The revamped Closing the Gap agreement is a significant achievement for Indigenous organisations. But we need more detail about who will be responsible for what.
The government will unveil 16 targets for Indigenous advancement, when Scott Morrison announces on Thursday a new national agreement on “Closing the Gap”.
Rather than continually focusing on the “gap” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, we should look at pathways to success within First Nations communities.
The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated how vital local-level decision-making is in Indigenous affairs – and why the government needs to listen more often.
Policies for Indigenous Australians must better reflect and prioritise Indigenous cultural values.
Walpiri Transient Camp, Katherine: Western medicine can’t be expected to work for disadvantaged Indigenous Australians unless housing and social disadvantage are also addressed.
Simon Quilty, Australian National University e Lisa Wood, The University of Western Australia
A safe home, a working fridge and access to transport are all needed before western medicine has a chance of working in the long term. But a new way of providing care can help.
The Anangu community of Mutitjulu stands in stark contrast to the sleek tourism infrastructure in the neighbouring town of Yulara.
Lukas Coch/AAP
There’s a need to develop new tourism activities at Uluru, especially more educational and immersive experiences that would entail interacting respectfully with traditional owners.
This child and her mother found refuge at a women’s shelter, but many are unable to find the secure housing they need to escape family violence.
Dan Peled/AAP
Indigenous children are admitted to out-of-home care at 11 times the rate for non-Indigenous children. The lack of safe housing for mothers fleeing family violence is a key factor.
Sports have long been seen as a way to improve outcomes in Indigenous communities, but more research is needed to structure better programs.
Paul Miller/AAP
A review of 20 studies shows that sport can improve outcomes for Indigenous youth in education and culture, but the evidence on longer-lasting impacts is lacking.
The appointment of Ken Wyatt as the first Indigenous minister for Indigenous Australians is a significant moment in the nation’s history.
AAP/Lukas Coch
While the new minister has the chance to make a real difference, unrealistic expectations of him should be tempered- real change will take not just the whole government, but the nation.
Indigenous culture doesn’t necessarily measure personal and policy success the same way as non-Indigenous politcians and bureaucrats.
Dan Peled/AAP
There is little reason to think changes made to the Closing the Gap targets and partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives will have much of an impact.
The same patterns have emerged over the last decade of reaching for the same targets.
from shutterstock.com
Some targets seem easier to meet than others, while some are just plain unreliable. Here are four things we’ve learnt from the last decade of Closing the Gap policy.
People with disability living in remote communities may receive money for supports, but that doesn’t mean there’s anywhere to purchase them.
from shutterstock.com
The NDIS has good intentions, but its design doesn’t seem to support the unique needs of Indigenous people living with a disability, particularly if they’re living in remote communities.
There has been no robust evaluation of the last two employment programs.
AAP
Most book clubs are white and middle-class. Even today, books and reading can presume a divide between Indigenous oral story-telling and non-Indigenous literacy.
In each survey or census, people are asked to identify if they are Indigenous.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Decent housing underpins the Closing the Gap goals, with a decade-long national remote housing program having made measurable progress. If the Commonwealth pulls out now, hard-won gains could be lost.
Director Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, CI ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW), School of Philosophical, Historical & International Studies (SOPHIS), School of Social Sciences (SOSS), Faculty of Arts, Monash University