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$18 million boarding schools boost for Central Australia

First Nations students from remote communities in Central Australia will have greater access to quality education, with $18 million from the Albanese Labor Government’s Central Australia Boarding Response Fund being made available to three Alice Springs schools.

Yirara College will be offered up to $10 million and St Philip’s College up to $1.7 million to upgrade existing facilities, while Yipirinya School will be offered up to $6.3 million for a new boarding facility, providing greater capacity to accommodate students in the region.

$3.2 million for school holiday program in Central Australia

The Albanese Labor Government is investing $3.2 million to deliver school holiday activities for Central Australian children and young people over the next two years.

The funding will support community organisations and local councils in Alice Springs and across Central Australia to deliver more youth programs and activities during school holidays.

Making learning-based activities accessible for young people and their families will provide enormous health benefits and encourage positive engagement with peers and community youth services.

Remote Australia's untapped potential

Remote Australia, with its vast landscapes and sparse populations, is a region rich in potential.

Having grown up in Borroloola, about 1,000 kilometres from Darwin in the Northern Territory, I have experienced first-hand both the challenges and possibilities that exist in remote communities.

For many people living in remote small towns, finding a job can be difficult – and sometimes daunting.

Labour markets are vastly different to those in regional and urban areas.

Speech to the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia

The University of Western Australia is home to a special senior citizen. They have lived here for 62 years.

IBM 1620 was the first “stored program” computer ever to operate in Western Australia. This paper tape computer was first switched on by Dennis Moore in September 1962. Dennis was Officer-in-Charge of the UWA Computing Centre. A small part of the mathematics department. But he knew if he trained people, if the University created the qualifications of the future, Australia could again, choose our own luck.

And we did.

Closing the Gap is everybody's business

“Mum, why would Australia say no to us having a voice?” my 9-year-old asked.

It was referendum night, and the No votes were coming in across the country on the television broadcasts.

I hugged my daughter and said, “a lot of Australians want us to have a voice, it was just not enough Australians. But hey, we get up tomorrow and we keep going my daughter. There’s always another sunrise.”

Today marks one year since Australians voted on whether to change the Constitution to include an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program community consultation

More than 3,100 people across 200 remote communities have had their say about the design and delivery of the Albanese Labor Government’s new Remote Jobs and Economic Development (RJED) program.

The RJED program marks the first stage of delivering on the Albanese Government’s commitment to replace the failed Community Development Program (CDP).

Television interview - ABC TV Afternoon Briefing with Melissa Clarke

MELISSA CLARKE, HOST: It’s close to the one-year anniversary of the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. The failure of the referendum has bruised many Indigenous Australians, as well as the Federal Government. But Labor is looking at other avenues of change to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The new Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, joined me a short time ago.

Malarndirri, thanks very much for joining us on Afternoon Briefing.