February 11, 2015
The Federal Government today released its seventh “Closing The Gap” report since 2008, the “report card” into how well (or not) Australia is improving the lot of Indigenous Australians.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott expressed disappointment in the findings, which show little change from last year.
The targets in the Closing The Gap Report were set by the Council of Australian Governments in 2008.
“Despite good intention and considerable investment by successive governments, the disparity in outcomes remains,” Mr Abbott said.
“Although there has been some improvement in education and health outcomes for Indigenous Australians, in many areas progress has been far too slow. It is profoundly disappointing that most Closing the Gap targets are not on track to be met.”
When Opposition Leader Bill Shorten raised the issue of Budget cuts to Indigenous programs in his reply speech, a group of Coalition MPs walked out of the Chamber, including Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd.
Mr O’Dowd said later he was disgusted with Mr Shorten’s “debasement of Australian politics”.
“On an occasion that has traditionally been about bipartisan reflection on Australia’s progress towards achieving the common goal of Aboriginal reconciliation, Bill Shorten chose to try to score cheap political points,” he said.
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Key Findings Of The Report
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ANTaR – Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation – responded to today’s report by saying “Close The Gap” commitments by the Federal Government were hollow without funding.
It also called for:
- Increased access to primary health care services to detect, treat and manage chronic disease
- Reinstating the National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee
- Keep and increase funding to the Tackling Indigenous Smoking Program
- The adoption of COAG justice targets
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Downloads:
- Closing The Gap – Prime Minister’s Report (1.85Mb PDF)
- Closing The Gap – Progress and Priorities Report (Campaign Steering Committee) (1.48Mb PDF)
