KARNET MEN GET MINING JOBS

Goreng-Menang elder John Alexander at last week’s Carey Bindjareb graduation ceremony at Karnet Prison Farm. Courtesy WA Department of Justice.

GEOFF VIVIAN

A total of 11 Aboriginal prisoners are well-placed to join Western Australia's mining industry, after completing a civil construction training course at Karnet Prison Farm near Perth.

Goreng Menang elder John Alexander, who started the program and acts as a mentor to the men, said it was their 28th graduation.

“When we started, back when Cocky was an egg, we had 75 or 80 per cent of Aboriginal people going back to prison,” he said. “Today we have reduced that to below 19 per cent of people going back and we’re still not satisfied. We won’t be satisfied til we are near zero.”

The 14-week course - run at a simulated mine site at Karnet - allows participants to meet potential employers, including WesTrac, Altrad Services, Carey Group, Alcoa, and Monadelphous.