Melbourne Cricket Ground
12pm Wednesday 20 May

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. Of all the things I do, I see nothing more important.
It’s great to be part of Dreamtime at the G. It’s such an important part of how the AFL spotlights the stunning talent of Indigenous Australians.

Indigenous players are making an outstanding contribution to the game.
Indigenous players past and present have helped make Aussie rules, the greatest game on earth, the game that it is today.

Polly Farmer, Sir Doug Nicholls, Syd Jackson, Dean and the Rioli family, Michael Long, Phil Egan, Chris Johnson, Andrew McLeod, Nicky Winmar, Adam Goodes, the Davies brothers, Burgoyne brothers, the Clarke brothers, the Motlops, Buddy Franklin, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Andrew Lovett, Richard Tambling and Patrick (Paddy) Ryder – such a list of incredibly talented players, past and present, that goes on and I’m pleased to say, I don’t have time to name, or praise, them all. 

These players have used their profile and their success, not just for themselves but to improve the living standards of their communities. They have used their off-field talent to make a difference.

Just as indigenous players bring incredible talents, new perspectives, energy, and extraordinary skills to AFL, Indigenous people bring those same skills and qualities to the workplace.

The case for hiring Indigenous Australians is strong, as is the case for investing in training and work experience to prepare indigenous Australians to fill vacancies now and in the future:

• Just over half of the Indigenous population are under 25 compared to only a third of the non -Indigenous population.
• The Indigenous population is growing faster than the non-Indigenous population.
• People are a valuable customer base and both non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians want to see Indigenous employees working in the businesses and services that they use.
• Indigenous recruits add new dimensions to the diversity of your team including their ability to work in all cultural settings.
• And we know that indigenous employees also make significant contributions to business development and marketing opportunities.

That we are facing difficult economic times is not news in this room.
And it is not news that the labour market is not as tight as it was twelve months ago. 
But good and enduring businesses are not just thinking about today or next week, they are thinking years ahead. 
And looking ahead, we know that becoming an employer of choice for indigenous Australians now will position businesses to fill existing vacancies.  It will position your business to take advantage of an expanded pool of applicants and expanded markets when the economy recovers.

The commitment of business leaders to providing new employment opportunities for indigenous Australians that endures throughout and beyond the global recession is demonstrated by the presence of all of you here today.

Just as we know that the economy will recover, the global recession starkly reminds us – whether we are employers or employees - that our jobs and our careers are increasingly exposed to the global economy.   

In the same way that any decent football team must maintain a constant effort to maintain and improve the skill levels of its players if it is to have hope of reaching that one day in September, a drive to improve skills is the key to individual job opportunities, and to the productivity of our economy and to Australia remaining competitive in the global economy.

Thirty to forty years ago some of our fathers and even a few of our mothers spent the whole of their working lives in the one job. 

These days this is unusual. For most of us, we are likely to have a number of jobs and some of us will have more than one career change.  It doesn't matter whether we are a factory worker, a computer technician, a politician a football player or a football coach, the competitive nature of our world today and the fact that most of our jobs are not for life, means we ought to continually up-grade our skills. 

Smart employers ensure that they take advantage of the best skills and all available talent to gain a competitive edge.

Companies like BHP and Rio Tinto recognise the business case for working in partnership with Indigenous communities, particularly the traditional custodians of the lands on which they operate.

This is about more that just being a good tenant, it about successful business planning. It is about accessing an unparalleled source of knowledge about the land, building good will and community support and creating a strong local employment base.

I know that many of you are innovative in thinking about investing in Indigenous staff as an essential part of your workforce. 

For those that are thinking about it but not yet involved, I encourage to be part of this forward thinking and also to take advantage of the co-investment that Government can make in the skills and training of your indigenous employees.

I do understand that many of you here today don’t need to be convinced to take on Indigenous employees.
I also understand that you don’t necessarily need tax-payer dollars to help you – although the Australian Government does provide flexible financial packages to help employers provide opportunities for Indigenous Australians – something you can take up with the people from my Department who are here today.

But I do hear from many of you that you want to know what a best practice Indigenous employment strategy looks like.
What you have to think about if you’re embarking on an employment strategy. The ‘how to’.
Reconciliation Australia is helping businesses to develop a Reconciliation Action Plans, to get your whole organisation on board – from the CEO, to the HR manager to your front line staff.

Talk to the Australian Employment Covenant about their aim to get 50,000 Indigenous Australians into sustainable employment – and help keep them there, with industry focused training and mentoring.

I would encourage you to speak to your peers who have been in the business of employing Indigenous Australians for some time.

You could talk to Rio Tinto or BHP or the NAB or QANTAS, as I have, about the importance of building HR systems that suit recruitment of Indigenous employment – and their commitment to driving local content by developing local enterprises.

Talk to the NAB about their mentoring for Indigenous employees.
And very importantly talk to the AFL, Jason Mifsud and his team about how they can help you identify potential, motivated employees with skills and potential to be champions and great team players, like the kids who turn up to AFL training week-in and week-out.

The AFL has a long-standing commitment to the promotion of employment and training opportunities for Indigenous Australians.

Indigenous Australians represent 2.5 per cent of Australia’s population but make up 11 per cent of AFL players.  Only two years ago they made up 25 per cent of the National Draft!

The AFL is now refocusing their commitment on raising the level of off-field Indigenous employment in AFL clubs and state affiliates – that is the aim of the AFL’s Indigenous Employment Strategy, which Andrew just launched. 

If, or should I say, when the AFL does achieve a 4 per cent Indigenous workforce in three years   — then the AFL will yet again, have shown real leadership to the community and to other organisations.

The Government is working with the AFL to achieve this goal.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Government will provide more than half a million dollars to fund seven Indigenous Programs Coordinators – one in each affiliate league, covering all States and Territories.

This team will support the development of the AFL’s suite of national Indigenous programs. Each Coordinator will be responsible for:

• developing an Indigenous employment strategy specific to their league, including mentoring and career pathways for Indigenous employees,
• developing cross cultural awareness training, and
• working with the AFL’s corporate partners to facilitate higher levels of Indigenous employment

Most importantly, coordinators will be responsible for obtaining at least 70 job outcomes in its first year, even though we expect job outcomes to be considerably greater.

This is another great step forward with the AFL, and a great example of the Australian Government working in partnership with employers and Indigenous communities to achieve results.

I would like to congratulate the AFL on its commitment to Indigenous employment, its partnership with Indigenous people and its long-term support of Indigenous communities.

I look forward to working with the AFL and indeed with all of you here to support new work and career opportunities for Indigenous Australians. Together we will close the gap on employment outcomes between Indigenous and non- Indigenous Australians.