Closing the Gap

In March 2006, the Steering Committee of the Close the Gap, a social justice campaign focused on Indigenous health, in which "Australia's peak Indigenous and non-Indigenous health bodies, NGOs and human rights organisations are working together to achieve equality in health", first met. Their campaign was launched in April 2007 by patrons Catherine Freeman and Ian Thorpe. During meetings held in December 2007 and March 2008 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) adopted six targets to improve the well-being of Indigenous Australians over the next five to twenty years. As part of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's February 2008 Apology to Indigenous Australians, he pledged the government to bridging the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian health, education and living conditions. He also proposed to establish a commission to "close the gap" between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in "life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity", all in a way that respects their rights to self-determination. 2008–2018 framework The Australian government adopted the goals of the Close the Gap campaign in 2008, in a strategy known as "Closing the Gap". Rudd and Health Minister Nicola Roxon signed the Close the Gap Statement of Intent to close the gap. This document serves two purposes: firstly, as a formal agreement between the Australian government of the day and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and, secondly, as an embodiment of a human right, a blueprint for achieving health equality. The strategy has been funded by the government to develop a long-term action plan targeted at health services to achieve health equality and life expectancy equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 2019–2029 framework In the Prime Minister's Foreword to the Closing the Gap Report 2019, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that while some improvements had been made, including greater retention to Year 12, successive governments had been reporting failure to meet targets. After beginning the process of a Closing the Gap "refresh" two year earlier (after four of the targets were due to expire in 2018), this would be the final report of the framework established in 2008. In December 2018, a coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, the Coalition of Peaks had met with Morrison, and shortly afterwards COAG First Ministers had agreed to a different form of partnership with Indigenous organisations, entailing greater collaboration. In future, there would be a transition to a different phase of Closing the Gap, involving a whole of government approach, with "all governments sharing accountability for progress, and extending this shared accountability to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people". A formal partnership between COAG and the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations, or Coalition of Peaks, The Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap, 2019-2029 was signed by representatives of the Coalition of Peaks, each state and territory government, and the Australian Local Government Association. The Joint Council on Closing the Gap met for the first time on 27 March 2019. The National Indigenous Australians Agency was established in July 2019, under the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, and this agency is now responsible for "lead[ing] and coordinat[ing] the development and implementation of Australia’s Closing the Gap targets in partnership with Indigenous Australians". ==Targets==

2008 – 2019 During meetings held in December 2007 and March 2008 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) adopted six targets (later increased to seven) to improve the well-being of Indigenous Australians over the next five to twenty years: The Close the Gap campaign has produced 10 reports, including a 10-year review in 2018. Justice The new justice targets relate mainly to the levels of incarceration of Indigenous people (in police custody and in the prison system). This matter, along with Aboriginal deaths in custody, was highlighted at the Black Lives Matter rallies around Australia in June 2020. The new Closing The Gap plan proposes that each state and territory would commit to reducing the level of Indigenous youth in detention by 11% to 19%, and to reduce adult imprisonment by 5%. Despite the poor record of achieving targets in past years, Indigenous leaders involved with Closing the Gap believe that the strategies put in place for this round – including implementation plans, accountability and involvement from Aboriginal services – are more likely to bring about the changes needed. Ken Wyatt believes that both law reform and attitudes, such as unconscious bias, are needed, if relationships between police and Indigenous people are to improve. Western Australia had had some specific issues needing addressing, including systemic discrimination and the matter of jail sentences for unpaid fines. On 17 June 2020 reforms to the legislation relating to the latter was finally passed. Under the new legislation, most fine defaulters will do community service if they fail to pay, with imprisonment a last resort. National agreement: 2020 targets All Australian governments committed to the 16 new targets on 30 July 2020, and signed the National Agreement on Closing the Gap with the Coalition of Peaks, represented by convenor Pat Turner . In addition, the new framework for the Closing the Gap strategy, which has bipartisan support, includes far greater Indigenous involvement in leading its implementation and measuring its progress, new accountability mechanisms, and a commitment to address structural racism in government organisations. The 16 new targets relate to: • Close the Gap in life expectancy within a generation, by 2031. • By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies with a healthy birthweight to 91 per cent. • By 2025, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enrolled in Year Before Fulltime Schooling (YBFS) early childhood education to 95 per cent. • By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children assessed as developmentally on track in all five domains of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to 55 per cent. • By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (age 20-24) attaining year 12 or equivalent qualification to 96 per cent. • By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-34 years who have completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate III and above) to 70 per cent. • By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth (15–24 years) who are in employment, education or training to 67 per cent. • By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 who are employed to 62 per cent • By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in appropriately sized (not overcrowded) housing to 88 per cent. • By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent. • By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people (10-17 years) in detention by at least 30 per cent. • By 2031, reduce the rate of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 45 per cent. • By 2031, the rate of all forms of family violence and abuse against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children is reduced at least by 50%, as progress towards zero. • Significant and sustained reduction in suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people towards zero. • a) By 2030, a 15 per cent increase in Australia's landmass subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's legal rights or interests. ::b) By 2030, a 15 per cent increase in areas covered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's legal rights or interests in the sea. :16. By 2031, there is a sustained increase in number and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages being spoken. A 17th target was later added: :17: By 2026, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have equal levels of digital inclusion. There was no funding as yet allocated to support the agreement. The announcement was on the whole well-received. Shadow minister for Indigenous affairs, Linda Burney, welcomed the targets and involvement of Indigenous representatives, but hoped for more federal funding and also to work towards a target relating to domestic violence. 2021 implementation plan and funding In August 2021 Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a new implementation plan worth A$1 billion towards meeting the targets in health, education, justice, and employment by 2031. The funding includes $378 million for a compensation and healing fund for Stolen Generations survivors from the Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory, as well as an injection of funds into repairing and building new health clinics; alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs; job creation; various justice measures; and remote boarding schools. == Progress ==

2008–2020 , there had been eleven Closing the Gap Reports presented to Parliament, providing data in areas that previously had none and updates on progress. In 2018, the government's ten-year progress report against the key areas of the framework indicated that only three of the target areas were likely to be met, with ongoing concerns in areas such as education and school attendance, and health. The Prime Minister's foreword says that the final results of the evidence of the previous twelve years are not had been hoped for, but that there were stories and successes worth celebrating, and some progress on almost every measure, including the key areas of health and education. Morrison wrote that "the new framework is based on true partnership...". Measuring the new strategy Starting in July 2021, a new report entitled Closing the Gap Annual Data Compilation Report is published annually by the Productivity Commission. However, as there was no data available for 10 of the 17 socio-economic targets of the 2020 Agreement since their baseline year, and for other reasons relating to data quality, it is not yet possible to assess progress properly. However, targets on healthy birth weight, attendance at early childhood education, and reducing the number of teenagers in the youth justice system are on track. ==Focus areas==

Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a significantly lower life expectancy and higher burden of disease than non-Indigenous Australians. In 2020, Indigenous Australians expected to live 7.8 years for females, and 8.6 years for males, less than the non-Indigenous population. Both social and institutional determinants of health have been targets of improvement, with a lack of access to primary and tertiary health services, lower standards of infrastructure, and poor access to quality, fit-for-purpose housing, nutrition and water supply in Indigenous communities. Greater socioeconomic disadvantage as a result also predisposes Indigenous Australians to behavioural risk factors, such as alcohol abuse due to a lack of mental health services, and environmental risks such as poor nutrition due to relative remoteness and inaccessibility of some communities. Major contributing factors to Indigenous Australians' lower life expectancy and poorer health outcomes originate from the effects of colonisation, and institutional and interpersonal racism from organisations and practitioners. Between one third and one half of the life expectancy gap may be explained by differences in the social determinants of health. They affect the health of people and can also influence how a person interacts with health and other services. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are less likely to smoke if they have completed Year 12, are employed and if they have higher incomes. Additionally, higher levels of education are associated with healthier lifestyle choices and improved health literacy. Education Closing the Gap has focused on improving education for Indigenous people, with some success. Attainment of Year 12 or equivalent for ages 20–24 has increased from 47.4% in 2006 to 65.3% in 2016. This has led to more Indigenous people undertaking higher or vocational education courses. According to the Closing the Gap report, Indigenous students in higher education award courses more than doubled in number over the decade from 2006 (9,329) to 2017 (19,237). However, most of the Closing the Gap targets for education are not on track. In general, the gaps have improved (such as in NAPLAN results) or not devolved (school attendance rate remaining stable for several years) have not met targets. Remoteness seems to be a factor; students in isolated or remote communities do not perform or attend as well as students in urban areas. The Closing the Gap Report 2019 reported that of the seven targets, only two – early childhood education and Year 12 attainment – had been met. Only Year 9 numeracy was on track in all states and territories, with variations among them. Employment The target to halve the gap in employment by 2018 is not on track; the gap has actually widened. The overall rate of employment for Indigenous Australians had risen by at least 4%, and that in remote areas by about 11% between 2006 and 2016. ==See also==