It's time for industry to show some

So I am calling on the local Chamber of Commerce to get behind these kids. I am asking them to take up the case of these young people with employers, and work with us, and TAFE and the Job Agencies.

ATSIC is calling for legislation to be passed to help tackle this jobs crisis. As the way to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people get just a two per cent share of jobs in companies employing more than 250 people.

The local Chamber of Commerce and Industry is very critical of this. They say to do this would "create an unequal playing field."

Let me make it clear what our call actually means. It means that for a company with 250 employees people, there would be five places for Indigenous employees. That’s what two per cent adds up to. Hardly a big ask, I would have thought.

Let me tell you why we are calling for this. Because the real jobless rate for Indigenous people in this country is 51 per cent. Seven times higher than for other Australians. And rising.

This is a national crisis in Indigenous employment. It needs urgent action. Before it is too late for a whole new generation of our people.

As the QCCI already knows, and these figures show it: we already have an "unequal playing field". It’s not the employers who are finding it unequal.

We have 24 young people who have done the right thing. Who have gotten some training, some experience and some good references too. But three months on from their training, none of them have a job.

The message is :it is time for a bit of "mutual obligation" and a bit more "level playing field" on the part of business.

So congratulations to the young people on their efforts and achievements, and to TAFE for doing their part.

And let’s see if we can find a bit more of that new spirit we have all seen signs of in Townsville recently.