Perfect pearls: The Torres Strait

Kaurareg elder Nazareth Adidi, granddaughter Rhonda Adidi-Kanai and great-granddaughter Tessa Kanai, Thursday Island, QLD.

More than 270 islands, two mainland communities and 8,000 residents make up the Torres Strait.

It’s a melting pot of cultures. Torres Strait Islanders have long traded and intermarried with the people of New Guinea, and in the nineteenth century Asians, Pacific Islanders and Europeans were lured to the straits by a thriving pearling industry.

The “capital” of the Torres Strait is Thursday Island, or Waiben as it is known to its traditional owners, the Kaurareg Aboriginal people.    view full story

• 

  Competing in the corporate sector

  2 February 2012
• 

  Creating Indigenous job opportunities in child care

  12 January 2012
• 

  Largest group of Indigenous APS employees recognised

  9 December 2011
• 

  Housing: A solid foundation

  5 December 2011
• 

  Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory: Policy Statement rele...

  23 November 2011
• 

  Ngukurr’s new wave of cattle musterers

  11 November 2011
• 

  Indigenous Economic Development Strategy released

  19 October 2011
• 

  The pleasure of being your own boss

  19 October 2011

Find out more

Economic Participation is one of the building blocks in the Closing the Gap strategy, agreed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

One of the Closing the Gap targets set by COAG in 2008 relates to economic participation:

• to halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade.

On 19 October 2011 the Australian Government released the Indigenous Economic Development Strategy 2011-2018, which aims to provide a framework to increase the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians by supporting greater economic participation and self-reliance.

The Government is undertaking a review of remote participation and employment services with a view to introducing improvements from 1 July 2013. Consultations with people in remote communities, service providers, employers and other stakeholders are taking place during August and September 2011. A discussion paper has been released and submissions can be made until 5pm 12 October 2011.

Integrated Indigenous employment services are available through the Job Services Australia network, in conjunction with the Indigenous Employment Program and, in areas with poor labour markets, Community Development Employment Projects.

The National Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Economic Participation aims to assist up to 13,000 Indigenous Australians into jobs.

Indigenous economic participation is also being addressed as part of the Australian Government’s Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory legislation.

The Australian Public Service Commission supports Indigenous employment through Public Calling – the APS Indigenous Employment Strategy.

Ranger jobs across Australia are provided through Working on Country projects.

The Australian Government supports Indigenous enterprises through the Business Development Program, managed by Indigenous Business Australia, and land-related business, training and employment through the Indigenous Land Corporation.

In the Northern Territory, grants for community businesses are available through the Aboriginals Benefit Account.

Partnerships with the non-government and private sectors are important in closing the employment gap, including:

• Australian Employment Covenant
• Indigenous Jobs Australia
• Australian Indigenous Minority Supplier Council
• Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce
• Aboriginal Employment Strategy
• Generation One
• Black Pages
• EON Foundation Inc.
• Indigenous Business Council of Australia.

For more information on Indigenous economic participation, go to:

• Indigenous at the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations
• Jobs, Money & Business at the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
• Indigenous Business Australia
• Indigenous Land Corporation.