Speech

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

I acknowledge the First Australians on whose land we meet, and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

The Australian Government values the role of the Australian Medical Association in representing the interests of Australian doctors - in general practice and other specialties, medical students and doctors in training. We especially value the AMA's constructive engagement in the national debate on the future of our health and hospitals system.

In particular, tonight I want to acknowledge the hard work of Andrew Pesce as President of the AMA. I've appreciated Andrew's input and his engagement with the health reform agenda in the meetings that we have had together in recent weeks.

The Government and the AMA are both committed to tackling the long-term challenge of health reform, and we are both committed on the direction we need to take to tackle this challenge - in particular, on the need for stronger clinician leadership within our health system.

In July last year, the AMA told us about the sorts of things that they would like to see in health reform. In a speech to the National Press Club, Andrew said, and I quote:

"Services must be organised and administered as close as possible to the actual delivery of the service (to the bedside)."

He also said:

"Reform must enable more decision-making by health professionals at the local and institutional levels."

"Reform must encourage a move to national standards."

Andrew, we heard you.

What I am going to talk about tonight is what the National Health and Hospitals Network means to you, how you have helped shape this reform and the critical role that you have to play in the future.

In framing this reform, the Government conducted more than 100 consultations with clinicians, health professionals and patients across the country, from major tertiary hospitals through to small primary care centres providing the entire clinical support for several towns.

I have heard firsthand about:

• the need to provide clinicians with leadership and flexibility to determine what works best for their patients;
• the need to recognise that general practitioners are the backbone of our health system - and to properly support and train them;
• the need to train more doctors and to ensure that our next generation of doctors are equipped with a world class education;
• the shortage of health professionals in our rural and remote communities and the demands placed on our dedicated rural doctors, who are often the single practitioner servicing the full spectrum of needs of several small communities;
• the future information technology needs to support our health system;
• the major differences in quality and standards across the nation; and
• the need to support training and research in both our hospitals and in health services in the community.

Again, we have heard you, and as a Government, we are determined to act, after so many years when health reform was considered just too hard to undertake.

The Australian Government believes that now is the time for action on health and hospitals. The health system we have today - though it has served us well - has come to a tipping point.

The current system is fragmented.

Its structure encourages cost shifting and blame shifting between different levels of government.

It wastes resources.

It leaves too many patients waiting at the end of long queues.

It is increasingly unable to cope with the strains under which it operates.

It often leaves key decisions in the hands of bureaucrats far too remote from the communities that health professionals serve.

And it is unprepared for the challenges of the future - an ageing population, rising chronic disease rates, workforce shortages and the rising cost of medical care.

The scale of the challenge is reflected in Treasury's conclusion that without action, State government budgets by 2045-46 will be completely overwhelmed, with health spending consuming their entire revenue.

In other words, as a nation we cannot afford to delay action any longer.

Within our first year in office, we signed a National Health Care Agreement that delivered $64 billion - a 50% increase in on the previous agreement, and last week we announced the most significant reforms to health and hospitals since the introduction of Medicare.

The National Health and Hospitals Network will be nationally funded and locally run.

The Australian Government will become the dominant funder of our public hospital system.

We will devolve responsibility for managing our public hospitals to Local Hospital Networks.

We will take over all funding and policy responsibility for GP and Primary Health Care services.

But we know that much more is needed - and we will have more to say over the coming weeks and months ahead.

We will be addressing the reform of primary care in greater detail because if we are to take pressure off our hospital system, that is going to happen through providing better primary care in the community.

General Practitioners will be very important to those changes.

We will also tackle the long-term shortage of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, building on the record $1.1 billion investment in training more health professionals and the expansion of GP training places that are already being delivered.

We will take the National Health and Hospitals Network to the States at next month's meeting of the Council of Australian Governments and if the States and Territories do not sign up to fundamental reform, we will take this reform plan to the people at the next election - to give the Australian Government all the power it needs to reform the health system.

What I want to talk about with you tonight is what these reforms mean for you as doctors.

First, what a nationally funded network means for you.

Second, what national standards mean for you.

And third, what Local Hospital Networks and clinical leadership mean for you.

Under our plan, for the first time, the Australian Government will permanently fund 60 per cent of the efficient price of all public hospital services. It will also shoulder the burden of rising hospitals costs into the future.

As the dominant funder of the hospital system, the Government will pay for hospital services differently. Instead of providing States with a blank cheque, the Government will pay hospitals directly for each service they provide.

It has not only been patients who have been short changed by jurisdictional buck-passing and system-wide inefficiencies. It has been medicos who have been left to turn patients away from hospital wards due to a lack of available beds. It has been doctors who have had to work in often rundown buildings, without state-of-the-art equipment, as the number of administrative and clerical staff has ballooned to more than 36,000.

Under a National Health and Hospitals Network, things will change - from service provision to the delivery of operating capital and large scale capital works, hospitals will be better resourced into the future.

The level of government with the strongest financial position will foot a dominant share of all hospital costs and it will do so on a permanent basis.

For the first time, we will provide clinicians with the certainty of knowing that when you admit a patient, the hospital is being paid a fair price for the services that you directly deliver. This fair price will be set by an independent national umpire. The umpire will be free from the clutches of either level of Government.

This means no more finger-pointing between governments about the rate of indexation for hospital funding and it means no more arbitrary cuts to the indexation rate - which undermine funding for public hospital services.

Instead, funding will reflect an independent assessment that takes into account clinical advice about what is needed to deliver services properly and efficiently. And, in line with the AMA's recommendations, the efficient price will reflect the varying cost of service delivery across different hospitals in rural and remote locations, and for patients with more complicated conditions.

As the majority funder of the health and hospitals system, the Australian Government will require strong national standards and transparent reporting in the health system. These national standards will reflect the high expectations that patients and clinicians should rightly have of health and hospital services. These national standards will apply across the health system, including:

• Access to hospital care;
• Access to GPs and other local health professionals;
• Safety and quality in the health system; and
• Financial performance.

Today, there is significant variation in waiting times for emergency departments and elective surgery across our eight state and territory health systems.

Last week I said that a national network would for the first time mean tough national standards. For the first time, patients - no matter which hospital they attend, no matter where it is - will know that their hospital is subject to the same strict standards as every other hospital.

This week, I can announce that we will put money on the line to drive those standards.

We must improve waiting times for emergency services. We must improve waiting times for elective surgery.

But consistent with the move to activity-based funding, we won't be handing over blank cheques.

Today I can reveal that we will make additional investments, based on reaching and exceeding those tough national standards. In other words - performance incentives for local hospitals.

This will not be the whole of our extra investments - not by a long shot - but we believe it is crucial to recognise concrete improvements in a concrete way.

This will give local hospitals more funds to deliver essential health services, and drive innovation and improvements across our hospitals.

National standards will also drive better health and hospital outcomes, but to achieve better outcomes, the pursuit of these standards needs to be informed by clinical practice, and that's where clinicians will play a critical role.

The national standards are our destination. It is clinicians, and their expertise, that will provide us with the quickest and surest route of reaching these standards.

Part of reaching the destination is ensuring clinicians have sufficient scope and authority to adapt best practices at the local level. I will return this important matter shortly.

But an equally important part is ensuring that clinicians have sufficient voice to tell decision makers what national best practices are.

The Government will support clinicians in ensuring we have ways of disseminating their experience and their research, and putting it into practice nationally. We will do so by supporting the development of national clinical guidelines, and we will do so by enhancing the role of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, to expand its range of functions to drive evidence based medicine.

And we will underpin our commitment with a new role as the dominant funder of teaching and research in our public hospitals.

Local Hospital Networks are another key element of our reform agenda. As I have made clear, these are not the hospital boards of old, which pitted hospitals against each other in a fight for funding.

Networks will be made up of small groups of public hospitals which will work together to deliver patient care, manage their budgets and answer for their performance.

I know how important this is for clinicians. Across the nation, clinicians tell me they feel locked out of decisions on the delivery of health services in their communities. Everyone in this room knows this damages staff morale, increases turnover and disrupts patient care.

Under our reforms, Local Hospital Networks will have Governing Councils made up of clinicians, and finance and management professionals, who are in touch with local needs. These Governing Councils will work with local clinicians to ensure their expertise - especially on quality and safety - is incorporated in the day to day operation of hospitals.

I know many of you in this room will be members of the various forms of clinical advisory councils that exist today, and I suspect that the same number of you will be frustrated at the constant talk and lack of action arising from these bodies that you devote your precious time and energy to.

Our reform plan will bring a fundamental change to the relationship between clinicians and the CEO of the local hospital. The strings will no longer be pulled by unseen bureaucrats.
Imagine the situation I outlined last week where two clinicians at a regional hospital pioneered the development of new services for elderly patients which decreased their admission rate and provided them with better care in the community.

Instead of spending time putting together business cases that end up in the bottom drawer of a bureaucrat hundreds of miles away, the clinicians will be able to deal directly with the Governing Council, and the Governing Council will have the authority to act.

Let me be clear - clinical leadership will be an integral part of Local Hospital Networks and will be built in at every layer across the National Health and Hospital Network.

The Australian Government will establish Lead Clinician Groups so doctors - who know patients best - will be able to improve service planning and the allocation of clinical services in their area.

Lead Clinician Groups will also be drawn upon to provide solutions to national clinical standards.

These groups will complement the corporate governance of Local Hospital networks - giving local clinicians a voice.

We will make sure that clinicians and representative bodies like the AMA are involved in the development and implementation of lead clinicians groups across the Network.

Reforming the Australian health system will be tough, but if we get the structural reforms in place now, we can build a health network that is sustainable, and fair and efficient; one able to navigate the challenges that lie ahead; and one that reflects the excellence of the medical professionals who serve the needs of patients in Australia every day.

We value the AMA's partnership and valuable contribution to building better health and better hospitals for all Australians.

I thank you.
 

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

I acknowledge the First Australians on whose land we meet, and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

It's an honour to join you today as the people of this great state prepare to make their choice for Tasmania's future and I'm delighted to be here to introduce my friend, the Premier of Tasmania, David Bartlett.

David has brought to the office of Premier a fresh vision for building a strong Tasmania: for the jobs and industries of the future; for supporting every Tasmanian child to achieve their full potential; for quality health care for all.

Friends, these are the right priorities for a stronger Tasmania, and that's why David Bartlett deserves to win on 20 March.

Friends, Tasmania today is a different state to what it was in the '80s and '90s.

There's a sense of self-assurance; a sense of direction; new job; new opportunities; a confidence that Tasmania's best days lie ahead.

Just think of the change Tasmania has achieved.

Before Labor came to office in 1998, Tasmania had the highest unemployment anywhere in Australia. The unemployment rate was 10.6 per cent, compared to an average of 7.8 per cent nationwide.

Today, things are different. Tasmania's unemployment rate is just 5.2 per cent and it's below the nation's average.

The number of jobs has grown by almost 20 per cent. The population has reached 500,000 - and growing.

Tasmania's economic growth rate in the last financial year was the second highest in the nation - and for the first time in history, a Tasmanian is captaining the Australian cricket team. And Ricky Ponting has led Australia to more test victories than any other skipper as well being one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game.

Tasmanians are right to be proud of the achievements of the past 12 years, but this is no time to look backwards - and David is not looking backwards. He's looking ahead: to future challenges; to building a stronger Tasmania; a Tasmania ready for the future with new jobs, better services and greater opportunities for a new generation of Tasmanians.

Friends, I'm proud to have worked together with David since he became Premier almost two years ago: investing in Tasmania's education revolution; improving hospitals and health care for communities across the state; putting Tasmania first in the nation with the National Broadband Network.

Just look at our record, working together.

Together, we took early and decisive action to protect working families from the impact of the global economic recession. The Australian Government's Nation Building Economic Stimulus plan contained a $1.4 billion stimulus to the Tasmanian economy and we've worked hand-in-hand with David's government to deliver the stimulus plan.

Its results are palpable. As the Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia have said, it was the Australian Government's stimulus plan that kept our economy from falling into recession last year. Thousands of families across Tasmania have been saved from losing their jobs; saved from the distress of not meeting the mortgage payments; saved from the anxiety about being able to pay for essentials like school uniforms, car insurance and electricity bills; and saved from the uncertainty of searching for work in a climate where around the world, unemployment has been soaring.

We took action, we made a difference and we saved thousands of jobs. We did it because we're Labor. We stand up for working families. When times get tough, we're determined to do all we can to keep Tasmanians in work, just as we're determined to give every child the best opportunities for the future and to provide for those who cannot work - the sick, the elderly, those with disabilities - with quality care and support, and that includes the 85,000 Tasmanian pensioners who benefited from our $35 per week increase in the single age pension, and the $15 increase for couples.

Today, the government of Premier Bartlett and the government I lead are working closely together to build a stronger Tasmania.

Last week I announced the most significant reforms to our health and hospital system since Medicare almost three decades ago.

The Australian Government is committed to ending the blame-game, the cost-shifting and the inefficiencies that plague our health system. As I announced, we will build a National Health and Hospitals Network - funded nationally, run locally.

I welcome Premier Bartlett's positive response to our plans, and I look forward to working with him on the details of our reforms in the months ahead, but in the meantime, we're continuing to work together to build a stronger health and hospitals system today.

The Australian Government has increased our investment in health and hospitals here in Tasmania by 49 per cent compared to the Howard Government. Under our healthcare agreement, we've increased our investment from $930m to $1.4 billion:

• Our investment in extra elective surgery procedures took 1606 people off the waiting lists in 2008.
• We've put $3.1 million into new equipment for Royal Hobart, Launceston and North West Region hospitals.
• And we're investing $15.5 million in four GP Super Clinics in Burnie, Devonport, Sorrell and Clarence.

We're investing in an education revolution, increasing the Australian Government's investment in Tasmania's schools and education system by 197 per cent compared to the last four years of the Howard Government:

• That includes $439 million in the biggest ever school modernisation project in Tasmania, with 599 projects across 272 schools.
• It includes funding for 6,300 computers in 103 schools.
• And $37 million allocated for Trades Training Centres at 32 schools.

We're getting on with the job, supporting new infrastructure where it's most needed:

• The national investment in Tasmanian transport infrastructure is up 63 per cent in our first two years in office, compared to the last two years of the previous government.
• The Government's Nation Building Program has delivered almost $800 million for road and rail projects, including key Midland Highway investments such as the much-needed Brighton Bypass.
• And we're investing in safer Tasmanian roads, with funding for road safety measures at 40 rail crossing and road accident black spots.

We're investing in local community infrastructure like the night lights at Bellerive Oval so that more Tasmanians can share one of life's great joys - watching a Ricky Ponting double century - as I did in January.

And last week we announced a $12.5 million boost to Tasmania's tourism industry through an upgrade of the Three Capes Track.

We're also investing in affordable housing for Tasmanians who most need it - building 514 new homes, at a cost of $125 million.

Friends, this is action that's delivering for Tasmania: better hospitals, new school halls and classrooms, new infrastructure and affordable housing, real investments that are building a stronger Tasmania and the results of a strong working relationship with David Bartlett and his team.

Friends, there is no greater example of us working together than the National Broadband Network because there's no Premier who better understands the potential of superfast broadband for his state.

Friends, we are living in a time of rapid economic change with many businesses and industries going through difficult transitions. At the same time, we see new opportunities emerging.

Superfast broadband is key to so many of those future opportunities. It's the single most important infrastructure investment we can make in the future of Tasmania. It's got the potential to transform the state's economy.

Friends, we're building a National Broadband Network across Australia - but it's all started here in Tasmania. We know that for too long this state was left behind. Rather than an information superhighway, for many Tasmanians it's been a goat track. Tasmania has had the lowest proportion of households with broadband of any state or territory.

But that's not the only reason why we started the NBN here in Tasmania.

Tasmania is the pioneer state for the National Broadband Network and that's because of the vision of Premier David Bartlett.

When we went out to the market to see who could build a national broadband network, none of the proposals offered value for money, but the Tasmanian Government made the best submission.

It became the starting point for what is now the Tasmanian National Broadband Network, TNBN Co, and it's the vision of Premier Bartlett that has put this project in the fast lane in Tasmania.

Within months of our National Broadband Network announcement, we laid the first optical-fibre broadband cable in the project in July last year. We announced the first sites that would receive superfast broadband services by July this year - Smithton, Scottsdale and Midway Point.

Last October we announced Stage 2 - another seven communities that would receive services and plans for the backbone links in the East Coast, south of Hobart and to the new industrial hub being developed at Westbury.

And just last week, we announced Stage 3 - another 90,000 homes and businesses — 40,000 in Hobart, 30,000 in Launceston and 10,000 in each of Burnie and Devonport - as well as a $100 million equity injection into TNBN Co.

And we've set a goal to connect 200,000 premises over the next 5 years.

Friends, fast broadband will mean better jobs and business opportunities for Tasmanians. It will mean higher productivity, lower emissions, better health care and better education and Tasmania is pioneering superfast broadband because of Premier Bartlett's vision and energy for Tasmania.

Friends, broadband is only one example of how we're working together to build a strong Tasmania.

Another example is our response to the economic challenges in the state's northern regions. Last year, the north was particularly affected by business closures in the food processing and paper sectors.

I received strong representations from Premier Bartlett - alongside Sid Sidebottom, Jodie Campbell and Dick Adams. That's why we teamed up with David to create a $20 million package to respond to support new ventures to generate new jobs and businesses in the north.

The North West and Northern Tasmania Innovation and Investment Fund invited applications for funds - and it's received 126 applications, which are now under review.

In the meantime, we've already supported 53 small and medium size businesses to become stronger, more competitive businesses through the Enterprise Connect Manufacturing Centre in Burnie.

Friends, David Bartlett is a bloke who understands Tasmanian families. A bloke who rolls his sleeves up and works hard for the people of this state. A bloke who cares deeply for his kids, his community and his state.

He's got a vision for a stronger Tasmania. He's got the right priorities for Tasmanian families.

And as Prime Minister, I look forward to working with him to deliver for Tasmania's future.

I'm delighted to introduce to you the Premier of Tasmania, David Bartlett.

 

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

I acknowledge the First Australians on whose land we meet and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

The Australian Government is delivering on the basics.

This morning's National Accounts confirmed once again that we have kept the Australian economy growing strongly - while other economies around the world remain devastated by the global recession.

Earlier this week, we delivered on our commitment to launch the first national curriculum for schools in our nation's history - a curriculum grounded in teaching the basics and one delivered after two years of effort after thirty years of failure.

Today, we turn our attention to health.

Today we are delivering on the most significant reform of Australia's health and hospital system since the introduction of Medicare almost three decades ago.

Starting today, the Australian Government will build a new National Health and Hospital Network to deliver better health and better hospitals for all Australians.

The Government will deliver better hospitals by establishing a national network, that is funded nationally, and run locally.

For the first time in history the Australian Government will take on the dominant funding role for the entire public hospital system.

For the first time, eight state-run systems will become part of one national network.

And there will be one set of tough national standards to drive and deliver better hospital services.

The Australian Government's decision to take on the dominant funding role for the entire public hospital system is designed to:

End the blame game.

Eliminate waste.

And to shoulder the funding burden of the rapidly rising health costs of the future.

The hospital system will be run through Local Hospital Networks.

These Networks will bring together small groups of hospitals in a local area, where local professionals, with local knowledge, are given the necessary powers to deliver better hospital services to their local community.

To fund this Network, the Australian Government will take around one-third of the GST revenues and place it in a new National Hospital Fund to be spent only on health and hospitals.

The Australian Government will take on the dominant share of funding future demands on the system.

At the moment we pay around 35 cents in every dollar of public hospital growth funding. Under our reform plan, we will be funding around 60 cents in every dollar.

This is a comprehensive package that I will put to the States and Territories at COAG on April 11.

My message to them is simple: work with the Australian Government, work with the doctors, nurses and other health professionals of Australia who want reform, work with the clinical leadership of our local hospitals who also want reform - and together deliver better hospitals and better health care for all Australians.

If the states and territories do not sign up to fundamental reform, then my message is equally simple: we will take this reform plan to the people at the next election - along with a referendum by or at that same election to give the Australian Government all the power it needs to reform the health system.

The Australian Government's position is clear.

It also gives effect to my commitment to the Australian people at the last election.

Health and hospital reform cannot, must not, and will not be put off to some distant point in the future.

It must begin now.

The purpose of our plan is simply this: better hospitals, and better healthcare, for all Australians.

This is the single purpose of the new National Health and Hospitals Network (NHHN) we are announcing today.

We will deliver on this commitment by establishing a national network, that is funded nationally, and run locally.

Our plan deals with the reasons why so many Australians seem to fall through the cracks in our current health system.

I share the frustration of patients.

I share the frustration I have heard from our doctors and nurses.

I've heard the stories in hospital after hospital.

? There is too much blame and fragmentation, making it hard for patients to work out which level of Government is responsible for the care they need.

? Too many patients are receiving uncoordinated care because of the lack of integration between hospitals and out-of-hospital services.

? Too many mums and dads can't find proper health care for their kids if they happen to get sick out of normal business hours (which they normally do).

? Too many of our public hospitals are struggling as demand on the system is rapidly outweighing the supply - with one in three emergency department patients, and almost one in six elective surgery patients, waiting for longer than the recommended time for treatment.

? Too many of our local clinical leaders are not adequately involved in decisions about the delivery of health and hospital services in their local communities, when they invariably know best.

And underneath it all, because the current system is a total mess in the organisational relationship between the Commonwealth and the states, there is just too much duplication, overlap and waste.

Failure to fundamentally fix the system would mean that a large part of future investments in the system would be wasted.

Let's give the current problems a human face.

Let's imagine a 67 year old man who is retired and lives in the outer suburbs of one of our major cities.

He's just been placed on a waiting list to get a hip replacement at his local hospital but he's been told there's a wait of around 12 months.

That's 12 months of living with pain, poor mobility and having to rely on his wife to get around.

On the same day a 45 year old woman with a similar hip problem living in another major city, was told that her local hospital could give her a hip replacement in 5 weeks.

Two different people, both in capital cities - but very different standards of care.

The new National Health and Hospital Network aims to deliver a set of national standards, including access to elective surgery.

This means both would get their operations done within a similar timeframe.

If one of them can't get it at their local hospital then the Local Hospital Network will find that person a bed at another hospital within the Network - or with a private hospital if one can't easily be found.

The National Health and Hospitals Network will also recognise that patient needs are best served by empowering our dedicated health professionals.

Imagine the situation of two clinicians at a hospital in regional Australia.

They have pioneered the development of new services for elderly patients with multiple illnesses, based on their knowledge of local health needs.

Their work has reduced hospital admissions and improved the health outcomes of elderly patients who frequently visit their local hospital.

Both clinicians would like to take this pilot into a much larger program for their hospital.

They have been waiting for the bureaucrats in a capital city health department to give them the go-ahead on this program for more than two years.

Under the new National Health and Hospitals Network, the clinicians can approach their clinical representative directly.

Providing their new program meets national clinical standards, the Local Hospital Network - which is more likely to recognise the relevance of the program for the local community - can decide to expand the pilot and make it part of that hospital's day to day operations.

In other words, a new level of local control over the delivery of health services.

In both scenarios, the new National Health and Hospitals Network is designed to deliver better hospitals and better health care.

Doctors want this.

Nurses want this.

And so do the patients totally frustrated by waiting lists or not being able to get on to waiting lists in the first place.

Before the 2007 election, I made a commitment that if elected to government, we would tackle the challenge of reform of the health and hospital system.

That we would end the buck-passing and the blame game.

And that instead, on the reform and the future of the health and hospital system, the buck would stop with me.

Today, the Australian Government honours that commitment.

Today, I honour that commitment.

Each and every word.

Health reform, we know, is one of the greatest long-term challenges facing Australia.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of Australians rely on our health and hospital system to provide quality care for themselves and their families.

Every year, Australians make more than 115 million visits to the local doctor.

Every year, they make use of 54 million hospital services spread across the nation's 762 public hospitals.

Australia's health system employs around 740,000 workers, or one out of every 14 Australian employees - including 60,000 doctors and 230,000 nurses.

In building the new National Health and Hospitals Network for the future, the Australian Government is undertaking a massive reform.

But we do not shrink from that challenge one bit.

The time for fundamental reform is now.

But in rising to the challenge of reform, we are building on that which we have already delivered in our first two years in office:

? A 50 per cent increase in hospital funding over the next five years in the Australian Health Care Agreement - a $64 billion investment.

? An unprecedented $1.1 billion investment in training more doctors, nurses and health professionals, including a 35 per cent increase in GP training places.

? A rural doctors incentive scheme that now extends to 500 additional communities and 2,400 additional doctors to encourage them to stay in the bush.

? For the first time, the Australia Government is investing more than $1.8 billion directly in expanding emergency departments, post-acute care and elective surgery.

? Establishing 36 GP super clinics across the nation to provide flexible, integrated care in local communities.

? And, for the first time, the Australian Government is investing directly in the capital needs of local hospitals.

We have also taken action to put the health system on a more sustainable footing, including by rebalancing support for private health insurance for high income Australians - a fiscally responsible measure that the Opposition last week again blocked in the Senate, despite its potential to free up $100 billion for our health budget over the next 40 years.

The reforms we have delivered so far are helping tackle the immediate pressures in our health and hospitals system - our emergency departments, elective surgery waiting lists and workforce shortages.

But they are just the beginning.

There is much, much more to be done.

That's why two years ago, not long after coming to office, I commissioned the most comprehensive structural review of the operation of the health system in 20 years.

Today we are joined by Dr Christine Bennett who led that review and I take this opportunity to thank Christine and the members of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission for their work.

The Commission concluded in July last year that the health and hospital system is fragmented, is at a tipping point and is unable to cope with the challenges it faces in the years ahead.

In the words of the Commission, "now is the time to act".

Having received and absorbed the Commission's work, the Government over the last six months engaged in a comprehensive consultation process involving more than 100 forums around the nation - 21 of which I attended.

Today I want to thank the doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, health administrators and other passionate advocates who attended these consultations and shared freely their time and wisdom.

Our consultations underscored the need for reform - with the overriding theme of a stronger Australian Government role, coupled with higher national standards and increased funding for public hospitals.

In addition to the Commission's Report, the 2010 Intergenerational Report highlighted that our health and hospitals system is not adequately prepared for future challenges - with the combination of an ageing and growing population, the increased burden of chronic disease, ongoing workforce shortages and rising costs.

Based on the same data, Treasury has concluded that by 2045-46, spending on health and hospitals would consume the entire revenue raised by state governments.

This means that states would not be able to fund their health and hospital system, let alone meet their other responsibilities.

Once again, the time for action is now.

The clear message of both the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission and the Intergenerational Report is that the system needs reform that is fundamental - not just incremental.

Reform that for the first time enables eight state-run systems to become part of a single national network, using consistent national standards to drive and deliver better hospital services.

Funded nationally.

Run locally.

The National Health and Hospitals Network contains seven major reforms.

For the first time, the Australian Government will take on the dominant funding responsibility for all Australia's public hospitals from the states because the states simply cannot afford to fund the future growth of the system.

The Australian Government's funding share will almost double, from 35 per cent today to 60 per cent into the future - equating to an additional $11 billion per year from next year.

The Australian Government will take clear financial leadership in the hospital system, permanently funding 60 per cent of the efficient price of every public hospital service provided to public patients.

We will fund 60 per cent of recurrent expenditure on research and training functions undertaken in public hospitals.

We will fund 60 per cent of capital expenditure - both operating and planned new capital investment - to maintain and improve public hospital infrastructure.

No previous Australian Government has accepted any responsibility for the funding of hospital infrastructure - let alone 60 per cent.

Over time, we will also pay up to 100 per cent of the efficient price of 'primary care equivalent' outpatient services provided to public hospital patients.

These reforms will permanently reverse the decline in the Australian Government funding contribution for public hospital services over the last decade.

They will put an end to the tiresome cycle of the blame game between the Australian Government and the states over hospital funding.

In exchange for relieving pressures on State budgets, the Australian Government will require system-wide reforms to create a better integrated, unified national health and hospitals network, with national standards, national transparency and national accountability.

Right now, too many patients find themselves shunted from one part of the health system to another.

Under the National Health and Hospitals Network, for the first time, the Australian Government will take full funding responsibility for all GP and GP-related services delivered outside hospitals.

Because one level of government will be responsible for both the majority of hospitals costs and all of primary care, more people will be treated outside of hospitals - as they often should be.

With the Australian Government paying more of the hospital bills, it will have the incentive to make sure people are treated through less expensive and more appropriate primary care services.

This is instead of shunting patients into expensive hospital services predominantly paid for by another level of government - albeit paid by the same, long-suffering taxpayer.

That's what I mean by ending cost shift and the blame game.

With the Australian Government responsible for all primary health care services, we can finally deliver better integrated, better coordinated healthcare that is more responsive to the needs of patients.

This is what we have already begun to do through the creation of GP Super Clinics.

Once again, this is but the first step.

By taking full funding and policy responsibility for primary care we can also reduce the number of unnecessary hospital admissions that could be avoided through providing better care in the community - estimated at around 441,000 admissions, or 9.3 per cent of total hospital admissions every year.

Bad for patients.

Bad too for the taxpayer.

To help fund these reforms, we will rebalance financial responsibility in the Federation by dedicating around one-third of GST revenue directly to a new National Hospitals Fund.

The Australian Government will also take the dominant responsibility for funding the future growth of the system.

These funds - in the order of $90 billion over the first five years of the new arrangements - will be dedicated entirely to hospital investments.

We estimate this is likely to cost the Australian national budget a further $15 billion over the decade which would otherwise be borne by the states.

This reform will also significantly address the vertical fiscal imbalance in the federation.

If we fail to address this imbalance, the level of government with the least efficient tax base will continue to bear the burden of the fastest growing area of public expenditure (that is, hospitals) - with detrimental effects for the national economy.

The Australian Government is determined to end the blame game in hospitals and health.

And that's why the Australian Government is putting its own skin in the game.

But under this plan it is important that the States have some skin in the game too - to provide a strong incentive for States to better manage hospital systems and ensure they do not have any reason to start to withdraw money from their health budgets.

To strengthen accountability within the health system, the Australian Government will develop strong national standards for patient care and publish performance statistics for the nation's hospitals - leveraging its increased funding responsibility to deliver a better standard of care.

For the first time there will be nationally consistent performance standards for hospitals in critical areas such as emergency departments and elective surgery, to help reduce waiting times for the public.

For the first time, Australians will also have access to information about how hospitals and health providers are performing - including safety and quality measures, such as the level of adverse events and hospital acquired infections.

These standards will create a more transparent and accountable health system for the Australian taxpayer.

While health and hospital services will be funded nationally - they will be run locally.

For the first time, Local Hospitals Networks, run by local health, financial and managerial professionals, rather than state or, for that matter, federal bureaucrats, will be put in charge of running the hospital system.

The Australian Government will require the establishment of Local Hospital Networks across the country.

The Australian Government will, in time, also fund Local Hospital Networks directly.

Payments will therefore bypass state bureaucracies and empower local clinical leaders to flexibly tailor health services to local needs and local populations.

If local clinical leadership of a hospital can better deliver services locally and save money, they should be allowed to re-invest what they save in the further delivery of services.

This has been a strong and consistent call from clinical leaders across Australia.

Local Hospital Networks will bring together small groups of local hospitals within a geographic or functional connection, who will manage their own budget, deliver coordinated patient care and be held directly accountable for their performance.

Local Hospital Networks will have a professional Governing Council with clinical representatives, and a CEO who is empowered to make day to day operational decisions, and who is accountable for health outcomes.

A system based on Local Hospital Networks will encourage cooperation in delivering better health care coordination across a population area - particularly with local primary care and aged care providers.

In many states, existing regional health bodies are too remote from local decision making.

The creation of Local Hospital Networks will substitute these arrangements and will not be allowed to result in any net addition to bureaucracy - because as a condition of funding, any increase in the number of local staff working at Local Hospital Networks must be matched by a reduction in head office staff numbers in health departments and regional bureaucracies

And staff will be located in local hospitals themselves.

The Government will pay Local Hospital Networks directly for each service they provide, rather than simply providing block funding to the States.

Payments will be made directly, on the basis of an efficient price per hospital service, determined by an independent national umpire.

Currently, the Australian Government provides block hospital funding to states, who then determine how and where this money is spent.

This is like providing a blank cheque.

In the past, neither the Australian taxpayer nor the Australian Government had any idea where the money went.

Or even if it all went to hospitals.

This must stop.

Under the new arrangements, each Local Hospital Network will be funded for every service they provide to a patient.

Alongside our measures to improve transparency and accountability in service delivery, this reform will foster a culture of innovation and self-improvement

It will become easier to identify the best-run hospitals, who will be able to share their expertise and innovations with other hospitals.

This reform will drive hospitals to eliminate waste and will mean that patients will not be pushed out of the hospitals system - as hospitals are paid a fair price for every service delivered.

In addition to the fundamental structural reforms I have announced today, the Australian Government will also take on the dominant role for the future growth of the system beyond a simple linear projection of GST payments.

The gap between GST growth and projected hospital spending growth on a no-policy change basis must still be met. And that is where the Australian Government must step in.

Within this framework of fundamental reform, further initiatives must also be embraced in the future including:

? the inadequacy of hospital bed numbers now including specific problems in emergency departments, elective surgery and sub-acute care;

? further reforms in the expansion of primary care;

? the undersupply of doctors, nurses and other health professionals;

? the inadequacy of electronic health records across the system; and

? preventative health care, aged care, mental health and dental services.

These also formed part of the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission's deliberations.

The Government is also signalling today that we will be acting in these areas in the future.

But further significant investment in these critical areas must be built on the basis of the fundamental reforms to the system that are part of the National Health and Hospitals Network.

Reform is essential.

You can paint a wall with the most expensive paint in the hardware store.

But before you pick up a paintbrush, you have to do the preparation. You have to strip off the old wallpaper and see what's underneath. You have to sand the walls and repair the cracks first.

Because if you don't, the wall might look alright for a couple of months, but the cracks and the flaws will reappear.

And you'll end up having to repaint that wall time after time.

Our health system has cracks and flaws. Some of them we can see, some of them are under the paint.

And those flaws have been repainted and papered over for too long.

We're doing the preparations now. With the structural reforms I am announcing today, we can go on to build and extend a health system for the 21st century.

We can do this together - with the doctors, nurses and other health professionals who want reform - and with the sign up of the states and territories.

And if the states and territories do not sign up, then we will take this reform plan to the people at the next election - along with a referendum by or at that same election to give the Australian Government all the power it needs to reform the health system.

What I have outlined today is also a landmark reform to one of the most important sectors of the Australian economy:

I think the Australian people have been waiting too long for health reform.

So today, Australia has a choice.

We can continue blaming others when things go wrong.

Or we can take the hard road of reform.

Building a new Health and Hospitals Network is fundamental to building a stronger and fairer Australia.

A stronger Australia because better health and better hospitals are critical for workforce participation, for productivity and for the efficient use of public finance.

A fairer Australia because if you don't have universal access to quality health care, the fair go has gone back out the door.

Just like it did with WorkChoices.

And we all know from history how ideologically hostile our political opponents have been towards universal health care in the past.

I know health and hospital reform won't be easy.

It never has been.

It'll be one of the hardest reforms that the Government will tackle.

But this Government is working hard to build Australia's future.

We are proud of our record of achievements in keeping the economy going.

We are proud of what we are achieving in education.

And we know what we must now achieve in health.

A National Health and Hospital Network, that is funded nationally and run locally, is about delivering the basics.

And this Government intends to get on with the job.
 

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Today we honour courage.

Today we honour sacrifice.

Today we honour compassion.

These are the noblest human values. These are the noblest Australian values.

These are the values that shine like a winter star, for this is a story which must be told and told and told again, because in the story of the Centaur we see the worst and best of humanity at work.

Today we honour all those who lost their lives on the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur and we honour those who survived, floating on rafts clinging to wreckage, praying for rescue.

We honour the families whose lives were torn apart by this cold, brutal, inhuman act of sinking a hospital ship, the families who then waited two-thirds of a century to discover the final resting place of their loved ones.

The images from the ocean floor that we saw a few short months ago when the wreck of the Centaur was discovered were a voyage through time - and the voyages of time: the ship's bell; the sprung frames of hospital beds; a lone soldier's boot; the vivid red of the hospital cross on the ship's hull, this cross, the Red Cross; the Australia slouch hat that sits motionless on the ocean bed alongside the wreck standing almost as a silent sentinel to the atrocities of war.

All of these things of the deep are silent, eloquent, permanent reminders of the violence meted upon the men and women of the Centaur just before dawn on that autumn day 67 years ago.

Let us be clear: sinking an unarmed hospital ship, clearly marked with the internationally recognised symbol of the Red Cross, is a violation of international law.

No ifs. No buts. No maybes.

But more than that - it is a complete violation of the most basic principles of human decency.

No ifs. No buts. No maybes.

The Centaur was a vessel of mercy and it was suck without mercy by a vessel of war, and its wreck will forever be a sepulchre for those 268 souls who perished, a memorial to the 75 merchant navy personnel, 193 Australian service men and women, doctors, nurses, orderlies, cooks and stewards.

Designated now as a war grave. Now protected ever more from intrusion. Forever now a sacred place. Forever now a reminder that the preservation of your freedom was purchased with the blood, the sweat and the tears of those who came before us.

Forever also a reminder of how close the war came to our own shores, to Australian shores to Queensland shores, because Centaur, while perhaps less known elsewhere in the nation, has always occupied a special place in the hearts of Queenslanders.

We felt as if our own home, barely 70 miles from where we are today, had been violated.

Today's service reminds us too of that thread of time that links the past to the present, for though the Centaur was lost 67 years ago, not until today has our nation been able to pay its respects formally to those who were lost and to share in the searing memories of those who survived.

Some of those survivors are still with us - survivors like Martin Pash, who is here with us today, who I had the honour to meet before the service, and Bob Westwood and Matty Morris, who are marking today privately.

But most are no longer with us.

People like Second Mate Richard Gordon Rippon, whose navigational skills were vindicated years later when his original calculations - made 40 minutes before the torpedo attack - steered David Mearns' search team to within one nautical mile of the Centaur's resting place.

People like Captain Richard Salt, who was about to retire but was persuaded to make one more trip - with the Centaur.

People like Sister Nell Savage, who symbolised the ANZAC spirit of resilience in adversity, ignoring her own injuries to care for other survivors and to boost flagging morale as they waited and waited and waited in the water and awarded the George Medal - recognising a woman who signed on to be a healer, not a hero.

Nothing now can change what happened in those brief, fateful moments 67 years ago, and nothing can replace the years of loss and uncertainty for friends and families, but my hope, and the hope of the nation, is that the discovery of the Centaur can bring peace of mind and the possibility of healing of souls.

You know now the final resting place of your loved ones after so many, many decades. That is why we became involved in the search.

Many of you sitting in this Cathedral today are thinking of a loved one - a parent or grandparent, an uncle or aunt, a friend or a mate. This service is a chance to remember them, and to honour them, and to acknowledge their service to Australia.

This is a day for the nation to honour them just as we do today here in this great Cathedral, so too do others across the nation with us, to write one final chapter in the Centaur's history because in this great Australian family, Centaur is part of us now, just as we are part of Centaur.

Her story is our nation's story.

Lest we forget.
 

I acknowledge the First Australians on whose land we meet, and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

It's an honour to join you on this sacred ground for the Australian Labor Party.

The site of past election campaign launches by Don Dunstan.

The man who represented Norwood in Parliament for more than a quarter of a century.

The man recognised as among the greatest Labor leaders and the greatest Australian Premiers.

The man who transformed South Australia - building a modern, sophisticated, confident and outward-looking South Australia that became a beacon for the nation.

Today, the bloke who started political life working for Don Dunstan, returns to the Norwood Town Hall.

As your leader.

As your Premier.

And seeking a fresh mandate from the people of South Australia.

Mike is Australia's most experienced Premier.

Mike Rann is an unapologetic champion for South Australia.

Most importantly, Mike is a leader who has delivered for South Australia.

With new industries.

New businesses.

New jobs for a new generation of South Australians.

In short a new vision for South Australia's future.

Friends, eight years ago, before Mike Rann became Premier, it was a different story for this state.

South Australia's unemployment rate was above the nation's average, at 7.2 per cent.

Kids were leaving to find jobs elsewhere.

And South Australians were worrying about their future.

Eight years later, things have changed.

Unemployment is just 4.4 per cent - well below (and no longer above) the nation's average.

The number of jobs in South Australia has grown by almost 20 per cent - as young people now stay rather than giving up and leaving the state.

And major projects are now coming to South Australia - not leaving South Australia, as in the past.

Friends, South Australia has experienced one of the greatest transformations of any state in the Federation.

And this is not an accident.

It's the result of Mike Rann, his cabinet and his government, working, working, working.

Providing strong leadership.

Providing responsible economic management.

And Mike always leading from the front.

But all this could be put at risk if an untested, ill-prepared and risky Liberal Party is allowed to slide back into power on March 20.

Friends, in the two years since the new Australian Government came to office nationally, we have built a strong partnership with the Rann Government.

Partnership is not a word.

Partnership is a fact.

Partnership investing in nation-building infrastructure.

A partnership in bringing the jobs and industries of the future to this great state.

And partnership in helping secure the future of South Australia's water supply.

From the day we established Infrastructure Australia, to set national priorities for infrastructure investment, Mike was the first Premier beating down my door.

And from the beginning, one thing was clear.

When Mike comes with an idea or proposal - it's never sloppy or half-baked.

It's worked out, thought through and carefully costed.

That's why South Australia's plans were among the first projects in the nation to be endorsed by Infrastructure Australia.

Since we came to office nationally, the Australian Government's investment in road and rail infrastructure in South Australia has increased by 264 per cent, compared to the Howard Government.

Like the Australian Government's $500 million investment in the South Road upgrade.

Almost $300 million for the electrification of Gawler rail line north.

$291 million to extend the Noarlunga rail line south down to Seaford.

$61 million investment million to extend the Adelaide O-Bahn road right into the heart of the city.

Our investment through the Local Government Reform Fund in four projects here in Adelaide - to develop new, innovative approaches to long-term city planning.

And let's never forget about our partnership on water.

Our investment of $328 million to double the capacity of Adelaide's desalination plant - powered by renewable energy - a plant capable of securing half of Adelaide's future water needs.

Do you know, the previous Federal government never invested a dollar in urban rail or urban water.

Not a single dollar.

That has now changed.

And changed fundamentally.

And if you want evidence of what partnership is all about - it's about real projects on the ground that would make a real different to the lives of working families.

I said before the transformation of South Australia has been profound.

And nowhere is this more evident than in the transformation of the South Australian economy.

An economy now diversifying into high-value industries and high-skilled jobs.

Transforming the economy from traditional manufacturing into high-tech manufacturing, major defence projects, renewable energy and advanced industries to support mining and information technology.

Industries that are driving the future growth of this economy.

And industries that are generating high-skilled, rewarding jobs for our kids today and for future generations.

Of course, little of this would have been possible had we stood idly by last year as economies around the world fell like nine pins.

As millions of workers in Europe and America lost their jobs - and still remain out of work.

Together with Mike's government, we decided to make a difference.

The Australian Government has made a $4.2 billion investment in South Australia through our nation-building infrastructure stimulus plan.

The result for the nation (and for South Australia) - among the major advanced economies.

The highest growth.

The second lowest unemployment rate.

The lowest debt.

The lowest deficits.

And the only one not to go into recession.

Indeed, in the last financial year South Australia grew by 1.4 per cent.

The second highest growth rate in the nation.

And a country mile ahead of the rest of the world.

And while the auto industry was collapsing around the world, we did it differently in Australia.

We did it differently in South Australia.

The Australian Government's $6.2 billion New Green Car Plan is securing future jobs and future opportunities for local car manufacturing.

Just over twelve months ago, I visited the heart of Australia's $7 billion automotive industry in Elizabeth to launch an all-new, fuel-efficient, low-emission small car - the result of a $149 million co-investment with Holden.

This is a great win for South Australian manufacturing.

For Australian manufacturing.

For family budgets.

And for the environment.

So you ask what partnership means.

It's not a slogan.

It's a reality.

And one that makes a real difference on the ground to the needs of working families.

We've increased our investment in health and hospitals here in South Australia by 43 per cent compared to the Howard Government.

We're investing in an education revolution, including $1.4 billion in the biggest school modernisation project ever seen in this state - spread across 789 schools.

And we're tackling the huge challenge of securing South Australia's future water supply.

For too long, this challenge was neglected both by the Commonwealth, the eastern states and previous governments of this state.

But now the challenge is being tackled head-on.

For the first time, the Australian Government has now committed over $1 billion to new water infrastructure projects in South Australia.

For the first time, we are also buying back water rights to restore our rivers to better health.

We have now secured the purchase of 797 gigalitres of water entitlements at a cost of $1.27 billion - despite strong opposition from the Liberals.

And for the first time, we have a Commonwealth Minister with national responsibility for the overall cap on the Murray Darling and a Basin-wide plan to give effect to that cap.

And that minister is a South Australian - Senator Penny Wong.

Nobody deserves more credit for the changes in national water policy than Mike Rann.

Mike has been unrelenting in demanding South Australia gets its fair share.

Just ask the Victorians.

Of course there's no quick fixes - we all know that.

South Australia's challenges with water shortages have been accumulating for well over a century.

But finally, there's real action underway.

So you ask what partnership means.

It means what we have done together in just two short years on the economy, on infrastructure, on schools, on hospitals and on water.

The absolute basics of what governments must be about.

Friends, Mike Rann is the bloke who's taken this state from being behind the pack.

And he's put South Australia out in front.

He's got plans for South Australia's future.

And deserves to be able to finish the job.

And as Prime Minister, I look forward to working with him to deliver for South Australia's future.

It's my pleasure to introduce to you my friend, the Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann.
 

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

I acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation on whose land we meet, and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

This is a great project.

What the Indigenous Land Corporation has built here at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence is a world-class facility and it symbolises the dawn of a new era in Indigenous education, engagement and leadership because the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence is a place that offers great hope, great opportunities, and great practical help for Indigenous Australians to reach their potential.

As the Centre's CEO, Jason Glanville has said, and I quote:

"We need to get away from the deficit language of disadvantage and have a real and meaningful conversation about excellence. This centre is about building hope for the next generations. We want profound outcomes."

Profound outcomes that have the power to change lives, now and in the future.

The Indigenous Land Corporation's $50 million investment in this centre is about more than just bricks and mortar. It represents a considerable social investment, too: an investment in the 5,000 or so Indigenous kids from communities across Australia who will come through this Centre every year; an investment in health and wellbeing, in sport, in the arts and culture; an investment in programs that will allow these kids to develop a sense of self-worth, a sense of self-respect, and a sense of self-reliance - the essential qualities of a productive, contributing member of the community.

Education will be the cornerstone of their success. We must improve the educational outcomes for Indigenous children.

As I said in my annual report on Closing the Gap to the federal Parliament earlier this month, the gap in meeting literacy and numeracy standards between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students is large - as much as 29.4 percentage points for Year 5 reading, which is why the intensive literacy tutorial centre that this Centre is running, in close partnership with Macquarie University and the Exodus Foundation, is so important.

The primary school kids who come through this program will get a real boost.

Over the course of the six month program, we're hopeful that their literacy levels will rise by up to two years.

That is a phenomenal outcome, and I can tell you that after speaking with the team here, they will not settle for anything less than phenomenal outcomes.

A couple of weeks ago, on the Gold Coast, I was lucky enough to see a magnificent game of football - the inaugural rugby league Indigenous All Stars match. This was a game of football which reminded us that winning is not just about the score line - even though the good guys won. It was a night reminded us of the power of sport to knock down barriers and inspire pride in Indigenous identity, and we know that some of the most effective programs for young Indigenous people are the ones linking sporting and education opportunities.

It's why we run the Sporting Chance Program, that program supports the excellent work of the Clontarf school-based sports academies, which are achieving school attendance rates of nearly 80 per cent and now have 2,300 students enrolled in 36 schools.

The Sporting Chance Program also supports the Former Origin Greats to establish school-based sports academies and their Achieving Results Through Indigenous Education (ARTIE) program, and the dedicated staff here are partnering with not-for-profit organisations to cultivate talent and create opportunities to develop brighter futures for our young people.

Organisations like:

• the YMCA, which will operate the Eora Sports, Arts and Recreation Centre and Eora Campus;
• the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy will be on site here to deliver sport, wellbeing, learning and cultural programs; and
• the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team, which will run sports, wellbeing and personal development camps here at the Centre.

The Centre will also partner with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience, whose objective is to increase Year 10, Year 12 and university admission rates for all Indigenous Australian students, because success at the NCIE is not all about academic achievement.

This Centre may stand for excellence, but it also stands for inclusiveness, growth and integrity. It is already helping to create a deeper and richer understanding of Indigenous culture in the wider community and one of the unexpected catalysts for that is the fantastic state-of-the-art public gym here at the Centre. In its first month, 900 members have joined up and more than half are Aboriginal.

What the staff here are really pleased about is that many of these members are older Indigenous men and women, who we know are over-represented in poor health statistics - people who have never set foot in a gym before but now they are using the gym regularly because the fact that all the operational staff in the gym are Indigenous has broken down the barriers for them.

Jason said, and I quote:

"Having blackfellas and whitefellas - particularly older Aboriginal men and women - training alongside each other is a powerful experience for both. This is true grassroots reconciliation in action."

As we know, from little things, big things grow.

It is no wonder then that the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence marks what many are calling the Renaissance of Redfern.

There is a very real sense of rejuvenation and renewal around this iconic suburb, a renewal that the Redfern community has worked towards for many years but which now has a focus and tangible symbol in the form of this Centre.

The NCIE is built on the site of the old Redfern Primary School and it provides a safe environment for young people across this country to engage, to learn and to be inspired - while offering job opportunities for Indigenous people.

I'm advised that the target for Indigenous employment was exceeded during the construction phase, with 35 Indigenous employment positions over the course of the project. It is anticipated that more than 30 Indigenous people will be employed in sport, recreation, youth and community programs, and hospitality when the Centre is fully operational.

These jobs are important to the Australian Government's commitment to closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage, including halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade.

This means we need an additional 100,000 Indigenous Australians to find and keep jobs over the next nine years. We have a vested interest in making this happen - and not just because it is critical for social justice.

There is an equally strong economic argument for lifting workforce participation. Over the next 10 years, 130,000 young Indigenous Australians will enter the population of working age Australians.

We need to guarantee that they have the education and skills needed to move from school, TAFE and university into the workforce, and that they get a fair go when they look for a job.

Just the other night I attended the Business Leaders Forum in Canberra. This initiative was about getting governments, community leaders and business leaders together to talk about how we improve employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

We talked about opening doors and removing obstacles to employment, about changing company cultures to encourage effective recruitment and retention of Indigenous employees.

As I said, the Australian Government is committed to Closing the Gap and I am confident that the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence can play a significant positive role in helping us achieve that.

It is now two years and two weeks since the Apology to the Stolen Generations. We know the apology was not the end of the healing process. It was only the beginning.

But since the Apology, we have seen a renewed focus on creating opportunities for Indigenous people in this country.

We have committed our support for the establishment of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples and continue to engage with Indigenous communities across Australia in a range of Closing the Gap initiatives and priorities.

In backing up this commitment, governments around Australia have committed over $4.6 billion in funding across a range of reforms to address chronic disease, housing conditions, employment, education and service delivery.

However, funding alone is not enough to make sure these gaps are closed - we need unprecedented cooperation from all sectors of the Australian community.

With the focus often placed on remote Indigenous communities, we won't close the gap if we don't also focus on the 75 per cent of Australia's Indigenous people who live in urban and regional areas.

All governments, families and communities have a duty to make sure our kids get the education needed to lead full, productive and rewarding lives so that all Australian can enjoy the same choices.

There is a really important word in this Centre's name: excellence.

I hope that word is a constant reminder to all who pass through these doors of just what can be achieved through hard work, the guidance of good people and the grasping of opportunities.

I wish the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence - its staff and students - every success.

I congratulate you on the first class facility that you have built.

I congratulate you, in advance, for the heights you will reach, and I congratulate you for creating a place where the hopes and dreams of Indigenous Australia will be encouraged and nurtured.

It is now my pleasure to officially declare open the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence.
 

In politics, words are very easy. Doing things is very hard. And what inspires me about your presence here this evening is that you are doing things. You are doing real things. You are providing opportunities to change people's lives and change them forever.

Sometimes, in the challenge of reconciliation, we lose heart. Sometimes we think it's all too hard. Sometimes we just think that for every success there are 10 failures, and why go on?

But what encourages me about your presence here this evening, and the 150 or so business leaders who were turned away from being here this evening, is the spirit of the nation is alive and well and wants to do things.

It doesn't want to emote about it, doesn't want to feel good about it - it wants to do things.

This is a very hard area. You all know that. That's why you have succeeded in the fields of endeavour which have brought you to this gathering this evening. It's a very hard area, and it therefore requires hard and determined people - hard and determined people whose heart is still tender and warm, and that again is the spirit I see present in this gathering this evening.

Whenever you feel discouraged, and I say this to my Indigenous brothers and sisters here this evening and to those of you from the non-Indigenous community, pause for a moment and reflect a bit on the journey on which we've come just over the last couple of years.

This is the place in which we apologised to the Stolen Generation, and we've had moving testimony this evening about the impact on just one of them. The thing that hit me in the heart from the Welcome to Country was the phrase "I grew up without knowing that Aboriginal people existed". How extraordinary. How frighteningly extraordinary.

But that is the reality from which we have come. It's a sad reality, it's a cruel reality, it's a heartless reality, and it's for that which we gathered as a nation on all sides of politics and from all parts of the country to simply say sorry - and we did.

But as I said on that occasion, words without deeds are but a clanging gong, a hollow symbol, and count for nothing. And that's where as a nation we embarked upon this journey called Closing the Gap.

I'll come to the practical parts of it in a minute. But when you lose heart, reflect on where we've come in just the last couple of years.

What really affected me just the other night was attending a football game on the Gold Coast in the great and incomparable State of Queensland. [Laughter] I had you all with me until that point. [More laughter]

So as I sat there with Jenny [Macklin] and with Twiggy [Forrest] and others, Linda Burney, Smiley [William Johnstone], folks from near and folks from far, I was absolutely stunned, the fact that we were there with a full stadium of people watching this game unfold. And the nation felt to me as if it was at one, wanting this enterprise to succeed, for which this game of football was an outward and visible sign of, to paraphrase the good nuns who taught Aunty [Ruth Bell] before, an inward and perhaps spiritual event.

Because there you had the world of rugby league, the NRL, the ARL, Smiley, the whole mob, out there on the field, Indig, non-Indig - it was great. Fantastic game of football, too, and the good guys won.

But you know something? The crowd loved it and the nation enjoyed it.

And so when you start to feel weighed down by it all, just step back every now and then and reflect that the spirit of getting this right is alive and well in the good people of Australia.

Now, to the practical business of what you are doing.

My first responsibility tonight is to each and every one of you, as Indigenous and non-Indigenous business leaders, is to say thank you. I mean it. I really do.

I'm married to a businesswoman. Creating a job doesn't happen like that. You operate under a bottom line. You operate with the disciplines of your banks; you operate with the disciplines of the marketplace; you operate with the disciplines of what your firm does best. And within all those constraints, what you have done as business leaders is to say 'we can make a difference'.

I just find that so encouraging, so inspiring.

Some may be just starting out on this particular journey. And I've met one or two this evening. Some are long seasoned in it and have seen the upsides and have seen the downsides and the waves on the way through. But you know, we are making a difference, because you are making a difference.

The huge firms we know something of - the BHPs and the Rios. Can I just say to large companies like that, and there are many of them here this evening and not just in the mining and resources sector, thank you for staying the course. It's good that you've done so.

I could say by reprimand that you started late, but I won't, because the nation started late. All of us started late.

But it is also the other businesses and the other firms in the financial services sector, in the manufacturing, retail, hospitality, tourism, right across the spectrum, people seeing where they are and realising what they can to transform a young Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person's life.

So, seriously, and from my heart and from my head, thank you for that which you have done, that which you are doing, and that which you have resolved so to do.

The second is this - that I really do get it when so many of you say to me: "Kevin, we just to help. Our challenge is not throwing the doors open. We've overcome those barriers. Our challenge is finding the people." I get it. Most of us get it around this gathering this evening.

Which is why I'm equally inspired by what so many people here are doing this evening in school education and what comes after it. The great work being done in Queensland, and that's not in reference to the State - it actually was a reference to the extraordinary work being done in pioneering approaches to retaining kids at school. The extraordinary work being done in the West and now much more broadly by Gerard Neesham and the Clontarf Academy; the great work being done by Andrew Penfold, getting kids from Indigenous communities into the boarding schools of our country, and he mentioned to me just before the great work, I think, under Mark's [Arbib] portfolio of having now hundreds and hundreds of kids, Indigenous kids, in school-based apprenticeships.

So, in having the pipeline of people come through, can I say to each one of you engaged in that work at the coal face of what comes before school, of what's happening in our schools, and what is needed to keep kids at school and provide those pathways beyond school and through university and into the financial institutions to work - thank you, because that is one huge part of the jigsaw.

If I have a third thing to say tonight, it's kind of how we fit in, the Government. I was talking earlier this evening to Gerard Neesham, and, as you know, we are backing Clontarf, we are backing what Andrew Penfold's doing, we're backing what Twiggy Forrest is doing, we're backing what so many of you are doing around the country. But I was taken, in particular, by part of my conversation with Gerard about why it is that we in Government actually prefer to work with you beyond Government.

And that is because if we can bring our resources to bear, with continuity, with strength and with vigour, and persistence and certainty, the magic really happens when we harness that of people beyond Government and their passion and commitment, professional expertise and zeal. In Clontarf, we see that. I discovered, to my horror, how much money we're spending with Clontarf this evening. Someone should have given me the brief. Gerard, you've done very well - and so it is across the spectrum.

Didn't stop Gerard from asking for more, by the way - a lot more.

But you know something? It actually works well if we, creatively, are working with each other. Our job in Government when it comes to these great challenges of Closing the Gap, is to hold fast to the targets we must reach, be clear about them and be accountable in the progress that we are making towards them, but to be flexible and open about what each situation and each community demands as the local response and how you as individual firms and schools and school-related enterprises can best fit in.

It is that creative and dynamic partnership for which there is no perfect template, which, I think, will realise for us our greatest strength.

It's a long way off. Let's be honest about it. The tasks ahead are huge, the challenges formidable, but we are exploring a new way. The classic view, the Government does all, doesn't work. The alternative view, which is that random acts of philanthropic endeavour by those of you who feel virtue in your soul, it's great, but it's not comprehensive.

The creativity lies in bringing these two worlds together, and that is what we seek, in our own way, to do.

To the ministers who work with me on this, can I say to Jenny and to Mark and to others who are here, thank you. These two ministers, in particular, have their hearts and their minds fully engaged in this great enterprise, and I really would say to both of them in front of this audience how much I appreciate that work.

It's hard, it's difficult, and it can be discouraging, but with these ministers, let me tell you, you have an open door and through the Government a willing response in terms of things that work practically at the local level - and we mean it.

We will be held to account each year in this place when we, in the House of Representatives, deliver a report on or about the anniversary of the Apology to Indigenous people. The focusing thing about that report is that it is our national bottom line. It is our national balance sheet. It is our national reconciliation of accounts each year.

The targets we have set, the investments we've made, and the changes we have wrought or the failures that we have encountered. It's a good discipline for the nation, but we'd never, ever get there were it not for you making it happen in the field.

Aunty said in conclusion that she dreamt of the day when an Indigenous Australian will be Prime Minister of this country. You know something? I was first introduced to Closing the Gap on the 40th anniversary of the '67 referendum, at an event held down the road here at the Old Parliament House.

I didn't know much about Closing the Gap, to be quite honest, until I sat down with some Indigenous leaders who explained to me that it really had some horsepower. I also remember on that occasion we sang together 'From Little Things Big Things Grow' , and I think that's what we're doing here, changing all those lives, tens, then hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands. And that means within our lifetime Indigenous leaders in the ranks of politics, including the highest offices of the land, as should be the case.

Australian business, this journey is long and the difficulties will be great. But it won't happen without each of you fully hitched to the cart of reconciliation and what we can do for the future of the Indigenous people of this ancient land.

I thank you.

[ends]
 

I acknowledge the First Australians on whose land we meet, and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

I thank you all for your support in being here today to launch Organ Donor Awareness Week, and I can assure you that the Australian Government is absolutely committed to increasing the rate of organ and tissue donation in Australia and achieving world's best practice outcomes.

In July 2008 I announced the $150 million World's Best Practice Approach to Organ and Tissue Donation for Transplantation.

The national reform plan has three core elements:

• a coordinated, national approach to organ donation and transplantation;
• dedicated clinical staff on the ground in all our major hospitals; and
• increased community awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation and the difference it can make.

I can tell you that the Australian Government is firmly committed to the full implementation of the Plan and increasing Australia's donation rates. We are working with governments in every state and territory, who are also committed to the plan through the Council of Australian Governments. Over the past 12 months we have laid the foundations of the new national system.

In order to spearhead the national reform process, we established the Organ and Tissue Authority on 1 January last year, and DonateLife agencies in each state and territory were formally established as a national network on 1 July last year. State medical directors are overseeing the clinical network in each jurisdiction and are linked back to the Organ and Tissue Authority.

The DonateLife network now has over 150 people on the ground, including new medical and nursing staff devoted to organ donation working in 76 local hospitals across the country.

Clinical triggers to underpin and improve the recognition of potential organ donors have been endorsed by:

• the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society
• the Australian College of Emergency Medicine
• the Australian College of Critical Care Nursing, and
• the College of Intensive Care Medicine.

And these triggers are being implemented throughout the hospital system.

In addition, around 50 organisations have signed up to the National Communications Charter to enable consistent and coordinated community awareness and education activities.

The challenge of lifting Australia's organ donation and transplantation rates was never going to be an easy task, but the pieces of the jigsaw are now being carefully slotted into place and we can begin the work in earnest.

While we still have a long way to go before the levels of organ donation rise to where they need to be in this country, the early signs are encouraging. Many passionately committed and highly professional people are now working together to implement the national reform plan.

It is now time to ensure that the resources and systems which are being put in place equate to what matters most - more organ donors and more life-saving transplants. Now is the time for all elements of the new national system to pull together and focus on achieving world's best practice outcomes; to make sure that every potential donor is recognised within our hospital system and that their family is given the opportunity to have their loved one's intention to donate carried out; to promote the "discover, decide, discuss" message so that every family is clear about their loved one's wishes if a tragedy does occur.

Groups like Gift Of Life - who work tirelessly at the local level to raise awareness of organ donation within the community - have an important role to play, but each and every one of us also has a role: to lead our friends, our workmates or our families in a conversation about organ donation.

A conversation that encourages them to: Discover. Decide. Discuss, three simple words that can literally be the difference between life and death. While it is up to all of us to discover, decide and discuss, families also have a responsibility to respect each other's wishes, because the families of potential donors always make the final decision about whether organ donation can take place.

Glenys Cody had to make that decision, but luckily she had discussed organ donation with her family.

As a mum, she had that conversation with her boys Lachlan, Hayden and eldest son, Angus, and because of that conversation, there are at least three people out there who will be forever thankful to Angus, yet they never even met him, because when 14-year-old Angus died after an accident in 2008, Glenys was able to say with 100 per cent certainty that organ donation was what her young son wanted.

Glenys and her boys talked about how once you're gone, you don't need your organs anymore. The boys agreed wholeheartedly, so when Angus was on life support, Glenys did not hesitate for a second. She wanted to make sure that, despite the tragedy of Angus's death, it would not be a waste.

Donating Angus' organs helped with the grieving process because as, Glenys said:

"We didn't get the miracle we had hoped for...but somebody else and their family did."

Nobody wants to be in the situation of having a loved one die, and nobody wants the added pressure of 'guessing' their loved one's wishes about organ donation - and no doctor or nurse wants to add to that pressure.

Deputy Director of DonateLife ACT, Dr Greg Hollis, said, and I quote:

"Explaining and normalising the end-of-life process, with a focus on dignity and respect for the individual, is key to reassuring the family of the integrity of the process."

And Nicole Coleman, the Clinical Nurse Consultant for Organ and Tissue Donation for Hunter and New England Health, said that the new funding has reinvigorated performance and boosted morale, bringing new ideas and new enthusiasm. Ms Coleman said, and again I quote:

"That means the message getting further out into the community and that has already translated to more notifications of people willing to donate."

At this moment, there are more than 1,700 Australians on official waiting lists - people hoping and praying that someone out there had a conversation about organ donation with their family, just like Glenys and Angus did. People just like Dean Jobson who we saw with Chris in the session a little earlier today.

Dean is just your average knockabout bloke, but this average knockabout bloke has been waiting for a heart transplant for 19 months and while he waits he can't work. His dad has had to retire from his job to be Dean's carer and Dean can't get out and play the cricket and hockey that were such a big part of his sporting and social life.

Dean could wallow in self-pity, but he doesn't. He has this fantastic attitude. He said, and I quote:

"You'd go nuts if you thought about it too much. You've just got to live with the cards you've been dealt and I'd prefer to be alive and on a transplant waiting list than the alternative. I've still got a chance."

Dean and his family are registered donors because, in Dean's words "it's just the right thing to do."

It is the right thing to do.

Research consistently tells us that the vast majority of Australians support organ donation, but we need to make sure that this translates to people making their wishes known to their families. We need a cultural shift where discussion about organ donation becomes commonplace.

If someone makes an informed decision to not become a donor, they will not be condemned, but fear and a lack of knowledge of organ donation will condemn many of those on waiting lists to an uncertain future.

When we launched DonateLife last November, my family and I made the decision to become a DonateLife family: a family who discovers the facts about organ and tissue donation; a family who makes informed decisions about whether to become organ donors; a family who discusses each other's wishes.

I implore all Australian families to do the same.

One in two Australians don't know the wishes of their family members, and one in three Australians don't know that their family's consent is required for donation to proceed. The fact is that even if you are registered as a donor, your family will be asked to give consent for donation to take place. If all Australians knew their loved one's wishes, we would have a much higher family consent rate and we could save more lives.

Today I am pleased to launch a new resource to support families in having what can be a challenging conversation. The Family Discussion Kit is a practical guide to help families have that conversation. It:

• provides facts about organ and tissue donation;
• dispels some of the more commonly-held myths; and
• shares stories of donor and recipient families.

The Family Discussion Kit is available as an online resource at www.donatelife.gov.au

If more Australian families discuss and accept each other's wishes about organ and tissue donation, we can achieve a higher family consent rate that our current rate of just 56 per cent. We can do better.

I want to emphasise again that the Government is committed to delivering major improvements to organ donation rates across Australia. With the national reform plan well and truly underway, we look forward to realising the benefits of this united effort.

I know that will be a great achievement for everyone involved in this cause - community groups, such as Gift of Life, doctors, nurses and governments alike.

To all those here today who are travelling their own journey with organ donation or transplantation, I wish you well, and to those who wish to help raise awareness for organ donation, you can start by joining me on the Terry Connolly ORGANised walk tomorrow morning at 7am.

I thank Anne and Gift of Life for organising the walk tomorrow and this event today, and I thank all those with a passion for this cause for your year-round commitment to increasing awareness of organ donation.

It is now my pleasure to officially launch Australian Organ Donor Awareness Week.
 

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

When I was your age, learning about science, I sometimes found it confusing - like learning about the law of gravity. I mean, it's really important, because if we didn't have gravity, when birds died, they'd just stay right up there; and if time didn't move forward, you could get stuck in the classroom at school forever and the holidays would never come; and if it wasn't for nuclear science, Homer Simpson would never have found a job.

You know, I might not have been the best science student in school, but I did learn one very valuable lesson after a year 8 chemistry experiment that I still remember to this day - never, ever lick the spoon!

I acknowledge the First Australians on whose land we meet, and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

And I'd like to say a big hello to the children who are here today, from:

• St Bede's Primary School; and
• Campbell Primary School.

And joining us through the wonders of science by video conference:

• Windsor Public School
• Biraban Public School
• Gresford Public School
• Peak Hill Central School;
• Thornton Public School;
• Shellharbour Public School;
• Broken Hill School of the Air; and
• Crawford Public School.

This is a very exciting day indeed - not only do we get to honour a very special guest but some of us got to hold some gigantic shoelaces. If the size of that shoelace is any indication, imagine how big those shoes must be!

Today we are here for a very important reason - to congratulate Professor Elizabeth Blackburn, who has been awarded the most prestigious science award in the world - the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

Professor Blackburn is the 11th Australian Nobel Prize winner and the first Australian woman to receive the award. I know I speak on behalf of all Australians, Professor Blackburn, when I say that we are very proud of you.

I think everyone should put their hands together and give Professor Blackburn a big round of applause.

We have just learnt a bit about Professor Blackburn's discoveries about telomeres. Telomeres might be small - and hard to pronounce - but they are very important for how our bodies work, and in the future, they are going to be very important as scientists like Professor Blackburn look for a cure for cancer.

Of course, Professor Blackburn has also won other awards for her work. On Australia Day this year, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia, and back in 1998 she won what is now known as the Prime Minister's Prize for Science.

Coincidentally, nominations for the 2010 Prime Minister's Prize for Science open today. In addition to the prize for the best scientist, we also have prizes for the best physical scientist, the best life scientist, and the best teachers in primary and secondary schools.

Does anyone know how Professor Blackburn first got interested in science? Because of one of her teachers, Nancy Hughes, a teacher whom she credits with igniting the passion for science back in her days at school in Launceston in Tasmania.

Having a good science teacher is very important for making children interested in science - and making sure that Australia continues to produce great scientists.

Australians have been responsible for many discoveries and inventions that we benefit from today.

Who here likes the internet? One of the technologies of wireless internet called WiFi was invented by an Australian team, led by a man called Dr John O'Sullivan.

Who here likes money? Australian scientists worked out how to make bank notes from polymer - which not only makes them much harder to counterfeit, but much more likely to survive a trip through the washing machine when you leave a $5 note in your pocket.

If Australians are going to make important discoveries and inventions in the future, we are going to need more children like you to study science.

Who here would like to find out what dinosaurs ate by studying fossilised dinosaur vomit? Who here would like to make Mitchell Johnson bowl faster or make sure Matt Giteau doesn't pull his quad muscle again? Who here would like to invent a paint that repairs itself when it gets scratched? Who here would like to find a cure for homework?

I'm not sure about that last one, but these are the types of things scientists are working on right now.

One of the great ways that we promote science around the country is National Science Week. It is held each year in August and reaches over a million Australians through more than 1,000 events.

Today the Innovation Minister announced $500,000 in Australian Government grants for National Science Week 2010. This money will go to schools, community groups, scientific societies, research organisations and others who - like me - are passionate about science.

They will use the money to support projects in every state and territory that demonstrate not just how important science is, but also how much fun it can be.

The CSIRO will take its Great Big Science Gig rock-cabaret to regional and metropolitan centres around the country. It shows how developments in science are making a real difference to our everyday lives.

The SCINEMA Festival of Science Film will see a program of short films about science and natural history screened in 400 venues throughout Australia. Screenings will be introduced by local scientists, who will give their own take on where the world of science is heading.

These are the sort of practical things we can do to make science more fun.

Another important part of making science fun is where we are now - Questacon. I'd like to thank all the people at Questacon for the effort they put into science education and awareness. Last year, more than 400,000 children and their families visited this building, and Questacon took outreach programs to 1,367 schools in all Australian states and territories. We need to get out into those remote areas because our next Elizabeth Blackburn may be in outback Australia.

Australia's future prosperity is dependent upon the knowledge and skills developed and attitudes fostered in our young people. The curious young minds - that we can all play a part in nurturing - will lead us through the challenges of the 21st century, and those curious minds need look no further than Professor Elizabeth Blackburn for inspiration.

Professor Blackburn, may I once again congratulate you on your achievement and thank you for your unwavering commitment to your mission.
 

I acknowledge the First Australians on whose land we meet, and whose cultures we celebrate as one of the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

Mr Speaker, two years ago I made a formal Apology in this Parliament to the Indigenous peoples of Australia, and particularly to the Stolen Generations, on behalf of the Government, the Parliament and the people of Australia.

On that day in 2008, I also pledged to lead a new, national effort to close the gap in life expectancy and life opportunities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

On that day, we achieved for the first time a bi-partisan commitment to closing the gap:

• together, we acknowledged the failure of successive governments to deliver to many Indigenous communities;
• together, we demonstrated that closing the gap is a national priority that should be above partisan politics, and
• together, we recognised that closing the gap would take not a parliamentary term, but a generation.

When we came to Government the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous life expectancy at birth was estimated at 17 years.

Indigenous children in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory were 3.6 times more likely to die before they reached the age of five than non-Indigenous children.

Almost one in 10 dwellings in remote and very remote Indigenous communities were in need of major repair or replacement.

In 2006, only 47.4 per cent of Indigenous young people had attained Year 12 or equivalent.

And the employment gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians aged 15 to 64 stood at around 21 percentage points in 2008.

In other areas, such as literacy and numeracy, comparable national data did not exist, though a large gap in achievement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students was evident.

These failures presents us with a substantial challenge.

But in facing this challenge, I believe there has never before been the commitment to change that there is today.

We have seen a growing movement to take responsibility for change - among both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

If we are to make a break from the failures of the past, we must all play our part.

• Governments, first, must take responsibility for addressing their past failures in Indigenous affairs.
• Second, Indigenous Australians must take greater responsibility for change - change begins in the lives of individuals and families, spreading across local communities.
• Third, Australians across all walks of life must take responsibility for re-setting relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Mr Speaker, today I table my second annual statement on closing the gap.

Since the Parliament made the Apology two years ago, the Australian Government has reached, for the first time, a national agreement with State and Territory governments on closing the gap - for the first time, rather than pulling in different directions, pulling together; for the first time, a national investment of $4.6 billion; and for the first time, setting common goals to transform the health, education and employment outcomes of Indigenous Australians.

For the first time, Governments agreed to six clear targets, which work together to close the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation.

We set these targets knowing they were ambitious. We know meeting them won't be easy.

Generations of Indigenous disadvantage cannot be turned around overnight.

We know it will need unprecedented effort by all parts of the Australian community.

But there is no greater social challenge facing Australia than closing this yawning gap.

And today I can report to the House that on the ground, we are seeing the beginnings of change.

The report I table today outlines a slow path to change.

It demonstrates the challenges of accurate data - to track our progress to closing the gap - and thereby meet our targets.

But, it also demonstrates that while progress is slow, there is action in communities right across Australia - action by governments; action by Indigenous communities; and action by the wider Australian community.

Mr Speaker, I will now address each of the six targets we set in 2008.

The Government's first target is to halve the mortality gap between Indigenous children and other children under five years of age by 2018.

In 2008, the gap in child mortality meant that 205 out of any 100,000 Indigenous children died before the age of 5, compared to 100 non-Indigenous children - a difference of more than 100.

Indigenous children are twice as likely to die before the age of five than non-Indigenous kids.

This is a shameful statistic. For all parents, it is shocking and confronting.

While 2009 data to measure progress against this target is not yet available, other data sources can provide some measure of change.

We know that the gap in infant mortality rates in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory has been on the decline over the past decade.

This decline has been particularly evident over recent years and now stands at 5.3 percentage points.

We must continue to act to see this decline accelerated and our target reached by 2018.

Towards that goal, we have already rolled out 40 new services for mothers and babies.

Under the $90.3 million Mothers and Babies Services program, a total of 11,000 mothers and babies will be supported over five years with services including improved antenatal and postnatal care, advice on nutrition and health checks.

And today I can announce that nine new services will be funded, including at:

• the Laynhapuy Homelands Association and the Pintubi Homelands Health Service in the Northern Territory;
• at the Tullawon Health Service in South Australia, at the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre;
• at the Wirraka Maya Health Service in Western Australia; and
• at Mookai Rosie Bi-Bayan in Queensland.

In addition to these services,

• The Australian Government is supporting pregnant women to improve their own health through establishing five sites under the $37.4 million Australian Nurse Family Partnership Program.
• We have provided a total of 390 ear, nose and throat specialist services and a total of 1,990 dental services to 1,429 children who live in the Northern Territory Emergency Response communities in the six months from July to December last year alone.
• And the Red Cross is working with Outback Stores to bring more fresh fruit to Indigenous kids in the Territory through breakfast clubs in 33 communities and 13 homeland centres.

Our second target is to provide access to early childhood education for all four-year olds in remote Indigenous communities within five years.

Getting the best start in life begins early.

Early childhood education is essential to getting the right start in learning and preparing for school.

But the best available data shows only around 60 per cent of Indigenous children are enrolled in an early childhood education program in the year before school, compared to around 70 per cent of all children.

The good news is that the trend is in the right direction - more Indigenous children are being enrolled.

And we are seeing the fastest pre-school enrolment growth in remote communities, increasing by 31 per cent between 2005 and 2008.

We are expanding early learning opportunities for Indigenous children through the establishment of 36 Children and Family Centres bringing together important services including child care, early learning and parent and family support programs.

21 of these 36 centres will be located in regional and remote areas, including in Kununurra in Western Australia; Mornington Island in Queensland; and Walgett in New South Wales.

Another will be located in Yuendumu in the Northern Territory, where the Yuendumu Early Childhood Centre is already held up as a model of successful early childhood education.

Every day between 40 and 60 children, along with their parents and extended family, go along to the centre to paint, read books, ride bikes and play. The children have breakfast and lunch there, the community nurse visits and they go on excursions to the pool and into the bush. The 14 local Aboriginal child care workers who look after them say the children are healthy and happy.

With more children benefitting from early childhood education, the flow-on effect will help us meet our third and fourth targets: to halve the gap in literacy and numeracy achievement between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and other students within a decade and to halve the gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous students in rates of Year 12 attainment or an equivalent attainment by 2020.

These two targets are critical to closing the gap, because it is education, above all, that will improve the life chances and unlock the potential of Indigenous Australians.

The evidence is unambiguous.

Finishing Year 12 transforms students' future opportunities.

It builds pathways to more secure, better paid and more fulfilling jobs.

And the learning basics - literacy and numeracy - are fundamental to all Australian children.

And they are critical to healthier, happier and longer lives.

The evidence shows the gap in meeting literacy and numeracy standards between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students is large.

These gaps are evident from as early as year 3 - with the largest gap in 2008 being 29.4 percentage points for Year 5 reading.

Literacy and numeracy scores vary across grades; in 2009 there was an improvement in the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students' reading for Years 3, 5 and 7. For Year 9 students, the gap slightly increased.

The Government is taking action to expand opportunities for Indigenous children at school.

Around 78,000 Indigenous students - almost half of all Indigenous primary and secondary school students - will benefit from the Government's $1.5 billion investment in 1500 low socio-economic schools, as well as substantial investments in literacy and numeracy.

And we are seeing great results from the Stronger Smarter Leadership Program of Dr Chris Sarra whose "clear expectations, high expectations'' philosophy for educating Indigenous children is delivering remarkable results among the 44 schools signed up to it.

The Government provided Stronger Smarter Learning Communities in September 2009 to support an initial 12 'hub' schools in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.

We expect this to grow to 60 hub schools over the next four years, supporting between 180 and 240 affiliated schools.

One school that has already signed up is East Kalgoorlie Primary School in Western Australia.

Faced with what she described as significant challenges, Principal Donna Bridge used her experience of the Stronger Smarter Leadership Program to enlist the support of parents and the community to bring about change.

Five years later, attitudes have changed, school attendance is up and there have been significant improvements in literacy and numeracy.

In Cape York in far North Queensland, school attendance is also up, driven by the Cape York Welfare Reforms - created by Indigenous leader Noel Pearson and supported by the Commonwealth and state governments.

Under the reforms welfare payments are linked to parents taking responsibility to care for their kids and make sure they go to school.

In Aurukun, one community in the trial, school attendance rose from 44 to 66 per cent last year while in Coen it was 93 per cent - two points higher than the state average.

In 2006, only 47.4 per cent of Indigenous 20- to 24-year-olds had attained a Year 12 or equivalent qualification, almost half as many as non-Indigenous young people.

Indigenous school retention rates from the start of high school to Year 12 have risen from 30.7 per cent in 1995 to 46.5 per cent in 2008, a 6.4 percentage point increase.

With concerted government effort and the contribution of organisations like the Clontarf Academy we are working to close the gap.

Clontarf's school-based sport academies are tackling poor attendance and outcomes among Indigenous students through sport and recreation - with some great results, including school attendance rates of more than 80 per cent and improved academic performance.

By the end of February, 2,300 students in 36 schools across three states will be signed up.

Clontarf is one of the academies funded through the Australian Government's Sporting Chance Program, to support Indigenous students' engagement with school.

Overall, the programs have achieved an average attendance rate of 79 per cent - six percentage points above the average rate for all Indigenous students in the schools -so I'm pleased to announce today that in 2010 an additional 17 sports academies will commence across Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Victoria.

This will support about 1,000 students, and will bring the total number of students in the program to some 10,000.

10 of these new academies will be for girls.

The new academies will be established in Broome, Fitzroy Crossing, Bunbury and North Albany, in Western Australia; West Arnhem, Palmerston, Katherine and Alice Springs in the Northern Territory; Mooroopna, Bendigo and Ballarat in Victoria; and Townsville in Queensland.

As well, the Clontarf Foundation will operate seven new football academies in Jabiru and Gunbalanya in the Northern Territory; and in Bairnsdale, Warrnambool, Swan Hill, Robinvale and Mildura in Victoria.

Our fifth target is to halve within a decade the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and other Australians.

On this goal, there is a positive trend.

Between 2002 and 2008, the Indigenous employment rate rose from 48 per cent to 53.8 per cent.

This is still well below the non-Indigenous employment rate so that in 2008, the most recent available data indicates there was a 21 percentage point gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment.

Over the past year, we have replaced Community Development Employment Project jobs with more than 1,500 jobs delivering government services to Indigenous communities.

These, for the first time, are now sustainable, proper jobs.

The best way to accelerate growth in indigenous employment is to give people the skills to get and keep a job.

Seven schools in the 29 remote communities targeted under the National Partnership on Remote Service Delivery already have Trades Training Centres under our $2.5 billion national investment in Trade Training Centres to give school students early opportunities to develop skills for a profession in the trades, and to help them complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification.

But others can still benefit.

In communities like Hermannsburg, dedicated teachers have lifted school attendance to better than 90 per cent in junior school.

To be successful, these young people need to be actively engaged beyond their primary school years.

The Government is acting today to improve access to first rate education facilities for students in school remote Indigenous communities.

I announce today that intensive support and assistance will be given to schools that from the 29 Remote Service Delivery priority locations that have not already had funding from the Trades Training Centres program.

Schools in remote communities with large Indigenous student populations will also be provided with extra flexibility to deliver training targeted at the needs and education levels in these communities, including pre-vocational and Certificate I and II qualifications.

We're also working with the private sector to create real business and employment opportunities.

The Government is also investing $3 million to support the new Australian Indigenous Minority Supplier Council, which helps certified Indigenous businesses to win new contracts in the private and government sectors.

After only five months, the Council has signed up 31 major corporations as backers.

Already, it has helped secure $3.3 million worth of contracts for 15 Indigenous businesses.

To encourage businesses across Australia to take action to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage, we have appointed a Government Ambassador for Business Action.

This position has been filled by Colin Carter, a highly regarded Australian businessman who was a founding partner of Boston Consulting Group in Australia, and who has more recently served as the director of the Cape York Institute for Indigenous Policy and Leadership.

Mr Carter will work with Australian businesses to promote the employment of Indigenous people, and to encourage business people to share their skills with Indigenous communities to help set up and grow their own businesses.

These efforts will are in addition to the work of the Australian Employment Covenant, through which some 16,000 Indigenous jobs have been committed over the coming years from Australian business.

All these efforts culminate in our sixth and final target - to close the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation.

As of today we are informed that the life expectancy gap is 11.5 years for men and 9.7 for women.

An Indigenous male born today is likely to die at just 67 years of age, and an Indigenous female at 73 years.

This is less than the 17-year gap that we thought existed a year ago.

This is good news - but it is the result of having more reliable data, rather than the result of any real improvement on the ground.

In the past, we haven't had reliable information on Indigenous life expectancy.

So we haven't reliably known the size of the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

There's evidence to suggest that some progress may have been made.

But the progress is clearly too slow.

Closing the life expectancy gap is a cumulative target, relying on our success in meeting each of the other targets for achievement.

Obviously, the health of Indigenous people is a major factor.

Tobacco, obesity and physical inactivity are the leading risk factors, accounting for around 45 per cent of the total health gap.

Since 2007-2008, Indigenous specific health spending has increased by 57 per cent.

This includes nearly $1.6 billion over four years to fight the treatable chronic diseases that account for two-thirds of premature Indigenous deaths.

And it includes the $14.5 million Indigenous Tobacco Control Initiative, a package of 20 innovative anti-smoking projects in urban, regional and remote Indigenous communities.

I spoke early about the legacy of decades of government failure still endured by Indigenous Australians.

This makes it all the more urgent to be vigilant about what is working and what is not.

That is why, when evidence emerged of unacceptable delays in our major Indigenous housing program in the Northern Territory last year, the Government took unprecedented action to get the program on track.

That action has delivered results.

As a result, we remain on target to build 750 new houses, and rebuild or refurbish another 2500 in remote Indigenous communities by 2013 - through the Australian Government working together with the government of the Northern Territory.

It is in that spirit, we have instructed the COAG Reform Council to produce an annual assessment of the performance of governments against the closing the gap targets.

We have also appointed a Co-ordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services, to oversee the roll-out of local plans in 29 remote communities and to cut through the red tape that slows delivery on the ground.

In the Coordinator General's first six-monthly report, released in December last year, he identified that 'business-as-usual' approaches are still too widespread.

He noted that fragmentation and siloing may act as a barrier to achieve improvements in service delivery necessary to close the gap.

And to that end, I can announce today a new Flexible Funding Pool to free up funds for remote service delivery and ensure that red tape doesn't get in the way of progress in these communities.

This funding pool will target high priority projects in the 29 Indigenous communities that are the initial priority of the National Partnership Agreement.

The $46 million for this funding pool over the next three years will allow the Government to respond flexibly and quickly to Indigenous community needs and act on Local Implementation Plans.

We are not just making unprecedented investments in Indigenous communities, we are doing things differently.

For example, central to our $5.5 billion investment in remote Indigenous housing is our target of 20 per cent Indigenous employment.

In the Northern Territory, Indigenous employment is currently running at 35 per cent, providing jobs for more than 100 Aboriginal people across the Territory.

One of them is 24 year-old Tiwi Islander Harry Munkara who's building houses in the community of Nguiu.

Harry's a carpenter and, with overtime, he's earning around $800 a week.

Harry told The Australian this week that for the first time he was managing to save money to put aside for his toddler son. And, Harry says, he wants to be a role model for his people.

Mr Speaker, after some early difficulties in the housing construction program, houses are now being built.

Over 50 new houses are now under construction in the Territory, with the keys to the first two houses handed over to tenants this week.

Refurbishments are being made to around 80 homes that were in poor repair.

And more than 70 have already been completed and handed back to the Northern Territory Government, for allocation to Indigenous families.

In total across Australia, under the Remote Indigenous Housing National Partnership, over 150 new houses are now under construction across the country.

15 of these have been completed.

Over 230 refurbishments are also underway and 120 of these have been completed.

To ensure that our investments in remote communities bear fruit on the ground, we are seeking a fundamental change in the way housing is delivered.

We are insisting that the states and the Northern Territory obtain secure tenure for housing so that the government has security over the land.

In the past, the communal nature of Aboriginal land made it unclear who was responsible for maintaining houses and other structures built on the land.

But we have matched an unprecedented investment with tenancy reform to ensure the residents pay rent and care for their homes.

Indigenous people in public housing, like other public housing tenants, will have standard tenancy arrangements in place and the state government will be responsible for maintaining the houses.

We are acquiring security over land so that housing and essential services can be built for the long term, so private companies can feel comfortable about investing, and so that home ownership can become possible.

Many Indigenous communities - including 14 in the Northern Territory - have shown a willingness to sign the new leases and obtain significant new investments.

With secure tenure obtained over all 18 Alice Springs town camps, we have put our $150 million Alice Springs Transformation Plan into action.

We are cleaning up the camps, controlling the number of dogs, introducing new alcohol counselling services, and this month we start building new houses.

The 60 to 100 residents of one town camp - Ilpeye Ilpeye - have made clear their aspirations to own their own homes, so the Australian Government has changed the tenure of this land from community lease to freehold title.

This means the land can be subdivided into individual housing blocks.

Over time, that means members of this community can own their own homes.

Communities with strong social norms that give families the incentives to take responsibility for their lives and build a better future.

No family can function in overcrowded, derelict houses in which stoves and taps don't work, children can't get a good night's sleep and adults can't be rested and ready for work.

Many Indigenous Australians aspire to home ownership, as other Australians do.

To illustrate that, I note the remarks of Alice Springs traditional owner Darryl Pearce reported in the media last month.

Mr Pearce said his people wanted the same rights to land ownership and economic development opportunities as other Australians. In his words:

"We want respect - and that's what the government has given us."

Mr Speaker, the Australian Government wants to help Indigenous people build healthy families and thriving communities.

That is why we have invested $1.2 billion in the Northern Territory Emergency Response measures since we were elected because we are there for the long haul.

Since coming to government, the number of people supported by income management has increased from around 1,400 to over 16,000.

We have now moved to put the Northern Territory Emergency Response on a long-term, sustainable footing.

We have introduced legislation to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act - which the previous government had suspended in order to ensure the Emergency Response was immune from legal challenge.

And we have taken the decision to apply income management to all welfare recipients in specified categories across the Territory from July.

The number of people on income management in the NT is estimated to rise to around 20,000.

This is the first step in an extension of the scheme - once it has been carefully evaluated - to disadvantaged locations across Australia.

The Government's welfare reforms seek to help all disadvantaged Australians - not just those who are Indigenous - to take on more individual responsibility and move beyond welfare dependence.

In delivering these reforms, we are acting in the interests of the most vulnerable people - the elderly, women and children.

Governments are responsible for helping communities to develop the structures and leaders they need to restore social norms, recognising that change takes time.

However, individuals also have responsibilities: to provide safe and secure homes for their children; to go to school or to make sure their children go to school; to pay rent, look for work, avoid self-destructive behaviour, and give the people in their care every opportunity to thrive.

These are the foundations on which strong communities are built, and on which people can make the most of their natural abilities.

Mr Speaker, today I am asking Indigenous leaders - in families, in communities and across the nation - to step up and take responsibility for restoring strong social norms in their own communities.

Many are doing this now.

Just look at the Kimberley town of Fitzroy Crossing, where women such as June Oscar and Emily Carter led a community campaign for alcohol restrictions.

Two years after they won their battle, the incidence of domestic violence and alcohol-related injuries is down, baby birth weights are up, and police say the town is a much calmer place.

Now the community is working with police, business and three tiers of government on a plan to improve services and close the gap in Fitzroy Crossing.

In the nearby town of Halls Creek, the community's successful push for alcohol restrictions last year has brought a sharp drop in the incidence of arrests and domestic violence.

In Queensland, at Mornington Island and Aurukun - as alcohol restrictions have come in, violent crime has gone down.

There are many other Indigenous people around Australia who don't make the headlines but are quietly making a difference - and making fundamental changes in their own communities.

Mr Speaker, all Australians can play a part in building this better future and Australians from all across the nation are taking action.

Across the country, banks, football clubs, mining companies, local councils, hospitals, schools and even the Perth Zoo are hiring Indigenous workers, contracting with Indigenous businesses supporting Indigenous communities.

10 years ago Rio Tinto had 130 Indigenous employees; today it has 1400.

BHP Billiton has 10 contracts with Indigenous businesses worth $350 million through one of its subsidiaries, WA Iron Ore.

It employs 255 Aboriginal workers directly and another 465 indirectly through its contractors.

The ANZ Bank had taken on 420 Indigenous employees by the end of last year, and is committed to filling 10 per cent of entry level positions with Aboriginal people by 2011.

Since 2006, 165 organisations have completed Reconciliation Action Plans through Reconciliation Australia, with 168 more to be launched this year.

By the end of this year 15 per cent of the Australian workforce - including employees at Australia's 11 largest companies - will work for an organisation that has a Reconciliation Action Plan.

Through these practical efforts to promote reconciliation, organisations have created 6,500 positions for Indigenous people, and filled 3,000 of them.

They have awarded $750 million in contracts to Indigenous businesses.

Sometimes they do it because it brings business benefits and because it creates a sustainable investment for the companies and the Indigenous employees they hire, but these organisations are also taking action because they share a vision of a fairer Australia.

Australians want to close the gap.

91 per cent of non-Indigenous Australians and 100 per cent of Indigenous Australians surveyed by Reconciliation Australia said that the relationship between the two peoples was important to this country.

10 years ago this May, 250,000 Australians walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge - and 750,000 people walked around the country - in support of reconciliation.

10 years on, there remains a long journey ahead of us to lift Indigenous outcomes in health, housing, schools and jobs, but as a government and as a people, we can now see a path ahead and we are determined to move forward.

Not like the past, where it was non-Indigenous Australians seeking to lead Indigenous Australians, but instead, walking together, First Australians alongside all Australians, towards a stronger and fairer Australian nation.