Andrew Leigh

INVESTING IN COWBOYS HOUSE TO ADDRESS INDIGENOUS DISADVANTAGE

A Shorten Labor Government will partner with the North Queensland Cowboys to assist young Indigenous women from remote and regional Queensland to access quality education.   

This election is a choice between a Shorten Labor Government with a plan for local communities, or more cuts and chaos from the LNP.   

If elected, Labor will invest $200,000 in the Cowboys Community Foundation, the charity arm of the community-owned North Queensland Cowboys.    

Managed by the Foundation, NRL Cowboys House provides accommodation and support for young Indigenous students from some of the most remote regions of North Queensland. The boarding facility not only removes geographical barriers for students to access education in Townsville, but also provides comprehensive programs to support their broader health and wellbeing to ensure improved social outcomes for their students. 

After two years of success with the boys’ campus, NRL Cowboys House opened its girls’ campus this year to provide equal opportunity for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women on its Townsville campus.  

The grant provided by a Shorten Labor Government will assist the Cowboys Community Foundation to implement a strong social and emotional health and wellbeing program which will be critical to the ongoing success for these students living far from home. The dedicated program and employees will support the mental health of students and ensure that they remain connected with their communities.   

The Cowboys Community Foundation is great example of how valuable cooperatives are to Australia and the part they can play in changing the course of a community. There are more than 2,000 cooperatives or mutuals in Australia, employing nearly 150,000 people.  

Labor knows the role that cooperatives play not just economically but also socially – making sure Australia is a more cohesive society – and that’s why a Shorten Labor Government will support the sector.  

ENDS

Authorised by Noah Carroll ALP Canberra.