New data from the Productivity Commission has found Australia is failing to hit the majority of its Closing the Gap targets.
The latest Closing the Gap annual data report, released on Thursday, found only four of the 17 targets are on track.
The birth weights of Indigenous babies, preschool kids attending early childhood education, and youth detention rates are all trending in the right direction, while gains are also being seen in land and sea rights.
However targets to reduce rates of suicide, adult incarceration, and First Nations children in out-of-home care were not on track, or indeed had worsened: Indigenous children are now more likely to be taken into out-of-home care than they were three years ago.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said seeing so few targets moving in the right direction is “very disappointing” and provides a challenge ahead for the government.
“What I am really happy about is to see that baby birth weights are on track - I think that's really important. But equally devastating is the incarceration rates that are getting worse,” Minister Burney told NITV News.
She said the government is committed to working with key stakeholders to improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
The Joint Council on Closing the Gap, which includes Minister Burney, the Coalition of Peaks, ministers from each state and territory, and a representative from the Australian Local Government Association will meet next month in Adelaide to strategise their next steps.
“That will give us a great springboard into doing things differently, including better data collection, embedding the principle of self-determination, and First Nations-led solutions.”
Minister Burney said while the targets were set by the Coalition government in 2020, Labor has embraced them, as they are the result of careful consideration under the leadership of Indigenous voices.
She said while each of the 17 targets are important and will be addressed, they will prioritise “the ones that are really going to shift the dial.”
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney at her swearing-in ceremony last month. Source: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Report should send 'urgent message'
Coalition of Peaks lead convener Pat Turner AM says with only eight years left to meet every target of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, the new report should send an urgent message to those working towards Closing the Gap in life outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
“The ‘gap’ isn’t an abstract concept," Ms Turner said.
"There is still a gap in the life outcomes that are important for our people’s wellbeing, in areas such as education, health, employment, access to land and waters, interaction with the criminal justice system, and the strength of our cultures and languages."
Ms Turner said the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisation sector is on the ground in communities doing what they can, but without more action from their government partners, they won’t see much improvement on the socio-economic targets.
The sector is said to be especially concerned when it comes to appropriately resourcing the sector and transforming mainstream organisations so mob feel comfortable accessing them - both priority reforms in the National Agreement.
“We appreciate that it is early days for the data and some of these results need to be viewed with caution, however, the latest figures don’t bode well,” Ms Turner said.
Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Julian Leeser said the report provides crucial information, as under the previous Closing the Gap Agreement (the National Indigenous Reform Agreement 2008), only the federal government's progress was reported on.
“As a result of the work of Ken Wyatt, this year for the first time, we will get a richer picture of how we are progressing as a nation to meet the closing the gap targets,” Mr Leeser said.
The Annual Data Compilation Report on Closing the Gap comes as the Albanese government announces an extra $57 million in funding to boost Indigenous culture, arts and languages.
