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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-05-31 Daily Xml
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Aboriginal Employment Targets

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:34): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Can the minister advise the chamber on how the government is assisting Aboriginal South Australians with pathways into further education and employment?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:34): I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in this area. As Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, I have the privilege of spending quite a bit of time with young Aboriginal people all over the state in their home communities, from areas like Oak Valley on the Coorong or in places like Amata in the APY lands. I must say that, far and away, one of the standout programs that not only receives significant community participation but delivers tangible results for young people is the Aboriginal Power Cup.

Now in its 10th year, it is easy to see the size of the impact the Power Cup has had on a generation of Aboriginal high school students. Looking back at 2008, when the Port Adelaide Football Club embarked on this program, much has changed for the better. The first program had a few more than 100 Aboriginal students who participated, with an average school attendance rate of 52 per cent for those first participants. If we fast forward to this week, the number participating in the Aboriginal Power Cup is almost 400, and among those participants the school attendance rate is about 95 per cent.

This is not a coincidence or a sudden change in attitudes. These results sit squarely at the feet of the Port Adelaide Football Club and their Aboriginal programs. It is testament to the hard work of those involved. The work they do, the way they do it and the way they engage our students is exemplary. It is not unusual, when I visit remote communities, that I see Pauly Vandenbergh and his team with the Aboriginal programs visiting remote communities like Pipalyatjara or Yalata. A number of times I have visited those remote communities and been told that I just missed the Port Adelaide crew.

The students engage in the Aboriginal Power Cup in workshops, focusing on making healthy and wise lifestyle choices in leadership programs and learning about school-to-work transition. This enables students to be more aware of what pathways are available once they finish high school. The state government is a proud sponsor of the Aboriginal Power Cup and provides financial support of around $120,000 a year and also in-kind support through helping to create the jumpers that the participants wear. There are 20 teams this year, all in fantastic Indigenous art designed jumpers.

From last year's Aboriginal Power Cup, 80 students were linked up with a tertiary education or job placement. These are the kinds of results that literally change lives. The trajectory some of these students were on before being involved in the Power Cup was not ideal. The support around them and the mentors they have around them to encourage them to aim high and fulfil their potential with the Power Cup really make a difference.

Through the Aboriginal Power Cup, having to meet high standards of school attendance, SACE competencies and all-round behaviour, many Aboriginal students are now striving to be the best they can be. I want to pay tribute to the team at Port Adelaide for raising the bar, expecting the best and not accepting any less. It is through these kinds of programs that students are being fully prepared for the next stages in their lives. I am sure we will see Aboriginal students who are participating in programs like the Aboriginal Power Cup as the next generation of leaders in their communities. Many of them will go on to become lawyers, doctors, engineers or teachers.

As we talked about in the chamber yesterday, over the next couple of weeks we are celebrating a number of milestones in Indigenous history in Australia—the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision. I am sure that many of the students from this year's Aboriginal Power Cup program and the ones preceding it will be the next generation of leaders to take up the struggles that their aunties and uncles and grandparents took up.

As well as being leaders in their communities, I'm sure we will see a number of students from the last couple of years go on to play at the elite football level, and I'm happy for them to play with Port Adelaide as long as the first choice is wearing yellow and black in the AFL.

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