The Productivity Commission has bolstered arguments for an Indigenous Voice to parliament with a new report showing attempts by governments to close the disadvantage gap are not working because of a business-as-usual approach that failed to fully grasp the scale of change required.

As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterated the Voice was fundamentally about listening to Indigenous Australians “to get better outcomes to close the gap”, the Productivity Commission identified a tendency towards a “government knows best” approach as contributing to the lack of progress.