We're not doing enough:PM on Close the Gap

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is saddenned by some of the outcomes laid bare in the Closing the Gap report into indigenous disadvantage.

File image of Malcolm Turnbull

File image of Malcolm Turnbull Source: AAP

Despite the efforts of successive federal and state governments and the efforts of everyday Australians the country is not doing enough to curb indigenous disadvantage, Malcolm Turnbull has told parliament.

The prime minister on Tuesday handed down the ninth annual Close the Gap report, which showed only one of seven targets set down to improve indigenous health, education and employment outcomes is on track to be met.

"Even with successive commonwealth and state governments investing more resources, and even with tens of thousands of dedicated Australians seeks to contribute and engage, we are still not making enough progress," Mr Turnbull told MPs on Tuesday.

"We have come a long way since the (1967) referendum, but we have not come far enough."

The statistics on child mortality rates were a stark reminder of the fragility of life and heavy burden of responsibility on families, communities and governments.

"I'm very saddened and disappointed that the target to halve the gap in indigenous child mortality is not on track," Mr Turnbull said.

"We must redouble our efforts to reduce smoking rates during pregnancy, continue to improve immunisation rates, lift rates of antenatal care, reduce foetal trauma and keep our children safe."

Incarceration rates, domestic violence and rates of child protection among indigenous Australians are all far too high.

The government must work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people to stem the disadvantage.

"There can be no relationship without partnership, and there can be no partnership without participation," he said.

"It has to be a shared endeavour. Greater empowerment of local communities will deliver the shared outcomes we all seek."

Mr Turnbull announced an indigenous commissioner would be appointed to the Productivity Commission to evaluate programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.

"We must have a rigorous evaluation of programs so we know what is working and what is not," he said in making the announcement.

The federal government will pump $50 million into policy research and implementation, in partnership with the Indigenous Advisory Council.

"The data and the research we have, and the evidence we need to build, will be made available to indigenous communities to empower leadership and support community-led programs," the prime minister said.

"It will assist government in its next phase of closing the gap, which must focus on regional action and outcomes."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said closing the disadvantage gap demanded a new approach.

Australia must forget the insulting fiction that the first Australians are a problem to be solved.

"And instead, a new approach, to listen to people who stand on the other side of the gap," he told parliament.

"A new approach that, from now on, the first Australians must have first say in the decisions that shape their lives."


Share
3 min read
Published 14 February 2017 12:46pm
Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends