My background
5th Indigenous Recruitment and Training Summit
Economic development and employment
opportunities in remote Aboriginal communities

The reasons for the current scenario of no dreams, hopes
or vision

The importance of concentrating on educating women

The failure of a Government system geared to mediocrity

The need for innovative thinking across sectors

A solution for those who want to “do good” with their life
Motivating the majority from welfare dependency
Rollo Manning,
RWM Consultancy
PR and Pharmacy Consultant, Darwin
Professor Patrick Dodson
Address delivered at the inaugural National Indigenous
Policy and Dialogue Conference at the University of New
South Wales in November 2010.
Many of our Indigenous people continue to
live in Third World conditions, young
Indigenous men are over-represented in jails,
and the capacity of Indigenous communities
to participate fully in the economy continues
to be subjugated to the interests of third
parties – either through legislation or political
expedience.
The importance of employment and training
Consider current scenario in remote
communities:

Crowded housing- the mother and father of all problems

Low levels of literacy and numeracy – few options

Low level job opportunities – high unemployment

Plenty of spare time leading to arguments- fighting-
ill health- substance abuse- crime- incarceration - suicides
Get a job
– the best form of social welfare available
• As a Pharmacist I have worked across all sectors in the
pharmaceutical market
• As a Consultant I have worked on social and economic
development for Aboriginal organisations and communities
• As a volunteer I obtain personal satisfaction out of getting
something to work that others thought impossible
• As a human being I am concerned about social justice and the
rights of others, especially children
• As a friend I try and help those less fortunate than myself and
encourage social inclusion
My two favourite quotes:
Churchill – We make a living by what we get, but we
make a life by what we give.
Kennedy (Robert) – There are those that look at things the
way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never
were, and ask why not.
How my attitudes have changed as I have
learned more….
1997 – Take your medicines
2001 – Health the most important
2003 – The social determinants of ill health
2006 – Education is the key
2008 – Education for what – a job? – no jobs
2010 – the interplay between jobs – education –
health – longer life with particular attention to stress
as a factor across everything and poverty the cause.
Alleviate poverty
“Poverty, is almost, you can
describe is a living in a box, all with
the thick wall, no window, no door,
no light, so you don't know what's
coming next, you have no idea of
new day starting in different way,
you repeat the same thing over and
over again. No hope, basically. So
Muhammad Yunus you try to survive the day in very
Founder Grameen uncertain conditions. So that's
poverty, you have no control over
Bank
your life, that's total, that's it.”
Nobel Peace Prize
2007
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 Create employment through Enterprise Barriers to successful enterprise
Facilitation development
“The future of every community lies in
capturing the passion, intelligence,
No dreams, hopes or ambitions amongst young people
imagination and resources of its (15-24 yo)
people”

A universal approach rather than targeting people with
“Right now in your community, at aspirations
this very moment, there is someone
who is dreaming about doing
No reward for those who want to “do good” with their life
something to improve his/her lot.
Ernesto Sirolli
A Government system geared to mediocrity
If we could learn how to help that
Founder Sirolli
Lack of innovative thinking and action across sectors
person to transform the dream into
Institute - teaches
community leaders how to meaningful work, we would be
Motivating the majority from welfare dependency
establish and maintain halfway to changing the economic
Enterprise Facilitation fortunes of the entire community”
projects in their
community.

Ladder of learning No dreams, hopes or ambitions amongst

young people (15-24 yo)
15 – 24 years
of age a
critical time
of learning Where to from here?
– a Melissa or Melanie

Development of hopes, dreams, goals,

motivation, skills, knowledge

Nauiyu Nambiyu population profile

General Practice Network Northern Persons - 55 years and over

Territory in partnership with the Persons - 45 years to 54 years

Daly River Community, Strong Persons - 35 years to 44 years

Persons - 25 years to 34 years
Spirit Strong Body Nauiyu Youth
Persons - 15 years to 24 years
Program Persons - 0 to 14 years

0 50 100 150 200

15-24 year old people in Nauiyu Nambiyu 15-24 year old people in Nauiyu Nambiyu

Feelings about self

Measure of psychological distress
Feeling suicidal
Unhappy
Not sleeping well Inflicted self harm

Felling lonely Feel unimportant or

undervalued
Feeling anxious
Suffering from boredom
Feel depressed
Feel not listened to
Feel sad

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

2
 15-24 year old people in Nauiyu Nambiyu 15-24 year old people in Nauiyu Nambiyu

Other stressors What does the future hold

100%
Use other drugs
80%
Use alcohol
60%
Live in crowded house
40%
Smoke tobacco products
20%
Not finished high school 0%
No idea what to do Like a job or career Want further
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% education

I had a dream…. The importance of concentrating on

Do Indigenous youth have a educating women
dream
By Robert Beadman
Menzies Research Centre, Canberra, 2004
“I am looking at human detritus [debris] right
here in Darwin, and wonder what dreams they
might have once had for themselves. What
dreams they might have had for their children?
What dreams their children might have had for
themselves? I wonder if people have abandoned
those dreams, what caused them to give up, CARE knows from experience that investing in the
what is it about the world that surrounds us all earning power of women yields large benefits in terms
that makes them think that their dreams are of family income and well-being. When women earn,
everyone benefits.
unachievable.”

The story of Melanie

When a 21 year old Aboriginal woman from North East
Arnhem puts up her hand and says “I want to do better” – the
support needed to make this happen should be available.

Instead when in Darwin to try and make good she is shuffled

Insert video between Centrelink and Job Services Australia agencies and
in three months all she gets is appointments – no training.
On three occasions the appointments with the JSA agent could not be fulfilled
I am Powerful because the JSA officer was absent. So much for mutual obligation!
It took 14 weeks to obtain day one of literacy, language and numeracy training.
What do the authorities planning this transition from welfare to work expect people
to do with their idle time?
Or are they so used to people that do not want anything to happen (like find a job)
that when a person wanting to do better they cannot handle the positive nature of
the inquiry.
It appears that the entire system is geared to mediocrity and the Centrelink and
job finding agencies are so used to people that don’t want to work that they have no
strategy to help those few that want to make good.

3
 The failure of a Government system geared
The story of Melissa to mediocrity
Never attended school on a regular basis from age 12
now 21 years old.
At 15 years was brought from remote community to
We reward
Darwin with her mother and placed in a Housing people who
Commission flat because she was not attending school.
From 17 years of age lived the life of a “long grasser” in Darwin drinking, smoking
do bad
and getting into trouble with the law. Crime
A relationship with a man turned sour and they were continually in trouble with
police for fighting, drunkenness and causing a public disturbance. Court
She was convicted of aggravated assault, infringing an AVO, causing harm to Jail
property and behaving in a way dangerous to the public and sent to prison for 18
months suspended after six months. Rehab
On release from prison during which time she gained skills in numeracy, literacy
and computer use, she received $6,300 from Centrelink for back payment of a Job ready
disability pension. Her disability – unable to read and write.
High
She was instructed to attend a 12 week rehabilitation program but failed to
maintain attendance. No penalty has followed. recidivism rate

A vision splendid – a new horizon

NEW HORIZONS would bring to Darwin 10-12 young women who say “I want to do
better” and run them through a 10 week program of learning, work experience, site
visits and socializing to gain a better understanding of what is required to move
ahead in the developed world.
• Learning program to include the following:
– Culture and the pride of being Aboriginal
– Language, literacy and numeracy
– Principles of welfare to work
– Choosing a career path—options available
– Visits to various work places
– Visits to cultural and governance institutions e.g. Council, Parliament,
library, NLC
– Sport and the value of exercise to health living
– Personal and domestic hygiene
– Deportment, personal attire and appearance
– The discipline of a working day.
Everyone needs a job – a real job
Coming Ready or Not! Aborigines are heading for town - Rev. Steve Etherington PhD
Address to the Bennelong Society Annual Conference, October 2007
IF YOU READ NO FURTHER THAN THIS…
It’s about jobs: not overcrowding.
It’s about jobs; not about culture or ethnicity or missions, or
history.
It’s about jobs: not about grog and drug abuse.
It’s about jobs: it’s not even about child abuse.
All these are merely symptoms of long-term unemployment.
It’s about jobs.
“All of them [the elders] looked back with great nostalgia
to the era of full employment under the mission. All
articulated despair about their loss of moral direction, of
political control, of their own domestic education, of any
sense of self-worth.”

Some words have been spoken…

Many things we need can wait,
the child cannot. Now is the
time his bones are being
formed, his blood is being
made, his mind is being
“Towns in the bush will have
proper town plans, private
investment, targeted Government developed. To him we cannot
infrastructure and commercial
centres,” Mr Henderson said.
“It is about a decent lifestyle, jobs,
say tomorrow, his name is
education for our kids, better
health and services that are equal
with the rest of country Australia,”
today.
Ms Anderson said. Gabriel Mistral, Nobel Prize winning Chilean poet

4
 Lets compare – Boorowa (NSW) with Galiwin’ku (NT)

Boorowa Galiwin’ku
2,300 people 2,300 people
950 houses 152 houses
19 retail businesses 5 retail
Three hotels, a motel businesses
and a guest house A guest house

Each of
these
growth
towns
would be
able to
sustain a
pharmacy
Source ABS Census data 2006 business

The need for innovative thinking and action across

sectors Expected outcomes
Picked up W ebsterpaks of possible 170 patients
•Create position 120
and train 100
Pharmacy 80
60
Technician
40

•Employ own 20
0
pharmacist
November

August
September

November
December

April

December

April
October

October
January
February
March

June
July

January
February
March

June
May

May

Skilled workers
•Fund activity
from PBS and 2002 2003 2004
CDEP
The pharmacy upgrade project
on Bathurst Island employed a Improved compliance through
registered pharmacist and four easy pick up of weekly
trainee pharmacy technicians medicine pack

5
 Pay individuals – meet consequences of
Some principles to be established un-
un-educated spend
First
• Only put in place services that are able to be
understood, operated and maintained by
local people.
Second
• Have faith in the fact that there are local
people able to be identified and trained to
undertake the necessary tasks $80,000 a fortnight is spent on Ganja and another $80,000 on
Third tobacco products in a remote NT Aboriginal community.
• Give responsibility to local people and trust Centrelink payments a fortnight are $350,000
them to be able to do the job.
Poverty is not necessarily a shortage of money

A better way to create employment

• Training without employment does little but
occupy trainees
• Training for certificates not for jobs
The
• Government should not think it alone has the
minefield answers
of the
• Government provides infrastructure
market
• “Enterprise facilitation” is not expensive but
place
returns huge results
• People have solutions through
entrepreneurship

We are talking 3rd World conditions

- Lets learn from 3rd World activity

Motivating the majority from welfare dependency

Consider the way payments are being made from
Centrelink
A universal social security system
Payments made to individuals
Insert video
Four communities in North East Arnhem Land

Strength in Numbers Population 7300

Total Centrelink in 12 months $ xx million
Average for every man, woman and child $ xxxxx each
Reduce by $1,000 each and put balance to a community
development fund - $7,300,000 to be used for micro
economic enterprises
Payments to individuals is NOT building better communities
but perpetuating a welfare dependant mentality

6

ALLOW CASHING OUT OF
CENTRELINK PAYMENTS FOR
Jobs the best form of welfare
Train for jobs – not certificates
Reward those who want to achieve
Allow funds for entrepreneurial
activity

MICRO ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENTS

In this example $7.3 million

Contact me if you want to follow

up on anything covered here
today

Thank you for your attention