Media releases

Tuesday, 8 August 2006

Build up regional skills, stupid!

Member for Lingiari and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs Warren Snowdon today called on the Government to make a significant investment in education and training for Indigenous Australians.

Mr Snowdon said the investment was the key to turning around the skills shortage in Northern Australia.

‘Indolence and complacency in policy-making has created an educational shortfall in Aboriginal communities in the North, which has been compounded by the Government’s total lack of commitment to education,’ he said.

‘Australia is one of only seven OECD nations who have actually reduced public investment in tertiary education.

‘Against an average investment increase of 38 per cent in universities and TAFE colleges between 1995 and 2001,Australia’s fell by 8.3 per cent .

‘They’re talking up Australian Technical Colleges, but of the 25 planned, only four are operational and the college planned for Darwin hasn’t even opened yet.

‘As the Australian Industry Group has pointed out, by the time the first students graduate in 2010, Australia will need 100,000 more skilled workers and if the Darwin college starts next year, it will still only produce 50 skilled workers by then.

‘If the policy-makers in Canberra had any nous at all, they’d look at what the mining industry is doing to build skilled local workforces, primarily in Aboriginal communities.

‘Companies like Rio Tinto, BHP and Alcan aren’t just being corporate good neighbours; they’re recognising the need for skilled and stable local workforces to keep remote area operations running.

‘Unless this Government invests heavily in both TAFE and higher education opportunities for Aboriginal Australians, they won’t come within a bull’s roar of beating the skills shortage and equipping Northern Australian communities to develop sustainable economies.

‘It doesn’t make sense to import overseas workers to meet our needs when you can and should be skilling up people who actually live in remote Northern Australia,’ Mr Snowdon said.

Ends.

Copyright © 2004-6 Warren Snowdon MP. This page was last updated on 25 June 2009.