The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) has revealed the Commonwealth’s first national implementation plan for ‘Closing the Gap’ between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians.
Prime Minister, Scott Morrison said the Implementation Plan turned the commitments made under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap into practical action.
“The Plan highlights the real and practical actions to be taken across all areas of Government and also commits funding to actions that will ensure we get there,” Mr Morrison said.
“We’ve listened together and are taking action together,” he said.
“This is a truly whole-of-Government Plan, developed by Ministers, Departments and Agencies across the Commonwealth with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partners, in particular the Coalition of Peaks.”
Mr Morrison said the Plan outlined the actions which would be taken to achieve the four Priority Reforms and the 17 socio-economic targets in the National Agreement over the coming decade.
Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt said the Plan, and associated funding, showed the Commonwealth was serious about delivering on the National Agreement.
“We will report on our progress each year and the Plan will be updated at the same time in partnership and based on evidence and data,” Mr Wyatt said.
“This will keep us accountable and ensure we are aligned with the priorities of the people it affects most,” he said.
Mr Wyatt said the Productivity Commission would track progress through an online dashboard and an annual data compilation report, and would undertake a detailed review every three years.
The Minister said there would also be an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led review every three years to better understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ experiences of change.
He said one of the key measures of the Plan was the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme, which would allocate $378.6 million over five years for a financial and wellbeing package to support Stolen Generations survivors from the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory.
“The Scheme, for living survivors who were removed as children from their families in then-Commonwealth Territories, includes a one-off payment in recognition of the harm caused by forced removal and gives each survivor the opportunity, should they wish, to tell their story and receive an individual apology,” Mr Wyatt said.
The 185-page Implementation Plan can be accessed on the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s website at this PS News link.
