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.
To improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition and health we need real community consultation, improved public governance and political will.
Gina Lyons, Irrunytju WA. Photo by Suzanne Bryce, NPY Women’s Council.
After years of neglect and a notable absence in last week’s Closing the Gap report, nutrition is finally being recognised as integral to closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.
All governments must re-commit and re-energise their efforts to the Closing the Gap initiative.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
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.
Australia’s appalling record of equity in education has once again been confirmed in the latest Closing the Gap report. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the report’s dismal findings present an…
Indigenous workers will struggle to be self-sufficient in retirement.
Flickr/Michael Coghlan
Superannuation is a highly researched area, but little has been done on how Indigenous workers fare. The picture is not pretty.
Graduates of a 2015 Tertiary Entry Program, which paves the way into university courses, with lead author and CQUniversity’s Pro Vice-Chancellor of Indigenous Engagement, Bronwyn Fredericks (fourth from left) and Provost Hilary Winchester (far right).
Peter Lawrence/CQUniNewsPICs
If we’re serious about closing the gap in Indigenous education, our new research shows the value of building better bridges into universities and vocational education.
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.
Preschool attendance has been shown to improve literacy and numeracy for Indigenous children.
AAP/Neda Vanovac
The 2016 Closing the Gap Prime Minister’s Report shows a bleak picture on progress on Indigenous employment and little improvement in school attendance.
Bill Shorten has announced that a Labor government would boost funding for programs supporting the education and mentoring of Indigenous girls.
Dan Peled/AAP
Bill Shorten has announced an initiative that would tackle the educational disadvantage faced by Aboriginal girls, and also pledged a Labor government would address the “justice gap”.
Indigenous prisoners perform a welcome ceremony at the 2014 opening of Darwin’s $500 million prison, which is likely to be full by 2018.
AAP/Neda Vanovac
The Northern Territory stands out for having one of the highest imprisonment rates in the world - much higher even than in the US - and it’s hard to argue that this does the community much good.
Despite widespread condemnation, Tony Abbott has defended suggesting people living in remote communities are making a ‘lifestyle choice.’
AAP/Lukas Coch
Abbott’s claim that people in remote communities are making a “lifestyle choice” reveals an underlying view that social circumstances are the responsibility of individuals, rather than societies.
Measures to close the gap in Indigenous education outcomes aren’t working.
AAP
This year’s update on Closing the Gap presents a picture similar to 2014 in education - there is much work still to be done to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students…
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described the progress of the Closing the Gap report as disappointing.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The latest Closing the Gap report, tabled in federal parliament on Wednesday, shows poor progress on improving the situation of Indigenous Australians on many key indicators. Only two of the targets set…
Mick Gooda has urged policymakers to learn from their mistakes and adopt a consultative and inclusive approach to Indigenous policy.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Deep funding cuts and uncertainty about government plans have created one of the largest-scale upheavals in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. That is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander…
A good diet is essential to maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding the risk factors for many chronic diseases.
Rusty Stewart/Flickr
Amanda Lee, Queensland University of Technology and Deanne Minniecon, Queensland University of Technology
We’ve recently seen some encouraging improvements in closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage: better educational outcomes, higher child immunisation rates, more health checks, and a 35% drop in the…
Efforts to improve Indigenous students’ academic results aren’t working.
AAP
Tony Dreise, Australian Council for Educational Research
Results from the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) show that the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students has remained the same for the last decade. PISA 2012: How Australia…
The abundant evidence of what works shows the way to help Indigenous Australians build a better future. If only politicians and bureaucrats would heed the findings.
AAP/Dan Peled
The disappointing data that regularly appears in Closing the Gap reports should raise serious questions about policy development and funding processes. The assumption of media stories and many politicians…
Closing the gap in statistical disadvantage is now the dominant way of framing the relationship between Indigenous and settler Australia, But is it the right way?
AAP/Marianna Massey
The sixth annual Closing the Gap statement, delivered to federal parliament earlier this week, had the same message as previous years. There is some progress, some regress and more work needed to achieve…
Tony Abbott is looking for simple solutions to complex problems in Indigenous education.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The sixth annual update on Closing the Gap provides an unsurprising picture of slow progress on addressing issues of Indigenous disadvantage. The update presents a mixed bag of small improvements in life…
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