Chapter 2Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment participation
Context
2.1The committee's first three hearings in Northern Australia, scheduled for late June 2023 in the Northern Territory, will examine issues related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment, including views on the Community Development Program (CDP) and what should replace it.
2.2Around 85 per cent of locations around Australia with more than 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with 50 per cent or more of their population comprising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents, are in Northern Australia.
2.3In the Northern Territory, almost a third of the population consists of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with this proportion rising to over 80 per cent of the population outside major towns.
2.4The Central Land Council noted that 'efforts to develop the workforce in northern Australia must focus on closing the employment gap experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people'. This is particularly the case given that Aboriginal people represent a long-term, stable remote workforce compared with the non-Aboriginal population in the Northern Territory, which is much more likely to be transient.
2.5Understanding the issue of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment participation requires nuance and sensitivity to the historical, cultural, and geographical reasons for why there may be lower workforce participation rates among remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The committee is keen to identify some of these reasons through further evidence gathering.
2.6Given the committee's intention to gather further evidence in this area, this chapter on issues raised about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment and participation should not be considered comprehensive.
2.7Key industries known for employing a relatively high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Northern Australia include:
The beef industry, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment accounting for almost 11 per cent of the total employment on beef farms in the Northern Territory, and 15 per cent of employment on beef farms in northwest Western Australia; and
The mining and minerals industry, with around 10 per cent of all mining apprenticeships filled by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the minerals industry employing 18 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men in remote areas.
2.8However, the Central Land Council contended that most of the Aboriginal people employed on minerals and energy projects operating in the Central Land Council's region are fly-in-fly-out, with only a 'very small number of traditional owners' employed on the projects. These low numbers, it suggested, are 'mirrored on a Territory-wide scale', with the mining, oil and gas sectors comprising just 2 per cent of all jobs in the Northern Territory.
2.9The Central Land Council argued that agriculture, has also led to limited job creation, with many agricultural jobs in the Northern Territory going to overseas workers and interstate fly-in-fly-out workers. The Central Land Council suggested that the highest numbers of Aboriginal employees can be found in:
Public administration and safety;
Health care and social assistance; and
Education and training.
2.10In the Northern Territory, the highest proportion (as opposed to numbers) of Aboriginal workers can be found in art and recreation services, education and training, and public administration and safety. The Central Land Council argued that 'it is these sectors that not only generate jobs, but also contribute to the wellbeing of our communities, providing the foundation for a strong economy over the long-term'. As a result, it contended, support for the growth of local jobs in these sectors, along with a reorientation towards more diversified, sustainable land use, 'should be a priority for the future development of the region'.
2.11Issues with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment participation in Northern Australia are not new. The 2014 Final Report from the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia argued that the key impediments to development in Northern Australia are population size and dispersal, 'exacerbated by the lack of participation by much of the Aboriginal community in the economy'. The report noted evidence arguing Aboriginal employment is a critical issue impeding the development of Northern Australia.
2.12These concerns were repeated in evidence to this inquiry. The Northern Territory Government listed closing the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment outcomes and other Australians as one of the biggest challenges impacting workforce development in Northern Australia. The Northern Territory Government also flagged 'the impact of intergenerational unemployment and lack of role models and mentors to demonstrate a paid work culture, and limited knowledge of possibilities that exist outside community'. It noted that almost 18000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are registered with the CDP in the Northern Territory.
2.13Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Northern Australia are less than half as likely as non-Indigenous people to be employed. Further, those in the labour force are about three times more likely to be unable to find work and twice as likely to have disengaged from work completely. In the Northern Territory, as of 2021, just over a third of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were employed, compared with 86.2 per cent of the non-Indigenous population.
2.14As noted above, reasons for lower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment participation require an understanding of the historical, cultural and geographical reasons underpinning these lower rates. Barriers to employment include:
High rates of social disadvantage and poverty;
Lack of health services and social infrastructure;
Disproportionate levels of incarceration;
Lower educational attainment on average and lower school attendance;
Limited access to transport;
Ineffective government programs;
Limited access to private capital;
Decaying infrastructure; and
Residence in areas where the labour markets are thin and far from centres of economic activity.
2.15The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) argued that lower employment rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are 'likely a result of an overall lack of clear employment and business pathways in key sectors in the region to meaningfully employ and upskill the resident First Nations population'. The NIAA also flagged a lack of data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and economic activities overall, affecting the development of fit-for-purpose policies and the securing of private sector investment.
2.16Some evidence to this inquiry pointed to a lack of job readiness among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to address specific labour market needs, with government programs and service delivery blamed for this. RDA Kimberley, for example, suggested that there is a 'disconnect' between organisations and programs in the Kimberley that aim to empower and upskill the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, and employment participation. It noted that key businesses and services are owned by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people or corporations, but 'communities are highly reliant on visa workers and semi-retired people to operate services and business despite high unemployment rates'.
2.17The Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley noted that between 40 and 50 per cent of the region's population is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. However, despite this having 'the potential to address significantly our labour force issues…it is unclear to the Shire how the Indigenous skills development is being addressed'. It noted that there 'is little if any transparency in programs that are being delivered on the ground by service providers', arguing that it 'is our belief that funding is not an issue, rather the effectiveness of service delivery'. It called for 'a different delivery model' and for 'local solutions to the local problems'.
2.18Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses employ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at a rate that is 60 to 100 per cent higher than non- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. As such, the Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network argued that 'investing in Aboriginal business will support Aboriginal workforce development organically, leading to improved economic and social outcomes'. The Northern Australia Indigenous Reference Group echoed this assertion, arguing that 'Aboriginal businesses actively accelerate career pathways, investing in real skills transfer and promotional opportunity for their Aboriginal workforces'.
2.19The Northern Land Council informed the committee that 'an increasing number of Traditional Owners from remote communities and homelands are interested in developing Aboriginal-owned and controlled economic activities that provide local employment, social opportunity and long-term economic security'. It outlined the following activities by Aboriginal businesses on Aboriginal land:
Agriculture;
Fisheries;
Arts, music and entertainment;
Safari hunting;
Crocodile egg harvesting;
Sand and gravel extraction;
Pastoralism;
Buffalo and feral animal mustering;
Tourism and fishing safaris; and
A rocket launching facility.
2.20Consultation is currently underway on a new program to replace the CDP, to examine ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander job seekers can be better connected to local jobs.
Solutions
2.21Solutions proposed in evidence to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander unemployment rates in Northern Australia included:
Micro-credentialing;
Transferable skills development;
Investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curriculum and trainers that build cultural capabilities in the broader population;
Prioritisation of Aboriginal-led economic development projects with the intent to directly benefit local communities;
Workforce development strategies to prioritise sectors that contribute to the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people and country;
Infrastructure projects to focus on local employment, rather than relying on a fly-in-fly-out workforce;
Aboriginal businesses to be preferenced to participate in all levels of major economic projects in Northern Australia, especially on Aboriginal land;
Jobs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide clear pathways for career progression, and not be limited to entry level positions or contracts that last for only a year;
An independent evaluation of the Commonwealth's Indigenous Procurement Policy and its outcomes against its policy intent;
Funding for studies to examine the impact of Aboriginal businesses on community and the broader economy;
A comprehensive government review into the impediments to workforce development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Northern Australia, with the review to involve co-design of strategies with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians;
Support from government and industry to establish cultural centres and keeping places, which typically become must-see tourist and cultural hubs;
Governments to focus on Australia's top 200 employers and the Australian Public Service to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation, including by implementing mandatory reporting of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee rates; and
Aligning work programs like the CDP to local workforce opportunities, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entities, industry and state governments have established pathways for entry to programs and employment.
Questions — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment participation
(a)What improvements to government policy would most impact current Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment rates?
(b)How can governments better consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and organisations about programs to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment participation?
(c)How could industry be better supported to employ a greater proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers in Northern Australia?
(d)What policies in the past have had the most beneficial impact, and what policy initiatives have had the least impact?
(e)Which of the above proposed solutions do you consider would have the most benefit?