Indigenous Literacy and Numeracy

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN (14:58): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation a question regarding literacy and numeracy rates amongst Indigenous students.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN: One of the government's targets is to halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievement between Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander students and non-Aboriginal students by 2018. The national Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report that was released yesterday has found that the literacy and numeracy skills of Indigenous students have flat-lined over the past five years, despite a significant investment in resources. The report has also concluded that largely no progress has been made in boosting reading, writing and numeracy for Indigenous primary and high school students around the country. My questions are:

1. Has the government consulted with the South Australian Aboriginal Advisory Council about this issue?

2. Has the Aboriginal Advisory Council provided the government with any advice or recommendations as to how the literacy and numeracy rates of our Indigenous students can be improved?

3. Is the government considering any other policy initiatives to achieve its target to halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievement between Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander students and non-Aboriginal students by 2018?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:59): As I have said before in this place—as recently as yesterday, I think—the progress on Closing the Gap targets requires effort across a range of state government agencies, and our overall success will be dependent upon both state and commonwealth government effort, particularly where there are dual portfolio responsibilities or state level outcomes are reflective of commonwealth funding or, indeed, policy direction.

That said, there are three identified agencies with the chief responsibility for Closing the Gap targets at the state level. Number one is Health SA; number two is the Department for Education and Child Development; and number three is the Department of State Development. In terms of education, the responsibility there is with the Department for Education and Child Development. The target for ensuring all Aboriginal four year olds in remote communities have access to early childhood education is within five years.

I am pleased to say there has been much progress in our efforts to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal people. Nationally, in 2013, 90 per cent of Aboriginal children in remote and very remote areas in the year before schooling were enrolled in preschool. In South Australia I am proud to report that we have met the Closing the Gap target, with 100 per cent of Aboriginal four year olds in remote communities with access to early childhood education. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enrolled in South Australian preschools continues to increase from, I am told, 1,055 in 2004 to 1,567 in 2013.

In terms of halving the gap for Aboriginal children in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade, progress has also been made in our efforts to halve the gap for Aboriginal children in reading, writing and numeracy. Between 2008 and 2013, the reading gap improved across all year levels by between 2.4 and 16.8 percentage points in South Australia. The numeracy gap has improved slightly for year 7 and year 9 students, I am advised, and increased slightly for students in year 3.

I might also mention, while I am here, the target to halve the gap for Aboriginal students in year 12 attainment, or equivalent attainment rates, by 2020. Until most recently, the government has doubled retention rates for years 8 to 12 of Aboriginal students in government schools from 33.1 per cent in 2002 to over 75 per cent in 2013. South Australian Certificate of Education completion rates for Aboriginal students identified as potential completers have also increased from 83 per cent in 2011 to 93 per cent in 2013, with the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students decreasing by 7.8 percentage points, I am told.

Over the past four years, post-school qualification rates have improved in South Australia for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal South Australians. The 2012-13 COAG Indigenous reform report indicates that South Australia is the only state to narrow the gap in post-school qualification attainment, with the gap narrowing by 10 percentage points over five years and with 50.1 per cent of Aboriginal South Australians working towards post-school qualifications. In terms of a new target for school attendance, which the federal government is working with us very closely on, COAG agreed in May 2014 to a new five-year target for Closing the Gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal school attendance and a range of measures to ensure it is met.

The South Australian government is working closely with the commonwealth government through the Remote School Attendance Strategy. This strategy employs school attendance officers to assist students to attend school in communities across Australia, including on the lands, Yalata and Oak Valley. The strategy has resulted in marginal improvements, I am told, on school attendance at several schools in term 1, noting that for most schools the attendance figures declined from the start of the term to the end, although at Yalata School attendance increased from 70.4 per cent to 75.8 per cent.