Latest news with #ClosingTheGap
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Governments are leaving ‘heavy lifting' on Closing the Gap to underresourced Aboriginal groups, review finds
Australian governments are failing to do 'the heavy lifting' needed to address entrenched disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, an independent review of the national Closing the Gap strategy has found. The review by the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney is the first to independently assess the implementation of the Closing the Gap agreement since its establishment in 2008. The agreement, committed to by all Australian governments and the Coalition of Peaks – a representative body of more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations (ACCOs) – aimed to reset the relationship between governments and First Nations people, with a focus on shared decision-making and structural reform. But despite the landmark agreement and the subsequent 2020 refresh by the Morrison government the review found that states, territories and the federal government are still falling short. 'Much of the burden for that success rests too heavily on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parties, while government parties carry a lighter responsibility,' the report states. 'The Peaks, ACCOs and communities are doing the heavy lifting while at the same time being under-resourced in comparison with governments,' it said. The review authors consulted more than 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia over five months. They found that the overall architecture of the agreement was sound but was hampered by systemic failures including 'inaction' from governments, and structural racism which they said was 'baked in society'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email One of the report's most damning findings is that racism continues to pervade every aspect of the strategy, and that governments have failed to take serious steps to address it. 'Despite the National Agreement commitment to identifying and eliminating racism, no systemic steps have been taken despite, or perhaps because, racism is a deeply rooted problem that was baked into government institutions from their very inception of this country,' the report said. The latest government update on Closing the Gap targets shows only four are now on track. Six are improving but not on track, four are worsening, and a further four cannot be assessed. Prof Lindon Coombes, the director of the Jumbunna Institute, said the report should prompt reflection for those leading the way to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. 'We want this review to provide constructive feedback for all parties to the National Agreement, and to hear the voices of the people it seeks to support,' he said. 'What has become apparent is that there needs to be a consideration by all governments and the Coalition of Peaks about the nature of their relationships and how it underpins or hinders implementation.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Tom Calma was the social justice commissioner at the time of the 2008 agreement. The Kungarakan and Iwaidja elder from the Northern Territory told Guardian Australia that the review's findings emphasise the need for governments to consult with a wide variety of Indigenous groups and organisations. He said it was vital to hold Australian governments and organisations accountable for their role in improving the inequities experienced by many Indigenous people, as most Indigenous people relied on mainstream services. 'There's not enough effort being put into getting mainstream organisations and governments to do their share. There's no targets for them. All the targets are for community control sector,' Calma said. 'If we look at health alone, less than half [Indigenous peoples] use community-controlled health services. The majority use mainstream or public services. 'There's no specific reference to them being culturally competent, for them addressing the racism and discrimination within their systems … They're all issues that need to be addressed if we are going to close the health gap.' The Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency CEO, Muriel Bamblett, condemned governments for failing to address 'real progress towards closing the gap'. 'Today's review has once again highlighted that without clear accountability, and a lack of genuine partnership between Government and Aboriginal people, progress will continue to be critically slow,' she said in a statement.
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
NSW Labor government commits $202million to help improve the lives of Aboriginal Australians and close the gap
The 2025/26 NSW Budget, to be handed down on Tuesday, will allocate $202million to Closing the Gap initiatives to help improve the lives of Aboriginal Australians. This investment will be delivered partnership with Aboriginal organisations and communities, to achieve more targeted and tangible outcomes for Aboriginal people across health, education, employment, criminal justice, and economic development. The funding includes $20million for Aboriginal-led, culturally safe programs that support Aboriginal adults and children leaving custody, aiming to reduce reoffending. It also includes $13.4 million for the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service and the Department of Communities and Justice to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the criminal justice system through Aboriginal-led solutions. An additional $17.9 million will support Aboriginal organisations, such as Local Aboriginal Land Councils, to acquire and activate land - such as through rezoning - to unlock economic opportunities. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris said the Labor Government has maintained a strong focus on delivering real outcomes for Aboriginal people. 'Delivering on Closing the Gap and creating a more equitable state, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, is not only the right thing to do; it builds a better NSW by strengthening our society, economy, culture and communities.' The budget will also allocate nearly $80 million to position NSW as the best place to innovate, attract investors, and scale businesses. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey says his third budget declares the state is 'open for business' to help expand its $900 billion economy. 'There is a global race for capital ... and we want NSW at the front of that race.' The state has a world-leading workforce and offered businesses stability and connection to global industries, Mr Mookhey told reporters on Monday. 'What we want to add now is the confidence for businesses to get on and make the big calls to sign off on the $1 billion-plus investments that drive growth,' he said. Housing affordability would remain a major issue but supporting business confidence was a major factor to boost jobs and wages and address unaffordability, Mr Mookhey said. 'We're pretty determined to get the balance right,' he told AAP in the lead-up to the budget. 'There's a lot of opportunity and a lot of ambition in NSW, and the changes we're making are designed to hold on to what we love.' The government will duplicate efforts to speed up planning, with an Investment Delivery Authority to receive almost $18 million. Similar to the Housing Delivery Authority which started in December, the four-person panel will override councils and accelerate planning approvals for businesses amid complaints making major investments in NSW is too complex and time-consuming. Other funding announced on Monday includes $38.5 million for Australia's largest technology and innovation hub, Tech Central, and $20 million for emerging technology commercialisation to help boost growth in the housing and energy sectors. In 2024, NSW accounted for 65 per cent of Australia's venture capital investment, and hosts five out of eight 'unicorn' companies - privately-held start-ups valued at over $1 billion. Major projects to be considered by the new panel may include hotels, data centres, renewable energy projects and commercial developments. Too many major projects from the private sector were getting bogged down in red tape, Premier Chris Minns said. 'It's costing us high-paid, high-skilled jobs in our modern economy, and something has to change,' he told reporters on Monday from data centre operator NextDC's facility in Sydney's north. NextDC chief executive Craig Scroogie said the announcement would help the company move on its $15 billion investment pipeline. 'The planning system was never designed to move at the speed that technology is moving, let alone the speed that artificial intelligence is changing the way we live and work every day,' he told reporters. 'This is a global opportunity for Australia to be a leader in artificial intelligence and large-scale infrastructure, and it needs modern planning systems to be deployed.' NSW LABOR GOVERNMENT BUDGET PLEDGES TRANSPORT: * $452 million to increase bus services, including $56 million to buy 50 new 'bendy' buses and $150 million for more regular school bus services in outer Sydney and regional areas * Road upgrades and new signage around Western Sydney Airport precinct totalling $80 million EDUCATION: * $9 billion across four years for public school infrastructure, largely focused on growing suburban communities, including three new public primary schools with attached public preschools in west and southwest Sydney * $3.4 billion towards TAFE and upskilling, including $40 million to enable 23,000 construction students to complete their apprenticeships for free HEALTH: * Another $700 million towards construction of the $2 billion Bankstown Hospital and relocation of Bankstown TAFE * A statewide pathology hub to be established at Westmead, with the $492 million investment to include an upgrade to a high-security lab researching dangerous pathogens such as Ebola and measles * $23 million to cut down the overdue surgery list by 3500 * $83 million to bolster maternity care ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS: * $202 million for Closing the Gap projects, including $23 million towards community-led suicide prevention programs LAW AND ORDER: * $125.8 million for cybersecurity upgrades to NSW Police, including $50 million to upgrade outdated hardware * Victims' Support Service funding boosted by $227 million across five years to help victims of violent crime access counselling * Upgrade of Downing Centre to create 15 new physical and virtual courtrooms and $48.3 million to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for more solicitors HOUSING: * $145 million across four years for the state's Building Commission to hire more prosecutors, investigators and inspectors to weed out dodgy residential builds * $30.4 million crisis intervention package for homelessness services * Extension of build-to-rent tax concessions beyond slated 2039 end date INNOVATION AND BUSINESS: * $80 million in innovation funding, including $38.5 million to boost technology hub TechCentral * A four-person Investment Delivery Authority to fast-track planning approvals for billion-dollar projects ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SPACES: * $110 million to maintain public spaces, including the repair of heritage-listed Pyrmont Bridge and maintenance of fire trails * Construction of the Newcastle Logistics Precinct, housing wind turbines and electrical transformers used in renewable energy projects, for $115.5 million * Commonwealth Veteran Card holders will receive free vehicle entry to all NSW National Parks CULTURE: * Establishment of a $100 million fund to find a suitable location for a second major film studio in Sydney * $280 million to support the screen and digital games sector, including rebates for NSW-based visual effects and digital games productions
SBS Australia
a day ago
- General
- SBS Australia
'Cop-out': Calls for teachers to educate themselves on Australian history
Aunty Jackie Huggins was at primary school in Brisbane in 1960s when a teacher singled her out in a moment that would radically change her perspective. The Bidjara and Birri Gubba Juru girl was the only Aboriginal student in her year three class when a fresh-faced young teacher told them to get to their feet if they were Australian. Speaking on NITV's The Point, Aunty Jackie recalled her confusion when he had asked everyone except her to sit down and declared to the class that she was the "real Australian" in the room. "He based his whole class lesson around the fact that I was Aboriginal, and that I was here for a very long time, and we were the first peoples of this country, and it made me feel so proud," Aunty Jackie said. "I've always thought about that lesson and those lessons from teachers who have that incredible power to really affirm their children in the classroom, even if you are so different from the rest." This formative classroom experience proved to be the exception rather than the rule and Aunty Jackie overcame bigotry and low expectations on the road to becoming an accomplished author and academic. "I always say to teachers: 'You know, you have that power to really make or break a child's life in terms of their own identity'," she said. Today, the data is clear that education is fundamental to improving outcomes for First Nations people, yet Indigenous students continue to lag behind the broader population. The national agreement on Closing the Gap was launched in 2008 with the commitment to reduce disadvantage among Indigenous Australians in health, life expectancy, employment, and education by 2031. According to the latest report, only one of the five education-related targets is considered to be on track. Charles Darwin University education researcher Dr Tracy Woodroffe said it's important to maintain a broader perspective on our national approach to education. "The Australian education system is meant to cater for all Australians," she said. "Instead of us thinking about Aboriginal people — us as people failing — we need to look at what's the responsibility of the system itself and to not position ourselves as helpless in the process, but think of how we change a system and how we change what teachers learn and how they operate within a classroom." Less than 2 per cent of registered teachers in Australia are Indigenous and Woodroffe said an "infiltration" of First Nations teachers and perspectives will help to transform the system from within. "If more students had that positive experience of schooling, perhaps also then they might decide to be teachers themselves to teach the next generation the way that they wanted to be taught," she said. "For that to happen, though, they need teachers to engage them in the first place and to be able to work in a way that helps the students feel like they belong within that school." Despite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures having been part of the national curriculum since 2012, the majority of non-Indigenous teachers over 35 say they 'lack confidence' in this area. "I think it's a little bit of a cop-out," Woodroffe said. "It's easy to say, 'I don't want to offend anyone. I don't know about that. I might get it wrong.' "But we're adults, and if we are setting out on this path to be educators, we should be educated and understand how to find the answer to something that we don't know." Aunty Jackie agreed that there is still a long way to go, but she has seen enormous change in her lifetime. "Who would've ever thought a little shy Black girl like me is now a professor?" she said with a chuckle. "I've always said to younger people, you've got to have an education because that is about your liberation in this country. "That is the way we can fight to close the gap."
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Aboriginal people feel Labor isn't listening to them after voice defeat, Uluru statement co-author says
One of the architects of the Indigenous voice to parliament says Aboriginal Australians increasingly feel the government isn't listening to their views on laws and policy design, warning against closed-shop public consultations in the wake of the referendum defeat. Megan Davis, a constitutional scholar and signatory to the Uluru statement from the heart, said the re-elected Albanese government was facing growing displays of discontent and needed a new approach to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Davis said Indigenous policy frameworks were failing and engagement with government was subject to growing 'exclusivity'. 'They consult only those who have contracts with them, or are enlisted in the Closing the Gap 'partnership', so to speak,' she told Guardian Australia. 'Good public policy cannot be served by limiting your consultation to a hermetically sealed segment of a community. 'As a consequence, many Aboriginal people are now saying that the no vote has been interpreted as bureaucrats and government no longer needing to listen to community voices on laws and policies.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The comments come at the start of National Reconciliation Week, and on the eighth anniversary of the release of Uluru statement, the 2017 request from Indigenous leaders built around the concepts of voice, treaty and truth. Running until 3 June, Reconciliation Week follows heated debate about Indigenous welcome to country ceremonies during the election campaign. After Labor's 2022 victory, Anthony Albanese committed to implementing the Uluru statement in full but promised a different approach after the October 2023 referendum was soundly defeated by voters. Last year the prime minister said Labor would deliver the first comprehensive economic policy for Indigenous Australians, part of efforts to close the disadvantage gap. He used a speech at the Garma festival to pledge improved avenues for private-sector investment and to lift home ownership in Indigenous communities, as well as helping companies and job creators to directly reach Indigenous people. Speaking from Harvard University, where she is a visiting professor, Davis said Albanese's vision of 'progressive patriotism' and Australian design models was at odds with the agenda of Indigenous reconciliation, which was first conceived overseas. She said Australia's brand of reconciliation was too limited to private actors and private action. 'That of course has its place and like many mob I have served my time on reconciliation action plans, but it doesn't ask anything of the state that is structural,' she said. 'It's the structural [change] – the public structures of the state – that incontrovertibly lead to change.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The federal government declined to respond to the comments on Sunday. Despite the voice defeat, Davis said Uluru advocates wanted to meet non-Indigenous Australians, 'and yarn about the things we have in common and the things that we don't and the things we can agree on and the things we disagree on'. 'After all, the word parliament comes from 'parle', the French word for speak,' she said. 'That's what the voice is about and that's what we are doing now is speaking, speaking to yes and no about the referendum and yarning about our shared future.' Albanese's post-election reshuffle included the Northern Territory senator Malarndirri McCarthy as minister for Indigenous Australians and Marion Scrymgour, the MP for Lingiari, as the government's special envoy for remote communities. This month Scrymgour said she would speak to Albanese about progressing the remaining elements of the Uluru statement, to help the country heal and move forward. The Cape York leader Noel Pearson told the Australian newspaper after the election that Albanese had run away from Indigenous policy, likening his moves to a Houdini-like disappearance. Davis said Indigenous people deserved to be consulted on the decisions which affected their lives, 'because we know our communities better than you and the laws and policies will be of a better quality'.
ABC News
09-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Tamworth Regional Council signs 'historic' deal with Aboriginal communities to close the gap
Tamworth has become the first Australian town to launch a "historic" partnership between the local council and Aboriginal organisations that will embed Closing the Gap targets into local government processes. The Mara Ngali partnership — meaning "two hands" in the language of the Gomeroi people — was officially signed on Friday by representatives of Tamworth Regional Council and local Aboriginal community-controlled organisations. After a smoking ceremony, the agreements were formally signed at a gathering at the Tamworth Botanic Gardens bush chapel. Daisy Cutmore, the chair of Tamworth Local Aboriginal Land Council, who signed the agreement, said it was an opportunity to support local solutions and create lasting change. "All these pilot programs have turned into nothing, and all it has caused is dysfunction and sorrow within our communities because when stuff has happened in the community, it's been good, but then it's been taken away," she said. "This should ensure that our needs are met and realised in a formalised manner." The agreement means Aboriginal voices will take part in "shared decision-making" with council to help address the 17 Closing the Gap targets, Tamworth Regional Councillor Marc Sutherland said. Cr Sutherland, the first Gomeroi person to be elected to the council, introduced the motion about four years ago. "I'm excited, this has been one of my aspirations of running for local council," he said. "Aboriginal communities have been pushing for partnerships with government for decades. "We haven't always had the best relationship with local government, and so having a formal partnership where we can establish that relationship in a positive way is a massive step forward." First Nations signatories include the local Aboriginal Legal Service, the land council, the Aboriginal Medical Service and several education providers. "It's about being community led, and that we all have a responsibility to the place that we live and the people who live here, and that's been echoed through our culture for thousands of years, and local governments are no different," Cr Sutherland said. Pat Turner, the lead convener of the national Coalition of Peaks, said the partnership was a landmark moment that was led by First Nations people at a local level. "This is a historic first. Never before has a local government made such a formal and genuine commitment to close the gap in partnership with our people," she said in a statement. "This is what self-determination looks like — the Aboriginal community driving change, with governments walking alongside us, and real accountability built in from the ground up." Aunty Catherine Trindall, the chairperson of the Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Service, said the agreement won't be the solution to every challenge, but it will be a "springboard" for meaningful change. "There's a lot of community who are unsure and quite frustrated when you hear the words 'closing the gap,'" she said. "But as the Aboriginal Medical Service treasurer Charles Lynch says, 'It's really about bettering the gap,' and now we have a mechanism with local government to actually hold them account." The National Closing the Gap targets were introduced in 2008 to address the severe disadvantage that First Nations people were experiencing across many areas, including health, housing, education and employment. In 2020, the national agreement was re-signed, but this time with a different approach. The new agreement followed extensive consultation led by the Coalition of Peaks, the national collective of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations (ACCOs), aimed at changing the way governments work with First Nations communities. Under the agreement, each level of government, including local councils, signed up to working with the Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations (CAPOS). However, Cr Sutherland said there are only six CAPOS across the nation that have been established at a local level, with Tamworth being the only one in New South Wales. The lack of CAPOS means there has been no formal mechanisms for local governments to address the Closing the Gap targets in partnership with communities, he said, nor a framework for holding local governments to account. In Tamworth, Aboriginal people make up 13 per cent of the population, compared to 3.8 per cent of the national population. Cr Sutherland said the agreement includes a "shared road map for action" and council will have to report back on how it's implemented. "[The council] have budgets and resourcing plans to be able to deliver on those outcomes, and every quarter they report back," he said. "This is a positive step forward in guaranteeing that councils are working in partnership with our Aboriginal community organisations because we're all fighting for the same thing, we all want better outcomes." The road map includes five priority areas: formal partnerships and shared decision-making, strengthening the community-controlled sector, culturally safe and accountable council services, transparent data sharing, and boosting Aboriginal employment and economic development. For Aunty Catherine, the practical changes she hopes will come from this agreement include truth-telling, employment and business opportunities, as well as agreements around cultural business, like creating a "keeping place" in Tamworth. "Whether or not there's an inappropriate [street sign] that comes from colonisation, that's up to us to determine whether we want it changed or want a reminder that this is what happened, like Burying Creek Ground near the northern tablelands," she said. Gomeroi man Bradley Flanders — also Aunty Catherine's son — said it was a "momentous" agreement. "The Tamworth community has always had a very strong Aboriginal community," he said. "But now it's given us the power to actually put some action behind those conversations and really establish a solid connection between not only Aboriginal but also non-Aboriginal people within our community." Ultimately, Aunty Catherine's vision for this partnership is to set up the next generation to lead healthy lives. "I don't want my grandchildren or my great-grandchildren to be sitting here talking about closing the gap anymore," Aunty Catherine said. "It's about time that we took hold of that, because they're going to be our future elders. We need to make sure that we are in a position to enable them to reach that destination long enough to tell their stories."
