Technology can help close the gap: Malcolm Turnbull

Malcolm Turnbull has told his first meeting of the indigenous advisory council that he wants to harness technology to help close the gap with Aboriginal Australia.
The Prime Minister’s indigenous adviser Warren Mundine said he was “excited” about the meeting which canvassed job creation, school attendance and education.
Mr Mundine told The Australian Mr Turnbull wanted the council to “think outside the box” and to use technological innovations to help connect with indigenous Australians.
As an example, Mr Turnbull said a mobile phone application for school attendance could be used which alerted parents to truancy among children.
“I am very excited by the conversation,” Mr Mundine said.
“He really wants us to think about innovation — he uses this word a lot, he said this is what we have got to do — ‘we have to be innovative, we can’t be captive to history to date, we need to be mindful of it, but we can’t be captive.”
The advisory council also discussed the promotion of maths and science in Aboriginal schools, and the need to ensure programs were targeting indigenous Australians in metropolitan areas.
Mr Mundine said Mr Turnbull had also been interested in promoting
entrepreneurism and start-ups within indigenous communities as a way to boost employment.
“It is not just about getting them into a job — what if through their training process, they see an opportunity to be self-employed and run a bit of businesses? We need to support that too, because that creates employment and enterprise in rural and remote areas.”
Mr Mundine said that while the meeting had not canvassed indigenous recognition, Mr Turnbull had expressed support for the process.
“He wants it to happen, but it is about how we engage and how we get the feedback to know what the (indigenous) leadership is thinking.”