Growing up in regional Queensland, Topaz Mc Auliffe recalls feeling lucky. "Being a Torres Strait Islander - grandfather from Moa Island and grandmother from Yorke Island - and growing up in Cairns, we were always told that we needed to get a job," she recalls.
After starting a career at St.George Bank, working in lending, finance and insurance, she volunteered for a project to address local unemployment. "That opened my eyes as to why there were high rates of First Nations people out of work in places like Cairns and Shepparton," she explains. I spent 12 months understanding what the barriers were. There were a lot of jobs and a lot of people looking for work, but the system just wasn't delivering. It was broken." A pilot work program was started, and Coles offered her a job. She spent a decade setting up a new employment system for the retail group, which has now spread to many parts of Australia. That led her to starting her own business so that she could become more broadly involved.
McAuliffe describes employment initiatives as having two major benefits for employees. One is to ensure that people hear about job vacancies. "It wasn't until I started at Coles that I realised there were opportunities to earn six figures if you worked hard. But there wasn't the awareness about career paths.
"There was a need for employers to find better ways to employ First Nations people. They had to refine their processes, similar to other diversity programs, and consider ways to increase opportunities. We found a lot of barriers, so we needed to identify where breakdowns were occurring and work out solutions.
"People take the attitude that they have employment, they've got commitment, let's just get moving. But it takes about a decade to develop a sustainable employment process."
What makes her system work? McAuliffe cites two factors.
Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Money Magazine Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Money Magazine Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
An outrageous, beautiful monopoly
Telstra's mobile business is a cash machine with few competitors, giving it the highest returns in the world.
Drop the anchor to judge value
Buying and selling decisions should be based on where a stock price is going, not where it has been.
Powering the AI boom
Beyond the software and chipmakers, where will the energy come from?
Get into life
Tucked inside super are products that can protect you from life's inevitable uncertainties.
Paths to home ownership
Taking the road less travelled can sometimes deliver unexpected benefits.
Sold! Quick ways to add value
Small, strategic changes can have a big impact on the look and feel of your home. And get you a better price on auction day.
Money lessons the kids need to know
Your children can learn a lot from your past money mishaps. Here are eight financial conversations I have had with mine.
Property-investing rules: are they likely to change?
The pressure for the government to curb the tax benefits of tax concessions, such as negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, is unrelenting. Most recently, independent senators David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie proposed five options for paring back investment property tax concessions, with savings to the Federal budget of up to $60 billion over the next decade.
What's love got to do with it?
A rollercoaster of emotions could be driving poor crypto behaviour.
Are we ready to be cash-free?
Saying goodbye to our piggy banks too soon could leave small businesses in the dark when problems arise.
