Address to the 3rd Committee of the United Nations

Orginal speech delivered by Benson Saulo on the 4th Oct 2011.

Mr. Chair and fellow delegates,

I am delighted to address the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly as the Australian Youth Ambassador. As the world’s gaze is fixed on the impact that young people continue to have on societies around the globe, it is a privilege to represent the optimistic views and aspirations of Australian Youth.

My journey from growing up in the country town of Tamworth, New South Wales, attending a government school, to standing before you on the world stage as the first Aboriginal Australian to be appointed as Youth Ambassador is a testament to the opportunities available in Australia, an Australia that invests in human potential, an Australia that supports individual growth and community development.

I represent a generation that strongly believes that our future is not defined by borders or boundaries, race or religion but by our sense of responsibility to each other, an inherent sense of a global community which is premised on relationships and accountability.

Mr. Chair,

In May this year I began my National Engagement Tour, a tour that is undertaken to gain a deeper understanding of issues affecting young people at a local, national and international level. I themed my tour ‘Towards a Unified Australia’. It was inspired by a 2010 speech by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Mick Gooda, in which he discussed the steps taken, and journey still to go, for Australia to become a reconciled nation.

I have had the amazing opportunity to travel throughout Australia, over 38,000kms across our diverse and ancient landscape, visiting every State and Territory. I engaged over 10,000 people face-to-face and through social media. This opportunity continues to impact me not only as the Youth Ambassador but as a young Australian.

I have witnessed the challenges that continue to face families and young people living with disabilities, their teachers’ real concern for their student’s transition into further education and supported work, their family’s ongoing struggle for affordable carers. I have felt the weight of hopelessness in our most fragile communities, struggling with the intergenerational impacts of drugs, alcohol and cultural degradation. I have heard the concerns of the widening social gaps between generations and the growing trend of looking inward rather than looking outward.

While these concerns are very real, I am also filled with a sense of hope and optimism in the progress being made to address these issues. Knowledge that our commitment to our community still exists and our commitment to promote an equal and inclusive society is the core aspiration of enthusiastic and audacious young Australians.

Over the past 6 months I have had a particular focus on health, education, human rights and Indigenous affairs. My journey has provided an insight into each of these areas and has also highlighted the underlying common thread binding these areas; Education.

I am proud to say that the youth of Australia and the Australian government share a common vision, which is reflected in the commitments laid out in our National Strategy for Young Australians: “That all young people grow up safe, healthy, happy and resilient, and have the opportunities and skills they need to learn, work and engage in community life, and influence decisions that affect them.”

In the recent ‘Listen to Children’ report produced by the Australian Child Rights Taskforce, a coalition of 100 organizations, including UNICEF working with over 750 young people, identified that;

“There are specific groups of children who are not always afforded the same educational opportunities as other students, denying capacity to fulfill their potential. These groups include: Aboriginal children, children from refugee and newly arrived backgrounds and children with disabilities.”

Mr. Chair,

Education is the basis for the development of our future leaders, leaders in business, leaders in innovation and ultimately leaders in our society. We as a nation believe to truly build capacity and equip, not only these identified groups but wider society, with the tools to fulfill their potential – we must rethink education; we must rethink its delivery and its role in the development and engagement of young people.

It is with this conviction that we have taken positive steps to support diverse learning styles including formal, informal, alternative and bilingual modes of education because we believe in the vital importance of engaging all of our multicultural, multifaceted communities.

Beyond our shores, Australia is focused on supporting education programs throughout Asia, the pacific and the world. In Indonesia, Australia is helping to build over 4000 schools, enabling 650,000 children from the poorest families to receive a decent education. In Pakistan we are supporting the enrollment of 46,000 girls in rural primary schools. Enabling young people with disabilities to have access to education is a large component of the support Australia provides within the Asia-Pacific region.

Australia provides support for the transition from primary to secondary school for children with hearing impairment and intellectual disabilities in Samoa and we are supporting the Papua New Guinean Department of Education to produce disability inclusive infrastructure guidelines for schools.

Mr. Chair,

I am a firm believer that instilling a sense of social responsibility begins with the individual through exposure to and awareness of social issues. This awareness is also being supported through the rapid expansion of access to the internet and social media – empowering all generations to be connected and engaged in domestic and international dialogue, sharing and change.

My vision for the future of society lies in the fundamental belief that I am my brothers’ keeper; I am my sisters’ keeper. Understanding, that the lack of meaningful consultation at a grass-roots level prior to implementing unprecedented measures affecting these same communities; has an impact on all of our voices, in all of our communities. That 8 million displaced young people due to conflict, famine and environmental emergencies; has an impact on all of our abilities to ensure a secure future for humanity.

These are the impacts that we as a nation, we as a global community, must realize are not diminished by geographical and cultural divide because in a world that is becoming ever more technologically interconnected, as a global citizen, I believe, so to must our way of thinking.

Mr. Chair,

I support the Australian Child Rights Taskforce recommendation to establish an independent National Children’s Commissioner. A Commissioner with the key responsibility of: establishing the strategic direction for youth based policy development and monitoring the extent to which Australian children are realizing their rights under the United Nation’s Convention of the Rights of the Child which Australia ratified in 1991.

The creation of National Children Commissioners, not only in Australia but abroad, would be an important step for youth throughout the world, to ensure that their voices are heard and respected and to ensure that youth services are adequately resourced, implemented and supported through strong governmental frameworks.

Mr. Chair,

While there are many challenges and obstacles that face young people in Australia, and indeed globally, the sense of optimism in the future is evident. It is the young boy in the small town of Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, who wants to become a police officer so he can keep his community safe, it is the Noongah language teachers from Bunbury, Western Australia who believe culture is as relevant in our society today as ever, it is the vision shared by the young African refugee in Darwin with her goal to study medicine in Melbourne, Victoria.

These young people bare witness to the hope burning in our nation for a bright future for all, regardless of race, religion or gender. Through a continued focus on education, social responsibility and support for young people’s voices we can and must provide the opportunities that all young people deserve and that their rights specify under the convention. I have great faith that positive change through social development is attainable in our communities, in our institutions and indeed in our generation.

Thank you.

Sparking Change: freedom fighters to fire starters

I have had the amazing pleasure of traveling across Australia, attending schools, youth conferences and universities engaging young people along the way. It has been a great opportunity to meet people that share the same passions, frustrations and drive as me.

On reflection of my past 3months of travel I realised it has also been the unexpected encounters that have made my journey so memorable and special.

It has been in conversations with older generations that have had the most impact on my journey, not only as the Australian Youth Representative but as a young man. Whether it be sitting around a table in Tennant Creek listening to the local police officers share their frustrations with the growing sense of institutional mentality in the communities or their ability to list 6-10 young people who have great potential but lack the direction and drive to break the strong pull of the negative cycles. Or whether it be sitting in a mens talking circle at the Native Title Conference listening to elders discuss the growing concern of the disconnection of young people with culture and feeling at a lose of how to rekindle the spark of pride in the next generations.

These are the moments that I will remember for years after my role is completed. These are the moments I’ve sat quietly listening to the tone of disappointment, waining hope and frustration spoken by people who desperately want this generation to take up the flag and fly it for the future of Australia. This frustration is real, this sense of disappointment is real.

I recently spoke at the closing address of the 2011 National Native Title Conference in Brisbane I spoke on the need for older generations to ignite the fire in young people through history, sharing struggles, victories and loses. If you understand where you come from, who you are, you have a sense of pride and worth. This is where the fire starts.

I’ve listened to old Aboriginal men and women speak of the pride they felt when they cast their vote for the first time, how they dressed up in their best and walked down to the ballot boxes as a family to finally have a say in the direction of their country. Tears surface but the warmth from their smiles express that the tears come from a place of pride and a sense of accomplishment. We marched, we fought, we waited and finally we voted.

These are the stories that offer me strength when faced with challenges and adversity. They provide me with fortitude, knowing that amongst the struggles and disappointments there is hope and the fire that drives this hope is alive and it flickers under the surface, under the social strains, under the layers of age and time.

I’ve seen and felt it time and time again. Walking into a community, a building, a conversation where the air is so thick that you feel pressure on your chest and each step is an effort. It is in these situations that the unexpected happens, you feel the warmth of the fire, see it in the eyes of someone or feel the force of their very words moving through you.

This is where the fire starts and I believe the older generations need to drive this and be that spark in our communities, breathing life into the hearts and minds of our generation, creating the understanding that the job isn’t done, progress has happened but we still have many miles to travel on this journey.

It is true that my generation has not lived through the struggles of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and our living memory is that of the NT Intervention and the 2008 Apology but this does not limit our ability to become the torchbearers for our generation and cause, this does not stop our ability to take up the flag and fly it for an equal, just and unified Australia.

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Youth Representative: Just the beginning

On the 2nd April 2011, a date I will remember for a very long time, I received a phone call that would ultimately change my life and the life of other around me. For me to capture the significance of this phone call I will need to begin 5 months earlier; the end of October 2010.

Sitting at my desk with my daily coffee flicking through emails that had hit my inbox during the night and ungodly earlier hours of the morning, I came across an email from one of my Sydney networks announcing ‘applications closing soon for a 2011 United Nations Representative’. Comfortable as I was in my current role I simply deleted the email and thought nothing more of it. 20mins later my email alert popped-up on screen, this time from a Koorie network again advising ‘2011 United Nations Representative Applications closing soon’. I had a brief scan of the email ‘Consultation tour’, ‘United Nations’, ‘New York’ were the obvious standouts but again it went into my deleted items. It wasn’t until it came through my email for a freakish third time with a friendly note saying you should check this out. I decided I will apply.

For the next hour short answer drafts filled my desktop before holding my breath as I submitted my expression of interest to be considered for the 1st of three rounds of selection. Nervous but not expecting much I continued to plow through my work. Two weeks without a word, I had convinced myself it wasn’t meant to happen.

My eyes lit up one November morning. In my inbox sat an email, addressed ‘Dear Applicant’ advising my success to proceed to the long written submission component of the application. Four long answers with an in-depth plan to implements my consultation tour if I were successful. The process of addressing each answer was long and hard, I had a clear plan on how I wanted to run an engaging national tour with Australian youth but whether I could articulate the thought, consideration and sleepless hours I poured into the application, I just want sure. Just one day before the long submissions closed I, again nervous but now breathing heavy, shakily emailed my final application.

When you put your thoughts or ideas in the hands of someone else to review and critic you feel so vulnerable, especially when you don’t know who’s hands it may end up in. A number of anxious nights followed and hundreds of re-reads of my submission by this time it had become an obsession. I wanted the position, I wanted it so badly I would wake-up in the middle of the night with ideas for my consultation tour which I would write down in a notepad next to my bed, I bought a new laptop, a video camera and I began reading about building websites, famous speeches and historical events.

I was fortunate enough to have an introduction to the 2009 Australian Youth Representative, Chris Varney. Chris is an amazing person and considered one of most influential Australian Youth Representatives to the United Nations since the program began in 1999. Chris’s passion for global issues in particular the empowerment of young people and the promotion of equality in society was evident in the way he spoke and the pride he displayed when sharing his experience as the 2009 Youth Representative. I walked away from our brief but intense discussion feeling a new sense of purpose, a sense that the email I received three times in one morning was a sign that my journey was only in its early stages.

Christmas passed. No word. I love what I do, I work for a great company and a wonderful supportive team but it is only natural to feel disappointed when you’ve invested yourself into anything and you don’t get the outcome you want, this is what I was feeling, disappointment. January slowly passed.

In early February 2011 sitting with my morning coffee flicking through emails I received what felt like a jump start from a defibrillator to my chest. An email advising I had been successful making it to the Formal Interview and final stage of the application process.

Two weeks later I was sitting in front of an interview panel literally shaking (but trying to conceal it). I had prepared, I had taken all the deep breath I could but the idea that everything I had written and read hinged on the next 20mins of whether it was all worth it, I knew it was all worth it but my success was dependent on the outcome of the interview.

I could not tell you what I said in the interview, not because its top secret, I walked out blank. The questions came, I’m pretty sure I answered them and I shook their hands, smiled and left. Blank. You know when you think of a good comeback or joke but it comes to you when the moment is already passed. This is what haunted me for the next month.

March passed. I sent a follow-up email (maybe more than one…) There is a fine line between eager and annoying, I think I was the balancing act between the two. In my mind I was keen to know either way if I had been successful or not but in the mind of the person reviewing applicants I was sitting in the annoying side of the court.

Saturday, 2nd April 2011. The phone call. “Congratulations you are the 2011 Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations”. An amazing wave of happiness swept over me – hard to explain but if you could imagine something that you have wanted so much for nearly half a year, you’re emotionally invested, you have allowed yourself and abilities to be judged and suddenly everything you had dedicated yourself too pays off, it all comes together in a few simple words. That is what I felt and continue to feel.

I am the first Indigenous Australian to become the Youth Representative to the United Nations an amazing honor and something I am proud of. It has now been one week in this position. I know the responsibility and expectations will be great but I also know that wonderful people like Chris, UNYA , Family and Friends will provide me with the support to achieve my goals and outcomes during my consultation tour and time at the United Nations General Assembly.

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Partnerships: not a political quick fix

On the 13th February 2008 former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd addressed the Nation in a powerful and emotional acknowledgment and apology to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Stolen Generations. Apologising for the pain, suffering and the degradation of the longest living Culture through past Government and Parliamentary policies. On this day, which has gone down in the history books and the hearts of many Australians both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous, there was a sense of National pride and the almost unspoken desire to become a reconciled Nation regardless of Race, Religion or Creed.

Kevin Rudd called for a “future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility for all Australians”. Like many young Australians both Indigenous and Non- Indigenous throughout Australia, I viewed this special event with excitement and pride. Watching the events unfold on the giant screen in Martin Place, Sydney, the energy of the crowd was evident though it was silent, hanging on every word.

Whilst standing shoulder to shoulder next to a complete stranger I couldn’t help but reflect on the stories I’d heard about Charles Perkins and the 1965 Freedom Ride. The excitement and unfamiliar sense of accomplishment as they travelled throughout country NSW, exposing on a National level the inequality and divide in Australian society. Building momentum and awareness on the road to the 1967 Referendum, in which more than ninety percent of Australians voted in favor to grant Indigenous Australians the right to be recognised as Australian citizens and for the Government to introduce legislation relating to Indigenous Affairs.

33 years following the Referendum the 2000 Bridge Walk, attracting over 300,000 participants from all ages and backgrounds from politicians, Indigenous leaders, mothers and fathers, marched in the name of National Reconciliation. Another milestone for Australian society, another symbol for social inclusion and progress, yet 12 years after the momentous Bridge Walk and 3 years following the Apology Speech this sense of progress and reform at the highest level of Government is beginning to fade.

The same factors continue to plague the progress of Reconciliation in Australia; Education, Employment and Health, particularly in Remote Communities. These are factors that should not be identifiers for the divide between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians, but rather be a uniting factor in the push for social inclusion regardless of heritage.

But does the ideology of sustainable change and positive outcomes fit within the life cycle of a Government? Or is it something that should be pursued outside of the political point scoring rhetoric of the current and past Governments?

In a recent article featured in The Age, the CEO of Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation, Ms Pat Brahim highlighted this issue when interviewed on the recent article focused on Tennant Creek: Teens roam Territory streets looking for sex, alcohol and trouble as quick fix policy fails by Lindsay Murdoch (28th March 2011)

“the town’s problems a symptom of policy and program failures over many years – programs imposed by often untrained, uninformed bureaucrats living far away who seek quick fixes that suit the electoral cycles of successive territory and federal governments “

The idea of self-determination and self-governance has been marred with Indigenous people being setup to fail, through lack of infrastructure to grow success at the grass roots stage of business and short sighted Parliamentary targets set on monetary injections with no longitudinal view for building a successful community. Followed by intergenerational view of ‘nothing works’ and ‘we’ve done everything for these people’ being the ultimate fall out and hopelessness as the inherent outcome.

It is clear that before we can effectively close the gaps in Education, Employment and Health we need to remove the ability of the Federal Government to use Aboriginal Australia as an election tool and place it into the hands of a bi-partisan task-force with a 7 to 10year life span to include and pro-actively consulate with Indigenous community members to implement effective community strategies. Effective strategies in areas of:

• Alternate learning styles within the public school system
• Cross-Generational Relationships throughout society
• Health and Well-being including traditional medicines and dietary education
• Financial Literacy at school level and beyond
• Drug and Alcohol education and rehabilitation
• Attracting graduating students to remote areas to build on teaching skills
• Governance training and small business management run through Corporate and Organisations
• Land management and tourism opportunities.

These are just some of the basic and broad areas that should not continue to be controlled at a Government Level but rather on the ground with frameworks and resources in place to enable organisations to engage and promote community participation identified and supported by and through the bi-partisan task-force.

You may look at these ‘Effective Strategy Areas’ and think these ‘strategies’ exist already, organisations are out there doing these things everyday. This is true. Alternate learning styles and drug and alcohol education aren’t new ideas, these are areas with proven positive outcomes yet why does a $4 million drug centre in the APY Lands of SA go under-utilised in a community that has been identified as a community ‘at risk’ by the Federal Government.

Jonathon Nicholls from Uniting Care Wesley, in response to a SA State Government report to the Federal Government on the utilisation of the Facility, said;

“The report un-categorically says that those services don’t need a $4 million facility to operate”.

“It doesn’t need a collection of six buildings to meet the needs in remote Aboriginal communities”.

An un-targeted, short sighted, large financial injection political nightmare. A plain example of the lack of community and community based organisation consultation on the part of Government. SA Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Grace Portolesi advised the decision on the centres future will be made shortly and that:

“I’d be more concerned about throwing good money after bad money in, insisting for the sake of pride that we maintain the service that does no longer resonate with community it’s seeking to service.”

Yet another service or facility wound back to save face with voters and the public, yet another Indigenous community falling into the “nothing works” category of Indigenous affairs.

It is time to move away from government controlled initiatives relating to the serious issues in Indigenous Affairs and our put faith back into our community through the long term support from a bi-partisan task-force working independently from the Government electoral cycles and working inclusive with Indigenous communities and organisations to develop and implement sustainable outcomes for Indigenous people right across Australia. This is the “future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility for all Australians” that Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke of.

• Check out the GenerationOne Website to see some positive partnerships in action!
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And like always I encourage you to reply if you agree or disagree with any of my thoughts, debates on these kinds of topics are important and I am always very open to others opinions and feed back!

Advocating Change Through the Productivity Commission.

Submission to the Productivity Commission:

Vocational Education Training Workforce

Indigenous Participation in the Vocational Education and Training Workforce.

“The focus on the maintenance and promotion of culture and identity are compromised in the delivery of a one-size fits all approach to curriculum. We know from experience that a one-size fits all approach will not achieve the same results in different environments so it is essential that our education system is tailored to meet the diversity of needs of our students.”

Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Social Justice Commissioner, 2010*

I am one of the 40% of Indigenous Australian’s under the age of 25 years who is determined to promote positive messages about Aboriginal Australia, in an effort to counterbalance the negative images reinforced in mainstream media across Australia.

I am 22 years old and live in Melbourne – my Grandmother is Wemba Wemba (Swan Hill) and Grandfather is Gunditjmara (Warrnambool). I grew up in Tamworth (Gomileroi Country) and began working at ANZ when I was 15 years old through the Indigenous Traineeships Program, which I completed in 2005.

Upon completion of my traineeship and after obtaining my HSC, I moved to Sydney to study a Bachelor of Business at the University of Technology of Sydney and worked in Business Banking as an Assistant Manager. I currently work as a Business Analyst within an Indigenous Employment and Training Team at a ‘big four bank’.

I currently sit on three advisory boards: Reconciliation Victoria, the Aboriginal Advisory Board to the Victorian Electoral Commission and EastWeb (a youth lead philanthropic funding board focused on Indigenous, Refugee and Asylum Seeker community initiatives).

Towards Positive Indigenous Outcomes in Vocational Education and Training.

I am writing this submission directly to the Commission because I believe it is vitally important for young Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to have direct input into important inquiries such as this Productivity Commission report on Vocational Education and Training.

Upon review of the overall submissions to the Productivity Commission it was concerning to discover very few recommendations in the draft report relating or referring specifically to Indigenous VET work force needs and Indigenous educational needs.

As a former Indigenous student who benefited from a VET education I can affirm the importance of these opportunities in rural Australia and particularly in the Aboriginal community. I am currently working for a large corporate in the banking sector within  an Indigenous employment program. This program has been operating since 2003 and the ongoing success can be attributed to 3 key factors:

1. A workplace dedicated Indigenous Employment and Training Team
2. Indigenous mentoring, provided through Group Training Organisations (GTOs)
3. Encouraging a strong support base through the school, family and work place.

When all three key factors are working together with a committed trainee/student successful outcomes are achieved. The evidence of this program’s success is in the high retention rates and transition rates to permanent employment which we, as a Business unit, have witnessed over the recent years. The VET providers and students would benefit greatly if these three factors could be embedded in the VET workforce capabilities.

Large organisations and corporates are advantaged by the ability to employ a dedicated Indigenous Employment Teams to specifically target Indigenous traineeships and employment. It is understandable that this luxury is not always possible in smaller organisations looking to support vocational education. It can, however, be substituted by Indigenous mentoring services which some RTOs and GTOs offer.

I am a strong believer that Indigenous mentoring services should be offered in conjunction with employment opportunities, especially when related to Indigenous educational outcomes. While there has been a major push for positive role models in our community the supply of Indigenous mentors from RTOs and GTOs does not, at this stage, meet the demand coming from the Indigenous trainees/students undertaking VET courses in urban and regional centres across Australia. The VET workforce needs improved capacity, training and infrastructure to support the provision for RTO/GTOs to implement a specific Indigenous mentoring service, if they have identified on their books Indigenous students undertaking VET courses.

VET courses are shown to encourage school retention and completion rates. Indigenous mentoring would encourage Indigenous VET retention and completion rates when offered in conjunction with VET courses and if it was provided through the RTO/GTO. Improving the VET workforce’s capabilities to deliver quality education and relevant training would have a direct impact in improving Indigenous student outcomes.

Encouraging a strong support base (Point 3 – above) begins in the workplace. The workplace offers a stable, routine based environment, which may or may not be available at home while providing a relevant educational experience (i.e. on the job training).

Obstacles in the workplace, which we have encountered on a varying scale, range from preconceived and misinformed ideas of Indigenous employment and the Aboriginal community, unconscious biases in regards to employment and a lack of cultural awareness and understanding. To combat and overcome these detrimental obstacles, which at the core relate to understanding and awareness, our organisation approached various Indigenous cultural awareness facilitators to hold workshops with over 100 districts (avg. 7-9 Branches within each District) across Australia. Each facilitator represented their various regions as Indigenous culture is diverse and thus, cultural awareness workshops should be location/region specific. I would recommend all members of the VET workforce under go cultural awareness training, as cultural awareness of Indigenous culture improves understanding of cultural appropriateness with the flow-on effect of positive student and workforce relations.

I believe setting organisational goals, both in the workforce and at a RTO/GTO level, will encourage a quality approach when seeking a potential VET student and providing a supportive workplace.

Suggested goals for a RTO/GTO and workplace are:

RTO/GTO:

• Engaging an Indigenous mentoring service if RTO/GTO take on an identified Indigenous student.
• Supporting cultural awareness sessions in workplaces where Indigenous trainees will be completing their VET course.
• Where possible, RTO/GTO trainee numbers should reflect the wider community (i.e. that 3% of trainees are Indigenous)
• Retention rates need to be reflective of the VET non-Indigenous retention rate.
• Quarterly review/evaluation

Workplace:

• Undertake cultural awareness training
• Perform a review on workplace cultural appropriateness
• Offer additional workplace mentoring (i.e. buddy system)
• Regular discussions with RTO/GTO, student and mentor

I recommend goals to be formalised within a public Reconciliation Action Plan documented through Reconciliation Australia and managed or facilitated through its state-based sub-bodies, providing accessibility to appropriate resources and capacity to report and track RTO/GTOs and workplaces against goals set out by the organisation within the document.

I believe the main challenge will be changing perceptions of Indigenous Australia to reflect the positivity and hope within our communities when these opportunities are available. Unlike the past, onus should be placed on the RTO/GTO and the workforce to ensure at least 2 of the 3 ‘key factors’ mentioned above are in place prior to claiming they are the leaders in the Indigenous VET space.

We are at a critical time in Australia where employment and education related key indicators need to be addressed at all levels of society through an inclusive and longitudinal view, to ensure that sustainable outcomes are attained and the error of short-sighted, quick fix policies of the past are not repeated.

I am happy to meet with the Commission to discuss this further and to assist in maximising the ability of the VET workforce to have a direct and significant impact upon the ongoing prosperity of Indigenous Australians.

* Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Commissioner. Speech at the NSW Teachers Federation Council Meeting 20th November 2010. (Retrieved from http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/media/speeches/social_justice/2010/20101120_education.html)

The Productivity Commission (PC) is the Australian Government’s independent research and advisory body on a range of economic, social and environmental issues affecting the welfare of Australians. Submissions are open to all interested parties, all submission remain on the public record indefinitely.

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If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything…

Mark Twain once wrote:

“There are only two forces that can carry light to all corners of the globe. The sun in the heavens and the Associated Press down here”.

But what happens when the light no longer shines equally on all Australians, what if the light is simply to highlight disadvantage or cast shadow on injustices in our society.

In 1997 Professor Michael Dodson, the then Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner presented ‘Democracy, the media and human rights‘ in which he discussed the evolution of the role of media and the impact the media has on shaping individual views, influencing outcomes and dictating directions of debate. This powerful discussion is driven by two strong components:

• Professor Michael Dodson’s own passion for advancing Indigenous Australians and;
• that negative perspectives of Indigenous Australians in society can be changed through positive media.

A barrier for such view is summed up by the 1974 Noble Peace Prize recipient and prominent Irish Government Minister Sean MacBride:

“The freedom of a citizen or social group to have access to communication as both recipients and contributors, cannot be compared to the freedom of an investor to derive profit from the media. One protects a fundamental human right, the other permits the commercialisation of a social need.”

In this age of technology and connectivity; media is very much classed as a social need. A social need for staying up-to-date with events as they unfold as well as an increasing social need to be connected with friends and family across the globe.

So where does this leave the fundamental importance of human rights and the participation in media, at the mercy of the times and trends of a commercialised society? Unfortunately this is true.

Trends and conflict dictate the direction media takes because it is what audiences want but what if trends moved towards positive stories on the great successes happening every day in every community across Australia. What if the mindsets of wider Australia became switched on to the powerful stories being told and re-told throughout Aboriginal Communities.

Professor Michael Dodson acknowledges positive steps have been made since the 1960′s, which he states Indigenous Australian’s…

“Presence in the media was characterised by ‘invisibility’.”

And calls for a continuous evaluation of the relationships between the media and Indigenous Australia.

While society continues to grow and small victories continue to advance our participation in mainstream media it is with optimism, the clouds obstructing the view of wider Australia will be swept away and the light that Mark Twain spoke about will flood the hearts and minds of a progressive Australia.

Check out GenerationOne.org.au for some great stories happening around Australia!

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Title Acknowledgement: ”If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything” – Malcolm X

Tomorrow’s a new day…

Our actions today will determine our future tomorrow and the sun is setting on our actions.

What will you do to ensure a bright future for our next generation of Australians?