ASPBAE's Indigenous Education Paper entitled ‘Still Missing and Education: Australian Policy Failure on Indigenous Education Participation and Outcomes” was published in July 2009 to coincide with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, which is a forum for the meeting of state Premiers, Chief Ministers and the Prime Minister. It was endorsed by Mr. Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice and Race Relations Commissioner. Not long after the report’s release the Australian Government acted on one of the report’s key recommendations, which was that data collection and dissemination has been inadequate to make sound policy and that significant investments must be made to correct the problem. The Government decided to invest AUD$ 46.6 million over four years in Indigenous data collection. There was also strong media coverage of the release of the report with ASPBAE Australia Director, Mr. Bernie Lovegrove, being interviewed by ABC National Radio and an article appearing on national internet news. The report was distributed to key politicians, relevant CSOs and government departments and will continue to be distributed to interested individuals and organisations.
This report and others in the Indigenous Education Paper series can be downloaded at http://www.aspbae.org/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=2:case-studies-on-indigenous-education&Itemid=54