Only four Closing the Gap targets on track to be met
Without changing the approach to Closing the Gap, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will continue to “pay the price”, Indigenous organisations say.
Just four of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track to be met, according to the latest data from the Productivity Commission, Australian Associated Press reports.
But key targets, including adult imprisonment rates, children in out-of-home care, suicide and childhood development, are continuing to worsen.
While there have been improvements in year 12 attainment, tertiary education and housing access, these are not on track to meet deadlines.
Key events
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning,
Krishani Dhanji here with you for the final sitting day of the fortnight, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started!
Jim Chalmers is doing the media rounds this morning, off the back of what he called “outstanding” inflation data yesterday.
The government has said it wants its childcare bill to be passed through parliament this week, which leaves today for it to be voted through the Senate (it has the support of the Coalition and the Greens).
And as Martin brought you earlier, we’ll be following the reaction to the latest Closing the Gap data.
Stay with us, it’s going to be a big one!
The new data follows a recent review of the Closing the Gap Agreement, commissioned by the Coalition of Peaks.
The review found Indigenous community-controlled organisations are key to progress, and governments must listen to First Nations people and share decision-making power to create positive change.
Productivity commissioner Selwyn Button said the review shows the outcomes of the agreement are falling well short of what governments have committed to.
“What the outcomes in the Agreement reflect most of all is the limited progress of governments in collectively acting on the priority reforms: sharing decision making and data with communities; strengthening the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector and changing the way governments operate,” he said.
Turner said improvements in early education enrolments, employment and land and sea rights show what’s possible when government partner with Indigenous organisations “in the right way”.
But she said, when governments fail to meet their commitments to work with community-controlled organisations, the gap widens.
What’s important for Australians to understand is that Aboriginal community-controlled organisations are not fringe services.
We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re asking for a fair share. When we get that, we deliver.
These are the Closing the Gap socio-economic outcomes in the latest report in detail:
89.2% of babies were born with a healthy birthweight (improvement, but not on track)
94.2% of children were enrolled in preschool (on track)
33.9% of children commencing school were developmentally on track (worsening)
2,304 out of every 100,000 adults were in prison (worsening)
26 out of every 10,000 young people were in detention (no change)
50 out of every 1,000 children were in out-of-home care (worsening)
31 out of every 100,000 people took their own life (worsening)
4.3 million sq km of land were subject to Indigenous rights or interests (on track)
113,517 sq km of sea were subject to Indigenous rights or interests (on track)
88% of people used the internet (no assessment)
Closing the Gap results ‘unacceptable’
“It’s not enough to hope the gap will close, governments must hold themselves to account for the commitments they’ve made under the national agreement,” Coalition of Peaks lead convener Pat Turner said of the latest Closing the Gap report.
“That requires smart investment, longer-term flexible funding and full implementation of the four priority reforms – shifting power, not just policy.
“Without real power shift, we’ll keep seeing the same patterns repeat, and our people will continue to pay the price.”
The Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council chief executive, Paula Arnol, said the latest Closing the Gap report card was disappointing.
“It’s 2025 and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are still not experiencing the health outcomes that non-Indigenous Australians enjoy. This is unacceptable,” she said.
Only four Closing the Gap targets on track to be met
Without changing the approach to Closing the Gap, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will continue to “pay the price”, Indigenous organisations say.
Just four of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track to be met, according to the latest data from the Productivity Commission, Australian Associated Press reports.
But key targets, including adult imprisonment rates, children in out-of-home care, suicide and childhood development, are continuing to worsen.
While there have been improvements in year 12 attainment, tertiary education and housing access, these are not on track to meet deadlines.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
The latest Closing the Gap report has been released this morning and it shows that progress is being made on only four of the 19 targets. Indigenous groups and advocates say governments need to do more. More details coming up.
Anika Wells, the communications minister, appeared on 7.30 last night to explain the government’s decision to restrict children’s YouTube access. More details coming up on that as well.
