Kevin Rudd’s Opening Speech NCIE Redfern

I acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation on whose land we meet, and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

This is a great project.

What the Indigenous Land Corporation has built here at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence is a world-class facility and it symbolises the dawn of a new era in Indigenous education, engagement and leadership because the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence is a place that offers great hope, great opportunities, and great practical help for Indigenous Australians to reach their potential.

As the Centre's CEO, Jason Glanville has said, and I quote:

"We need to get away from the deficit language of disadvantage and have a real and meaningful conversation about excellence. This centre is about building hope for the next generations. We want profound outcomes."

Profound outcomes that have the power to change lives, now and in the future.

The Indigenous Land Corporation's $50 million investment in this centre is about more than just bricks and mortar. It represents a considerable social investment, too: an investment in the 5,000 or so Indigenous kids from communities across Australia who will come through this Centre every year; an investment in health and wellbeing, in sport, in the arts and culture; an investment in programs that will allow these kids to develop a sense of self-worth, a sense of self-respect, and a sense of self-reliance - the essential qualities of a productive, contributing member of the community.

Education will be the cornerstone of their success. We must improve the educational outcomes for Indigenous children.

As I said in my annual report on Closing the Gap to the federal Parliament earlier this month, the gap in meeting literacy and numeracy standards between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students is large - as much as 29.4 percentage points for Year 5 reading, which is why the intensive literacy tutorial centre that this Centre is running, in close partnership with Macquarie University and the Exodus Foundation, is so important.

The primary school kids who come through this program will get a real boost.

Over the course of the six month program, we're hopeful that their literacy levels will rise by up to two years.

That is a phenomenal outcome, and I can tell you that after speaking with the team here, they will not settle for anything less than phenomenal outcomes.

A couple of weeks ago, on the Gold Coast, I was lucky enough to see a magnificent game of football - the inaugural rugby league Indigenous All Stars match. This was a game of football which reminded us that winning is not just about the score line - even though the good guys won. It was a night reminded us of the power of sport to knock down barriers and inspire pride in Indigenous identity, and we know that some of the most effective programs for young Indigenous people are the ones linking sporting and education opportunities.

It's why we run the Sporting Chance Program, that program supports the excellent work of the Clontarf school-based sports academies, which are achieving school attendance rates of nearly 80 per cent and now have 2,300 students enrolled in 36 schools.

The Sporting Chance Program also supports the Former Origin Greats to establish school-based sports academies and their Achieving Results Through Indigenous Education (ARTIE) program, and the dedicated staff here are partnering with not-for-profit organisations to cultivate talent and create opportunities to develop brighter futures for our young people.

Organisations like:

• the YMCA, which will operate the Eora Sports, Arts and Recreation Centre and Eora Campus;
• the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy will be on site here to deliver sport, wellbeing, learning and cultural programs; and
• the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team, which will run sports, wellbeing and personal development camps here at the Centre.

The Centre will also partner with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience, whose objective is to increase Year 10, Year 12 and university admission rates for all Indigenous Australian students, because success at the NCIE is not all about academic achievement.

This Centre may stand for excellence, but it also stands for inclusiveness, growth and integrity. It is already helping to create a deeper and richer understanding of Indigenous culture in the wider community and one of the unexpected catalysts for that is the fantastic state-of-the-art public gym here at the Centre. In its first month, 900 members have joined up and more than half are Aboriginal.

What the staff here are really pleased about is that many of these members are older Indigenous men and women, who we know are over-represented in poor health statistics - people who have never set foot in a gym before but now they are using the gym regularly because the fact that all the operational staff in the gym are Indigenous has broken down the barriers for them.

Jason said, and I quote:

"Having blackfellas and whitefellas - particularly older Aboriginal men and women - training alongside each other is a powerful experience for both. This is true grassroots reconciliation in action."

As we know, from little things, big things grow.

It is no wonder then that the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence marks what many are calling the Renaissance of Redfern.

There is a very real sense of rejuvenation and renewal around this iconic suburb, a renewal that the Redfern community has worked towards for many years but which now has a focus and tangible symbol in the form of this Centre.

The NCIE is built on the site of the old Redfern Primary School and it provides a safe environment for young people across this country to engage, to learn and to be inspired - while offering job opportunities for Indigenous people.

I'm advised that the target for Indigenous employment was exceeded during the construction phase, with 35 Indigenous employment positions over the course of the project. It is anticipated that more than 30 Indigenous people will be employed in sport, recreation, youth and community programs, and hospitality when the Centre is fully operational.

These jobs are important to the Australian Government's commitment to closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage, including halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade.

This means we need an additional 100,000 Indigenous Australians to find and keep jobs over the next nine years. We have a vested interest in making this happen - and not just because it is critical for social justice.

There is an equally strong economic argument for lifting workforce participation. Over the next 10 years, 130,000 young Indigenous Australians will enter the population of working age Australians.

We need to guarantee that they have the education and skills needed to move from school, TAFE and university into the workforce, and that they get a fair go when they look for a job.

Just the other night I attended the Business Leaders Forum in Canberra. This initiative was about getting governments, community leaders and business leaders together to talk about how we improve employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

We talked about opening doors and removing obstacles to employment, about changing company cultures to encourage effective recruitment and retention of Indigenous employees.

As I said, the Australian Government is committed to Closing the Gap and I am confident that the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence can play a significant positive role in helping us achieve that.

It is now two years and two weeks since the Apology to the Stolen Generations. We know the apology was not the end of the healing process. It was only the beginning.

But since the Apology, we have seen a renewed focus on creating opportunities for Indigenous people in this country.

We have committed our support for the establishment of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples and continue to engage with Indigenous communities across Australia in a range of Closing the Gap initiatives and priorities.

In backing up this commitment, governments around Australia have committed over $4.6 billion in funding across a range of reforms to address chronic disease, housing conditions, employment, education and service delivery.

However, funding alone is not enough to make sure these gaps are closed - we need unprecedented cooperation from all sectors of the Australian community.

With the focus often placed on remote Indigenous communities, we won't close the gap if we don't also focus on the 75 per cent of Australia's Indigenous people who live in urban and regional areas.

All governments, families and communities have a duty to make sure our kids get the education needed to lead full, productive and rewarding lives so that all Australian can enjoy the same choices.

There is a really important word in this Centre's name: excellence.

I hope that word is a constant reminder to all who pass through these doors of just what can be achieved through hard work, the guidance of good people and the grasping of opportunities.

I wish the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence - its staff and students - every success.

I congratulate you on the first class facility that you have built.

I congratulate you, in advance, for the heights you will reach, and I congratulate you for creating a place where the hopes and dreams of Indigenous Australia will be encouraged and nurtured.

It is now my pleasure to officially declare open the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence.

Source: www.pm.gov.au/node/6507