INDIGENOUS YOUTH TRAINING / EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM

I strongly support a program which involves working directly with Indigenous communities on documenting
and preserving customary - both traditional and contemporary - Indigenous knowledge, particularly related to
medicinal plants, and understanding the chemical and biological properties of the bioactive constituents;
slowly broadening into bush foods as well.

Is it too big a step to consider a program such as the one run at Macquarie University in Sydney by Professor
Joanne Jamie? The National Indigenous Science Education Program was established to work with Indigenous
people in NSW to collect, propagate and subject known bush medicine plants to scientific evaluation when
Indigenous use would be described as "Folk" medicine at best.

This program is ideal for the Fraser Coast. Indigenous youth working with Tribal Elders to collect seed, plant
cuttings and root stock from known "bush medicine plants" in the 430 sq kilometre area of state-controlled
land north of Saltwater Creek Rd.

Blushwood tree with berries

Specifically, the Blushwood tree grows in this location and also on the southern side of K’Gari (Fraser Island).
A chemical in the berries of the Australian blushwood tree could cure a range of tumours including melanoma
and breast cancer.

An eight-year study by a medical research institute has found that a compound in blushwood berries that kills
cancer cells in skin melanomas. Scientists at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Queensland
have developed an experimental drug known as EBC-46. Using a compound extracted from the blushwood
tree berry, the drug has proven extremely promising, with a single local injection resulting in tumour reduction
within hours.

'In most cases the single injection treatment caused the loss of viability of cancer cells within four hours, and
ultimately destroyed the tumours,’ lead researcher Dr Glen Boyle said. Human trials are currently being
planned for the promising drug.

Not only is the compound highly effective with no side effects, but scientists were amazed at how fast the
compounds started working. The fruit compound started working in five minutes, making the cancerous
melanoma and neck tumours disappear in a matter of days.

The compound was 75% successful in fighting skin cancer on dogs, cats and horses. The research is highly
promising and could be a potential cure for fighting several surface cancers.

All animals treated in the study with the EBC-46 drug were considered by veterinary practitioners to have
untreatable disease using current standards of care. Many of the animals treated were within weeks of being
euthanized.

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“The surprising thing for us and the thing that we don’t see very often is the speed with which this occurs, Dr.
Boyle explained. “Usually when you treat a tumour it takes several weeks for it to resolve, but this is very,
very rapid. There’s a purpling of the area, of the tumour itself, and you see that within five minutes and you
come back the next day and the tumour’s black and you come back a few days later and the tumour’s fallen
off.”

Oscar the dog pre-treatment (L) and 15 days after treatment (R). Photo credit: QIMR Berghofer Medical Institute

To have this program on the Fraser Coast, it would involve a Queensland University run in conjunction with
the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, Community Development Programme (CDP), the Vocational Training
and Employment Centre (VTEC) and / or the $55.7 million Closing the Gap - Employment Services package
together with strengthening the role of Indigenous Elders in the community with relevant training for
Indigenous Youth as a recognition of their traditional knowledge towards Recognition in the Constitution.

Local Indigenous youth who are over represented in unemployed youth in Wide Bay (18.1% May 2019). This
could potentially open many doors for further and higher education opportunities.

Local land care groups who are interested in working with local people to reintroduce endemic plants which
have gone from some areas because of over clearing; a project such as this would fit well with the
propagation and spread of these plants to ensure survival for future testing as well as replace them where
they were known to exist naturally for we don’t realise their value in our environment until they have
disappeared, this would also create further work in our region.

There is a sense of urgency with a program such as this as the suggestion for a coalmine on the northern
side, (Churchill Mine) and the Colton Coal mine on the western boundary plus the application for 2000 ha of
land along the Churchill Mine Rd by the Maryborough Sugar Factory means if and when these projects get
under way the total removal of native vegetation would mean the end of any plant collection.

It is a shame the Green Army program which was maintained by 5 separate Governments (100% federally
funded) was scrapped by Malcolm Turnbull in 2016 as this would have been ideal.

It was an initiative for young Australians aged 17–24 years interested in protecting their local environment.
Participants would receive an allowance and gain hands-on, practical skills, training and experience in
environmental and conservation fields.

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The Australian Government had engaged five Service Providers to help deliver the programme and enter into
agreements with organisations hosting local community projects. Service providers were responsible for
recruiting participants and team supervisors, managing work health and safety, providing training, paying
allowances, and overseeing project management.

The Service Providers were:

▪ Campbell Page Limited together with Skillset Limited
▪ CoAct
▪ Conservation Volunteers Australia
▪ Manpower Services together with Landcare Australia Limited, and
▪ Workskill Australia Incorporated
Project hosts:
▪ Could nominate projects that benefit the environment as well as your local community.
▪ Receive a team of up to nine participants and a qualified team supervisor, who work for up to 30
hours each per week.
▪ The team would carry out activities such as revegetation, habitat protection, weed control,
cleaning up creeks and rivers and conserving national or Indigenous heritage places.
▪ The covers costs associated with the team including:
▪ participant allowances
▪ supervisor wages
▪ safety clothing and basic equipment
▪ participant training
▪ local transport costs
▪ insurances
▪ Items such as seeds, chemicals, fencing materials and equipment would be supplied by Service
Providers, with an average value of $10,000 per project.
Participants:
▪ Were paid an allowance during placement in the program, ranging from $10.24 to $16.61 an
hour.
▪ Were trained in First Aid and Work Health and Safety before starting a project.
▪ Had the opportunity to do accredited training modules or nationally endorsed skill sets to help
them prepare for the workforce or improve their career opportunities.
▪ Helped a nationwide effort to clean up and protect Australia’s environment and lend a hand in
their local community.
▪ Helped deliver tangible benefits for the environment, such as regenerating parks, rejuvenating
wetlands and rivers, restoring native vegetation and protecting animal habitats.
▪ Met people who were interested in helping the environment as they were.
▪ Given appropriate clothing and safety gear, including boots, trousers, hat, gloves, and shirts. Wet
weather gear and jumpers or jackets for cold climates will be provided.

Time for a smart approach in providing a pathway for Indigenous Youth into employment. With
90% Indigenous Youth unemployed I am keen to have a program such as this started on the
Fraser Coast.

We need to recognise by 2050, there will be more than 9 billion hungry people in the world and less farmland
and resources than there’s ever been. I believe there is a need for young leaders to be engaged in finding
sustainable agricultural solutions to the growing global need for safe, nutritious food.

Resources:
https://chemistry.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/joanne-jamie-inspiring-next-generation-Indigenous-
researchers
https://www.reshareworthy.com/blushwood-berry-treats-skin-cancer/#uwFS6dZpDdIvjUuo.99
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwXDn39Y-cQ
https://www.Indigenous.gov.au/Indigenous-advancement-strategy
https://www.Indigenous.gov.au/remote-australia-strategies
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/tony-abbott-is-dismayed-by-prime-minister-malcolm-turnbulls-
decision-to-axe-the-green-army/news-story/9bf9f7f0a01d06a0e04d01e7099aad5e
https://ctgreport.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2019.pdf?a=1

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