Mr Tudge said the Abbott indigenous affairs agenda was huge and needed strong action.”There are enormous challenges, and we don’t pretend to have all the answers, but we have a good team and a very committed prime minister,” he said.
“In concert with indigenous leaders, I think we can make a difference.”
Noel Pearson, Alan Tudge and Tony Abbott on Cape York (photo Alan Tudge Website)
TONY Abbott has appointed Victorian MP Alan Tudge as parliamentary secretary specifically charged with helping deliver his indigenous affairs agenda.
The federal Liberal MP who worked with Noel Pearson at the Cape York Institute will assist Mr Abbott deliver on his pledge to be the first prime minister for indigenous affairs, and will assist Warren Mundine with his new indigenous council.
READ ALAN TUDGE Article
Pearson’s impact will change Indigenous affairs for the better
Mr Tudge will also work with the cabinet minister for indigenous affairs, Nigel Scullion, to deliver meaningful welfare reform.”I will be supporting the prime minister with his indigenous affairs agenda. This will require working closely with Nigel Scullion, other ministers as well as Warren Mundine,”
Mr Tudge told The Australian.”We have already outlined a substantial agenda covering education, employment and constitutional recognition. My view is that if people are educated and have a job, then everything else tends to take care of itself.”
He said he backed Senator Scullion’s bold plans to review welfare dependence in remote communities with no economy.”Clearly there is more to be done to end passive welfare dependence, which is a poison for anyone,” Mr Tudge said.”Kids need to be at school — no excuses. And we need to learn from Cape York and other areas where direct instruction methods appear to be working.”
Mr Tudge said the Abbott indigenous affairs agenda was huge and needed strong action.”There are enormous challenges, and we don’t pretend to have all the answers, but we have a good team and a very committed prime minister,” he said. “In concert with indigenous leaders, I think we can make a difference.”
Mr Tudge will also work to implement a plan devised by indigenous leader Noel Pearson to empower Aboriginal communities, to ensure that money spent delivers real gains on the ground.
It is based upon the Pearson concept of an Indigenous Policy Productivity Council to evaluate the multiple programs that service Aborigines.Mr Pearson’s blueprint, “Empowered Communities”, was backed by a $5 million commitment to develop the idea by Mr Abbott.”One of our priorities will be supporting the design of a new governance model to be applied in eight opt-in communities,”
Mr Tudge said. “It will be developed in conjunction with Noel Pearson and other leaders and is aimed at empowering indigenous communities so that better local solutions can be developed. This will also achieve better value from the funds committed.”Direct Instruction is an explicit teaching method based on rigorous scripted classes and regular testing so that children do not fall behind,” he said.
Read also
A new deal for remote Indigenous Australians
15-December-2011
PUBLISHED IN THE IPA REVIEW (Vol 63/4)
There is a tacit deal for remote Indigenous Australians that is not working.
Indigenous Australians have been supported for the last 40 years just to exist in a place of their choice, as a guilt-ridden nation’s act of compensation for past mistreatment. Low requirements of participation in education and work have been part of the deal.
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