'They do not know what is best': Scathing report finds governments are failing Indigenous Australians - 9News

A scathing report by the Productivity Commission has laid bare the failure of governments across Australia to address the disadvantages faced by Indigenous people.

The 99-page review of the 2020 National Agreement on Closing the Gap, released today, makes damning findings including that governments don't appear to properly understand the obligations they signed up to.

It says it is "too easy" to find decisions by governments at all levels that have worsened the disadvantages Indigenous Australians already face – largely because of an underlying failure to listen to First Nations peoples.

Governments across the country are failing Indigenous Australians, a scathing new report has found. (Alex Ellinghausen)

"The gap is not a natural phenomenon. It is a direct result of the ways in which governments have used their power over many decades," the report states.

"In particular, it stems from a disregard for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's knowledges and solutions...

"Most critically, the Agreement requires government decision-makers to accept that they do not know what is best for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."

The release of the report comes just four months after both major political parties committed to addressing the inequalities faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people following the defeat of the Voice to parliament referendum.

Indigenous Australians face disadvantages in several areas, including life expectancy and incarceration rates. (Glenn Campbell)

In his referendum night speech, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for the nation to "co-operate to address the real division", while Opposition Leader Peter Dutton committed to "implement the practical solutions required to improve outcomes and close the gap".

The federal government is yet to unveil new Indigenous affairs policy since that night, although minister Linda Burney is expected to make an announcement next week. 

The review, commissioned in 2022 by then-treasurer Josh Frydenberg, found governments are resorting to re-labelling existing policy rather than coming up with new initiatives to close the gap.

"To date, most government actions and plans to implement the agreement relabel business-as-usual, or simply tweak existing ways of working," Natalie Siegel-Brown, one of the authors, said.

"The agreement can and should be a blueprint for real reform, but governments will need to move beyond business as usual and address the entrenched attitudes, assumptions and ways of working that are preventing progress."

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap was signed by the federal government as well as all state and territory governments in July 2020. (Leigh Henningham)

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap was signed by the federal government as well as all state and territory governments in July 2020, with all committing to "overcome the entrenched inequality faced by too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people so that their life outcomes are equal to those of all Australians".

It includes 17 target areas ranging from health and life expectancy to education, incarceration rates and employment opportunities, but an update midway through last year found only four were on track, and another four were going backwards.

Today's report, which is the first three-yearly review of the 2020 agreement, made four recommendations to all governments to better achieve the targets: share power; recognise and support Indigenous data sovereignty; fundamentally rethink mainstream government systems and culture; and implement stronger accountability.

"The Agreement provides for an independent mechanism that will drive accountability by supporting, monitoring and reporting on governments' transformations, but here too governments have dragged their feet," co-author Romlie Mokak said.

"Without further delay, each jurisdiction should establish a strong legislated independent oversight mechanism...

"If governments do not make change on the scale that's required, the agreement will fail and the gap will remain. For governments to help close the gap between improvements in the life outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, they will first need to close the gap between words and action."

"All Australians should expect that in three years' time, the commission will be providing a very different assessment," the report states.

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2024-02-07 00:13:23Z
CBMiiQFodHRwczovL3d3dy45bmV3cy5jb20uYXUvbmF0aW9uYWwvY2xvc2luZy10aGUtZ2FwLXByb2R1Y3Rpdml0eS1jb21taXNzaW9uLXJlcG9ydC1nb3Zlcm5tZW50LWZhaWx1cmVzLzg2NDkzNTAxLTU0YTUtNGQwZS1iNDdhLWU0NjI5ZjQzMjc1Y9IBRWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLjluZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzg2NDkzNTAxLTU0YTUtNGQwZS1iNDdhLWU0NjI5ZjQzMjc1Yw

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