In an announcement at Oxley High School on Saturday morning, member for New England, Barnaby Joyce, and Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion, announced a funding package which would see a Girl’s Academy Program delivered at the school by Role Models and Leaders Australia.

The announcement was part of a funding package which would ensure more than 10,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students across the nation would finish their education at Year 12.

Organisations to be supported through the funding package include The Clontarf Foundation, Role Models and Leaders Australia, Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience, Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, Cathy Freeman Foundation, AFL Cape York House and the Wirrapanda Foundation.

 The Clontarf Foundation and Role Models and Leaders Australia will each receive almost $5 million in funding that will enable both of them to expand the school-based mentoring support they deliver by an additional 1500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

“We know this is how we build strong communities, we know this is how we build respect and we know this is how you get attendance rates up,” Mr Joyce told media in Tamworth.

“I think it so vitally important that we have a further investment, and what better place to do it than here at Oxley High School with people from our local community.”

Minister Scullion agreed with Mr Joyce and said closing the gap began at school.

“It is so important that we make this equal investment in that same socialisation, that confidence and those life skills very early, so Role Models and Leaders Australia will be opening an academy here,” he said.

“If you complete Year 12, there is literally no gap, you have the same opportunities as any other Australian, that’s what the statistics tell us and that is why we are making this absolutely vital investment.”

Clontarf chief executive officer, Gerard Neesham, said $5 million in additional funding for his organisation would enable the foundation to assist more young men, more quickly, in turn helping the country to break the cycle of disadvantage.

“We exist to improve the education, discipline, self-esteem, life skills and employment prospects of young Aboriginal men and by doing so, equip them to participate more meaningfully in society,” Mr Neesham said.

“We are fully committed to continuing work in our current locations and are absolutely determined to reach more young Aboriginal men who could benefit from a Clontarf program.”

Role Models and Leaders Australia founder and chief executive officer, Ricky Grace, said he was delight-

ed the Coalition was providing major funding to expand the organisation’s girl’s academies to a further 1500 Indigenous secondary school girls.

“This important commitment will ensure we are able to meet the needs of young Indigenous girls in secondary schools and improve school attendance and engagement, secondary school graduation and transition into post-school education and training opportunities,” Mr Grace said.