A Commonwealth Government report,
“Indigenous Potential meets Economic Opportunity”, now proposes
replacing CDEP in regions of high employment with the Structured Training and
Employment Projects (STEP) brokerage service.
While this report has the stated aim of
improving employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians, it fails to provide
any framework to overcome barriers to employment which many Indigenous Australians
face. Instead, it relies on the employment market to provide opportunities
despite considerable evidence that it has not done so in the past.
In inner Sydney, the Redfern Aboriginal Corporation
(RAC) has operated CDEP since 1991 with employment support for up to 100
participants at a time. While the RAC assists participants to obtain mainstream
employment and provides mentoring services once employed, it also helps those
unable to get mainstream employment.
I share community concern that removing
CDEP from inner Sydney
will deny disadvantaged Indigenous Australians access to specialist programs
and support. Unlike CDEP, Indigenous organisations might not provide STEP and I
have recommended that the Government continue to fund community-based
organisations to provide culturally sensitive employment and mentoring
services, and I have called for wider consultation before changes are
finalised.
My submission is available from the Bligh
office.
Link to City of Sydney submission Clover Moore Submission on CDEP