A number of key ‘Closing the Gap’ targets are not on track according to new data published by the Productivity Commission.
The Commission’s latest data provide information on nine targets (across eight socioeconomic outcome areas) and eight indicators in the National Closing the Gap agreement.
Commenting on the findings, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney said none of the nine targets were ‘on track.’
Ms Burney said the healthy birthweights for babies target had gone from being ‘on track’ to ‘not on track’ in the latest update.
She said that combined with existing data, this meant there were 11 targets ‘not on track’ and only four ‘on track’
“The gap is not closing fast enough,” Ms Burney said.
“I know many people are frustrated by the lack of progress,” she said.
“It is particularly disappointing to see the target for healthy birthweights for babies has gone from being ‘on track’ to ‘not on track’.”
Ms Burney said every level of Government needed to redouble its efforts to improve outcomes for First Nations peoples across the range of targets.
“More of the same isn’t good enough,” the Minister for Indigenous Australians said.
“We need to do things differently by working in partnership with communities to get better results.”
She said the data showed some encouraging increases in the employment target as well as land mass subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s legal rights or interests.
The Commission’s update follows last month’s release of the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s 2023 Closing the Gap Implementation Plan.
The Productivity Commission’s latest Closing the Gap data can be accessed at this PS News link.
