Indigenous Economic Pathways and Participation in the Hunter Region Submission to the Inquiry of the Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs: Pathways and Participation Opportunities for Indigenous Australians in Employment and Business. 9th April 2020. The author recognises the rights, custodianship, and ongoing connection to country of the Traditional Owners of the lands known as the ‘Hunter Region’1 – the Awabakal, Darkinjung, Geawaegal, Gomeroi/Kamilaroi, Gringai, Wonnarua/Wannaruah, and Worimi. The author acknowledges elders past, present, and emerging, and all Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people in the Hunter Region. The author acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are two distinct racial groups. For the purposes of this submission, the term “Indigenous” is used to acknowledge both groups. 1 For the purposes of this submission, the ‘Hunter Region’ is defined as the ‘Hunter Employment Region’ consisting of the functional economic region defined by the Australian Government as the linked labour force (SA4) areas of Newcastle & Lake Macquarie, and the Hunter excluding Newcastle. The author recognises that other definitions, such as the New South Wales Government definition of the region that incorporates the Mid-Coast Local Government Area, overlay other Traditional lands, such as that of the Biripi Nation. Cover photo: sunrise over Whibay Gamba Author contact: Warrick Jordan, Hunter Region Employment Facilitator, Email: [email protected] Website: See https://www.employment.gov.au/employment-facilitators for additional details on the Department of Education, Skills and Employment’s Employment Facilitators program 1 | P a g e Introduction Summary I thank the House Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs for the opportunity to participate in this important inquiry. The Hunter Region has a significant community of interest regarding employment and business opportunities for Indigenous Australians. This inquiry is an important opportunity to highlight the positive work being undertaken by Indigenous people and other stakeholders in the Hunter. The traditional lands of the Awabakal, Darkinjung, Geawegal, Gomeroi/Kamilaroi, Gringai, Wonnarua/Wannaruah, and Worimi nations extend over the area now referred to as the Hunter Region. At the 2016 Census, 29,000 people identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in the region2. This figure equates to 4.9% of the general population. The submission focuses on the following areas of the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference: • Showcasing successful enterprises initiated and owned by Indigenous Australians • Describing barriers to employment and business, and demonstrating effective pathways and success stories • Identifying opportunities to build upon existing initiatives that support Indigenous- owned businesses, and employment pathways. While in no way claiming to represent the diversity of activities and perspectives from the region, some effort has been undertaken to highlight the variety of initiatives and opportunities. 2 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie SA4 and Hunter Excl. Newcastle SA4. 2 | P a g e The key messages from this submission are: (1) A number of Indigenous-owned businesses are prospering in a diverse range of commercial sectors in the Hunter and surrounding regions. These successes provide guidance on what steps can be taken to successfully encourage Indigenous-owned businesses. (2) Barriers to employment and business success are real and ongoing, however there are constant success stories created by hard work on the part of Indigenous people, the creation of suitable pathways, and the support of businesses and service providers. (3) Programs that create culturally-aware employment and training pathways, provide employment and business mentoring, provide practical assistance with business establishment and growth, and create opportunities through supply chain procurement, are demonstrably effective. However, there are real needs and specific opportunities for government and business to develop, expand and improve these programs to address Indigenous economic opportunity in the Hunter Region. (4) Effective programs should be run by and with local Indigenous people, making use of hard- earned experience and strong mentoring capabilities and interest. While acknowledging the uncertainty associated with COVID-19, if the Committee had interest in arranging a hearing in the Hunter region, there would be substantial local interest from potential hearing participants, and local logistical assistance available. 3 | P a g e Key Recommendations Indigenous business development and mentoring: The Indigenous people of the Hunter Region have a demonstrated capacity for business success. Successful Indigenous business people and enterprises are proactive in providing mentoring capacity. Local entities such as the University of Newcastle, The Business Centre, and the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce have a track record of business mentoring. However, there are untapped opportunities for developing and mentoring Aboriginal entrepreneurs and businesses; a lack of experienced guidance and mentoring capacity for specific industries; and a need for greater promotion and accessibility, including geographically, of business development services. Recommendation 1: Specific funding that increases region-wide access to mentoring and business development services, through utilising existing local experience, expertise, infrastructure and organisations, is likely to build on existing success in the region and respond to unmet demand. The role of the local business community in employment pathways and procurement opportunities: There are a small number of leading local employers, in sectors such as mining, social services, and housing, that have active Reconciliation Action Plans, employment pathways and Indigenous procurement policies. Building on this foundation, there is a substantial opportunity to increase the focus and aspirations of the Hunter business community in achieving Indigenous employment outcomes. Recommendation 2: The local business community can play an active and expanded role in supporting improved employment and wellbeing outcomes. Practical activities could include: 4 | P a g e • Increasing local business community awareness of the successes and value of creating Indigenous employment pathways and supply chain opportunities, • Sharing the practical lessons from leading employers and their Indigenous partners and workers, • Recruiting and supporting Indigenous people in senior roles as mentors to actively educate new Indigenous workers on workplace practices and address cultural workplace barriers, and • Establishing and utilising formal networks of large and small employers to grow the scale of outcomes. Employment and training mentoring: Whether for school, post-school education and training, employment pathways, or retention of employment, local experience would suggest consistently- funded mentoring services are a demonstrably efficient intervention in improving Indigenous employment outcomes. Services that provide mentoring to access and maintain employment are making a critical difference for Indigenous people in the region. Recommendation 3: Ensuring sufficient capacity and access to employment mentoring, tertiary and vocational support, and school-based mentoring services in the region is critical. There is high ongoing demand, and expansion of services is likely to have a significant positive effect. Practical interventions could include financially supporting Indigenous workplace mentors at large employers; ensuring vocational training programs, including short courses and part-qualifications, include during and post-course mentoring capacity; supporting school and at-risk youth mentoring initiatives; maintaining ongoing support for VTEC programs; and ensuring consistency in the availability of Indigenous liaison officers amongst employment service providers. Continuing to grow the skills of mentors and advisors, in areas such as two-way cultural awareness advice for employers and workers; industry engagement; labour market knowledge; and career advisory, is also important in providing good training and employment advice. 5 | P a g e Mental health supports should also be considered a central plank of mentoring. Making good career and employment decisions is difficult in times of stress, mental illness and low emotional wellbeing. Ensuring sufficient availability of mental health services, and relevant training for mentors and advisors, is critical. Accessibility, targeting and flexibility of training funding: There are a number of positive local examples of industry-specific short courses, pre-employment, and part-qualification programs creating effective pathways into work for Indigenous people in the region. There is also a marked skills gap that is particularly prevalent in relation to vocational qualifications (see Section 5). In line with Australian and New South Wales Government initiatives to ensure that training courses can be responsive to industry needs and developed rapidly enough to be relevant, there appears to be additional opportunities for direct targeting of training programs to specific industry demands. This has the potential to create talent pools that can be utilised by supportive businesses and that meets their needs for recruitment during windows of opportunity. It should be noted that this requires active engagement by business (see Recommendation 2), and that a number of existing Commonwealth