Some of the outstanding issues surrounding the CDEP scheme and Indigenous employment do not sit well in relation to the Commonwealth government’s avowed commitment to practical reconciliation. In July 1999, the government introduced its Indigenous Employment Policy (IEP) to be implemented by DEWRSB (see Shergold, Ch. 8, this volume). This policy offers incentives to increase Indigenous people’s participation within the private sector and seeks to support the development of Indigenous small business. While this kind of policy is a step in the right direction, it is clear that a more thorough and comprehensive range of special measures are needed in addition to CDEP and the IEP to address Indigenous disadvantage in regard to unemployment.

This is why a ‘rights’-based approach has such a valuable role to play in prompting government to take responsibility for the effects on its Indigenous constituents of past and continuing inequities. The notion of a rights-based approach to Indigenous disadvantage has been associated of late with a loss of responsibility on the part of Indigenous people (see Pearson 2000). But the reason why such an approach to reviewing the social justice implications of the CDEP scheme and Indigenous employment need is so important, is that it requests a significant commitment from government to address Indigenous disadvantage with adequate special measures. The development of appropriate and effective special measures does not necessarily mean a commitment to greater welfare passivity. It can lead, instead, to building on the inroads already made by the CDEP scheme on Indigenous unemployment. This should entail serious application to the question of how an adequate investment can be made in building both the financial and the human capacity to address Indigenous employment need, particularly for the future of our young people.