Aboriginal Illiteracy
Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes: I direct my question without notice to the Attorney General, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Training. Is the Minister aware of the Hands Across the Nation Appeal, which highlights that only one in five children in remote indigenous communities can read at the accepted minimum standard? Is the Minister aware that by year 7 only 15 per cent of indigenous children living in remote areas are able to read at the minimum required level, and that illiteracy is the primary factor in low school retention rates? Is the Minister aware that regular absenteeism, poor or unhelpful teaching, and a lack of understanding by teachers of the special needs of indigenous students contribute to the difficulties of indigenous children acquiring functional literacy levels? Given the disturbing figures, what programs will be established to introduce mainstream curriculum and teaching standards in the State, to help marginalised indigenous children gain fundamental literacy skills in order to build successful and fulfilling lives?
The Hon. John Hatzistergos: I know Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes has joined Family First. The week before last, at the State conference of the Labor Party, the Premier outlined a comprehensive set of initiatives to address this issue. I refer the honourable member to those announcements, which were followed by a meeting at a La Perouse school, which both the Premier and the Minister for Education and Training attended. I agree with Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes.
I think there are a number of issues involved in children’s education matters, the most fundamental of which is attendance. Students do not get off the starting blocks unless they attend school and participate. We have introduced a range of initiatives, which have been outlined more broadly—covering not just indigenous people—to improve school attendance and to provide additional assistance to ensure we have highly trained teachers who are able to provide, in some instances, one-on-one assistance to the indigenous students who, unfortunately, have missed out.
I will obtain a more detailed answer for Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes from the Minister for Education and Training. However, I refer him to the Premier’s announcements made at the State Labor Conference.
