No Real Jobs In CDEP Reforms

Senator Trish Crossin said the CDEP changes announced today don't recognise the essential jobs many CDEP workers perform in their communities for minimal pay.

"The next step in reforming employment in communities is to pay real wages for real work many CDEP workers perform - not just tossing people off CDEP after one or two years.

"As ever the Federal Government is focusing on the worst case CDEP scenarios.

"In the Northern Territory there are many CDEP participants doing valuable work in community schools or health centres, with night patrols and with youth.

"They would welcome these positions being fully funded to enable them to be classified as full time jobs with the associated employment conditions and the spin offs for the economies of their communities.

"If the Federal Government could do this, then very quickly there would be hundreds more Indigenous people employed in proper valuable jobs in their communities.”

"If the Government have in fact been listening, they would be aware of some excellent real job opportunities in the Northern Territory.”

"A classic example is the Marine Rangers in many communities, already trained and doing a great job of managing their local marine environment, including spotting many illegal fishers.

"Nearly all of these Rangers are paid only on CDEP and would welcome being given proper pay and acknowledgement that they are doing REAL jobs.

"As these changes stand communities face losing the skills of these Rangers and others as they are forced off CDEP with no alternative to full time unemployment.

Senator Crossin said "Unless this policy change is matched with stimulus of the local labour markets through job creation and training opportunities then many indigenous people will be disadvantaged by these changes and forced further into poverty.”

2006-03-29