Cabinet papers reveal the extent to which the Keating government was torn between concern for fiscal responsibility and a desire to tackle Indigenous disadvantage and pursue meaningful reconciliation.
Treaties are formal agreements, reached via respectful negotiation under which both sides accept a series of responsibilities.
AAP/Joe Castro
No treaty between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has ever been recognised, but developments at the state level suggest this may soon change.
Writer and actor Nakkiah Lui, speaking on Q&A.
Q&A
Violence against women is a national priority, and Aboriginal women are disproportionately affected. This must be reported on appropriately in the media.
Reviving languages is no easy task – it needs teachers, a staged curriculum and resources.
The government’s plan to prioritise the revival of Indigenous languages in New South Wales is a welcome first step. Truly achieving it will take several more.
Policies and services designed to protect Aboriginal children’s cultural connections are not being properly implemented.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
New reports show a widespread lack of care for the cultural needs of many of the 19,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in child protection and out-of-home care.
Australia needs to recapture the urgency felt in the early 20th century about achieving an honourable and just settlement with Indigenous people.
Takver/flickr
For many, relations between Indigenous Australians and the government are best described as being in a state of crisis.
Of 1082 Indigenous specific.
programs identified in the report,
92% have never been evaluated to see if they are achieving their objectives.
AAP/Dan Peled
A new report highlights how little we know about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to publicly-funded Indigenous programs. It’s a similar story in other policy areas – but we can do better.
The Referendum Council has extended its timetable for consultations on the constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.
AAP/Paul Miller
Ever since British settlement, water rights in Australia’s north have favoured landowners over traditional owners, effectively locking Aboriginal people out of agricultural development.
Malcolm Turnbull’s criticism of Bill Shorten’s remarks on a treaty with Indigenous Australians reflects genuine anxiety that support for recognition is cooling.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
If we are to have a mature and sensible debate on Indigenous recognition, we must be more willing to embrace difficult issues and diverse perspectives.
Australia has rejected self-determination as being fundamental to Indigenous humanness and development.
AAP/Marianna Massey
Public policy no longer requires the imprimatur of the Aboriginal people; Aboriginal participation in the decisions taken about their lives is negligible.
The Coalition has fundamentally altered the architecture of Indigenous policymaking and delivery since 2013.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Serious policy focus on Indigenous affairs has been notably absent during the early weeks of the long election campaign.
In Ali Curung, 400km north of Alice Springs, the things that work for the community, including a local broadcasting and computer centre, are a response to local strengths and needs.
AAP/Dan Peled
In some Indigenous communities, the ratio of programs to people served is possibly the highest in the world. Somehow, for many, Closing the Gap remains an elusive goal. A rethink is needed.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is calling for innovation to improve the lives of Indigenous people, but must beware of causing instability with new policies that dismiss everything before them.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Across Indigenous Australia, innovation is occurring locally, under the radar of government policies and support. We can look to this innovation and stop fixating on finding the elusive policy solution.
Australian basketballer Alice Kunek (left) attracted the ire of a team-mate for this Instagram post where she had painted her face brown.
Instagram
The formation of the Close the Gap Campaign in March 2006 has provided ongoing focus and scrutiny on the health inequalities faced by Indigenous Australians.
The 2016 Closing the Gap report represents Malcolm Turnbull’s first substantial statement on Indigenous affairs since assuming office.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Though commendable as a means of keeping Indigenous disadvantage on the policy agenda, the annual Closing the Gap report has come to reflect a lot of what is wrong with Indigenous affairs.
Police often don’t recognise that someone has an intellectual disability or brain injury due to a lack of training in this area, researchers have heard.
Brian Yap (葉)/flickr
Police have become the default frontline response to Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disabilities, setting this group up for a lifetime of ‘management’ by the criminal justice system.