the event that night, but I know that that night acknowledged all of the support received by industry partners and the wider Port Lincoln community. It certainly is, as I have said, a community effort. That community aspect, both within the Aboriginal community and the wider community, is probably the reason why it is so successful.

I am so grateful that the Clontarf Foundation has selected these two locations in Flinders at Port Lincoln and Ceduna and can recognise the positive outcome and the positive opportunities that this program drives. They have continued to work with local Indigenous communities and lead these young lads, as I said, who may have been told or may have had expectations that were low, but through this program, through the work that this foundation does, has highlighted their potential not just to better themselves but to better their whole community through positive leadership and positive outcomes. This is why I am so thankful to the member for Morialta for bringing this motion, and, indeed, I commend it to the house.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Morialta, I would also like to place on the record my thanks to the Clontarf Foundation for the great work they have done with the Dudley United Football Club on Kangaroo Island for the past decade or so. It has been great to have some extra players in the local footy league but also many of those young men helped build the Kangaroo Island Airport as well.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (11:36): I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to present this motion to the house today, and I thank all of the members for their contribution. We are happy to accept the Minister for Education's amendment, demonstrating, as it does, that there will be continued support for the Clontarf Foundation. I understand their initial or possibly the second iteration of their contract was due to be renewed this year, and the fact that that has happened has been very important to enable them to continue their growth, continue their good work.

I commend the government for continuing the support that we first provided in 2019, and that expansion should continue to go on because when it gets good results like this, yes, you cannot do everything on day one—you start with four, you grow to seven, you grow to 12, you grow to 14—and there will be other schools that will benefit from it in the future. I commend, again, all of those people at Clontarf who have been involved in that work and thank the minister for his remarks.

I thank the member for Unley for his remarks and particularly in highlighting the strong engagement between students coming through the Clontarf Foundation into meaningful pathways. Those meaningful pathways, whether they be finding a job, whether they are going to be in a university pathway or, as the member for Unley particularly highlighted, into a traineeship or an apprenticeship pathway, we are agnostic as to how that pathway goes.

Different students and different young people will have different pathways that suit their talents, their aspirations and their desires, but the fact that, since Clontarf came in, that was part of building part of the fastest increase in the nation in uptake of apprenticeships from young Aboriginal people and particularly numbers in training and completions in that cohort I think is a sign of the important work that has been done. I thank the member for Unley for his personal contribution because, obviously, when we brought it in he had a particular interest in supporting that as well. I think the member for Unley along with former Premier Steven Marshall were my greatest supporters when we sought to bring this in.

I thank the Minister for Human Services for her contribution. When I described earlier the lunch we had at The Advertiser Foundation as part of the renewed push, the successful push, because we said yes to their approach, the Minister for Human Services was at that lunch and I think she was the first Labor frontbencher to meaningfully engage with the program in that way.

I knew at that point, I think as I had just recently become the minister, and there was never any doubt in my mind that we were going to do this work, but it is always nice to know that there is a reasonable chance of bipartisan support. So I thank the minister for her engagement with Clontarf in 2018-19, which was helpful, and for her continued support.

She mentioned Coober Pedy, and her trip to Coober Pedy Area School recently, and talking to young people who are engaged in training and job pathways there. I was talking to the principal of Coober Pedy Area School, Maurice Saah, not so long ago, and he was very enthusiastic to have Clontarf come to Coober Pedy. His track record in education is—I would not say unique but it is very highly regarded around the place. When he was at Marree I think he was given a front page in The Advertiser, highlighting the work that he had done in getting some of their students to complete year 12 for the first time in more than a decade. They got three SACE graduates in that one year, which is no small token, due to the turnaround there thanks to his work.

At Coober Pedy he has been a really important principal over the last six years. Clontarf, through its focus on school engagement and pathways to careers, has been really good for that. He has highlighted what I think is a fairly similar story to the one that the minister has just told, which is the engagement that the mining companies, in particular, but also other large Australian companies, have had in giving opportunities to those young people to get into meaningful job pathways and careers, which is great.

Finally, member for Flinders, thank you for your contribution as well. It reminded me of when I was visiting Port Lincoln just before the election, when the member for Flinders was the candidate, and we spoke with the principal at Port Lincoln High, who at the time I think was Todd George. He was talking about the way that Clontarf had had an impact in his school.

I do not think it is talking too much out of school to say that he was open-minded but needed to be convinced of Clontarf's value when it arrived. He did not have a problem with it and he did not disrupt the school, but he really grasped the value that it had when he had four young Aboriginal men who were given a job opportunity, through the Clontarf Foundation, by a large business that had not previously been in the habit of giving jobs to those high school kids at Port Lincoln High. However, because of their engagement with Clontarf, they gave those kids an opportunity, and those kids are now living meaningful lives with job opportunities and dignity. I thank all members for their contributions and commend the motion to the house.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.

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