Warren Mundine to lead GenerationOne Indigenous Employment Push
3 May 2012 at 11:31 am
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Warren Mundine will lead the GenerationOne campaign commencing in June. |
Prominent Indigenous leader Warren Mundine has been recruited to lead the GenerationOne campaign founded by mining magnate Andrew Forrest which aims to end the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in one generation.
Mundine who will replace outgoing CEO Tim Gartrell in June.
"Warren is an outstanding Indigenous leader who believes strongly in the power of employment as the best way to rid Indigenous communities of welfare dependency and end the disparity,” Andrew Forrest said.
Mundine, a former ALP national president, expressed his interest earlier this year in taking up the Senate seat left by Mark Arbib who reigned from politics. Former NSW Premier Bob Carr took the position which subsequently lead to his appointment as Foreign Affairs Minister.
“Warren's first task is to hold the Federal Government to its 2008 promise to provide the training necessary to deliver jobs committed under the 50,000 jobs campaign," Forrest said.
"More than 330 employers have now made commitments of over 61,000 jobs. 10,000 of those have been filled but we need the Government to deliver on its 2008 promise under the Australian Employment Covenant (AEC) to provide the training, especially to the long term unemployed."
"The Skills and Training for a Career: Vocational Training and Employment Centre Policy (VTEC) launched by GenerationOne in January, was developed after a year of research and case studies. It provides the best model for meeting the varying needs of long term unemployed people as they move off welfare and into work. “
Warren Mundine said he is looking forward to the challenge of working with business, Government and Indigenous communities across Australia to deliver real jobs.
"I'm excited and honoured to be taking up this new role and look forward to cranking up the campaign and getting the VTEC policy implemented," Mundine said.
"There is only one way to tackle welfare dependency in Indigenous communities and that's to give people the best alternative – a career. The Government must deliver on their commitments. If they do the disparity between our people will be made redundant".
Mundine has a long history in Indigenous employment, through his involvement in the setting up of the AEC, as Chairman of the Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce and working with some of Australia’s largest corporations.
Forrest thanked outgoing CEO, Tim Gartrell for taking the GenerationOne campaign from its launch to 250,000 supporters and driving the development of the VTEC policy. Gartrell will shortly commence a new role as Campaign Director for Reconciliation Australia.
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Dear Mr Mundine.
Crime is out of control in our area which used to be almost crime free. it is mainly due to young from Toomelah who are out of control to the point that law abiding cirizens in Toomelah live a life of fear. Goondiwindi and Boggabilla are also targeted with ram raids home invasions whilst asleep and awake and the cars that they are stealing that is now in alarming numbers are not sold or parts taken just for the thrill and driven into the river or just burnt. I fell that if a delegation of yourself, Mat Bowen, Jonathon Thurston Yvonne Goolagong and some of the cast from The Sapphires and other indigineous people who are well respected may be able to visit Toomelah and try to show them that this is the wrong way to go and that they can achieve themselves but not this way. There may be people you think are even better examples but these kids have no future the path they are taking will just see them becoming violent criminals with no future which is tragic and it does not help any situation as someone will end up hurt as people can no longer live safely in their homes in any of these places and the thieves are getting gamer and gamer entering houses when people are at home . A young lass was babysitting last week and at 8pm at night heard a noise in the bedroom and a young indigenous youth was ransacking the bedroom. She had two small children in the house so you can imagine the trauma they went through. These indiginous kids need examples and help but it is hard to imagine what. They have had to close the canteen that was built with BUR money as it has been trashed and the once Toomelah Tigers Football sporting oval I have been told is trashed and recently the Boggabilla Fire Brigade went out to put out a fire and young kids were lighting fires behind them and lit one at the school at the same time the Firies said it was terrifying. I used to liv in Boggabilla and this is foreign behaviour as whilst there has always been racist people most people lived in harmony and that is how it should be but it will not be possible until something is done