Jacinta Nampijinpa Price - Work Matters

 

Work matters. You and I know that. There is dignity in earning your own way. There is pride in providing for your family. And there is freedom that comes from standing on your own two feet. That’s why I asked a simple question in Senate Estimates. Labor is spending almost $950 million – nearly a billion dollars – on a program that aims to create around 6000 jobs in remote communities. So I asked: when the funding stops, what happens next? Will those jobs survive? Nobody could give me a straight answer and that should worry every Australian. Because that’s the problem with Labor’s approach. They think spending money is the same thing as solving a problem. If a program costs nearly a billion dollars, they call it a success before they’ve even measured whether it works. Australians deserve better than that. After decades of government spending, we should have learned one simple lesson: the government cannot buy independence on behalf of an individual. I grew up in remote Australia. I’ve seen governments come and go. I’ve seen new programs announced with great fanfare – every one a ‘new strategy’, every one accompanied by a massive funding package. And yet here we still are with too many people trapped in the same cycle. The problem is that too many politicians in Canberra think success is measured by how much money they spend. It isn’t. Success is measured by outcomes. By REAL solutions. By people getting ahead and families becoming self-reliant and communities creating their own prosperity. By businesses opening their doors, hiring staff and paying wages. That’s what real economic empowerment looks like. Not another government program or press release. The figures presented in Senate Estimates suggest this program will cost around $158,000 for every job created. Australians have every right to ask whether that money is changing anything or simply funding another cycle of dependency. Because when government funding becomes the foundation of a job, the obvious question is: What happens when the money runs out? I want to see more Indigenous Australians in work. I want to see more Indigenous Australians owning businesses. That is how stronger communities are built. By people creating enterprises that employ local people. Through responsibility, ownership and opportunity. Not through dependency. Sure, the government has a role to play, but it cannot live people’s lives for them. Independence comes from individuals taking responsibility for their own future. That truth applies whether you live in Sydney, Alice Springs or a remote community in Arnhem Land. Australians don’t want handouts. They want the chance to stand on their own two feet. And that is what I will continue fighting for. Time for REAL solutions. Jacinta Nampijinpa Price Senator for the Northern Territory Shadow Minister for Small Business Shadow Minister for Skills and Training