Coalition of Peaks begins community forums

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak bodies join forces to tackle Closing the Gap on health and education issues

Melinda Brown and other indigenous health and education consultants have joined forces to take leadership over the Government's Closing the Gap report targets

Representatives from peak indigenous bodies came together in Rockhampton on Wednesday to discuss the Prime Minister's Closing the Gaps targets.

The Coalition of Peaks includes Queensland legal, child protection and health organisations and is assuming a leadership role in improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives.

The Government concedes that only two of its seven targets - enrolment into early childhood education and attainment of a Year 12 (or equivalent) qualification - are on track. That means targets regarding school attendance, employment outcomes, literacy and numeracy, life expectancy and child mortality have not been met.

Melinda Brown has been visiting communities around NSW and Queensland but Rockhampton was the farthest north she has travelled.

"Some regions may have different priorities; for this one health is most important but, for that one, it's housing," she said.

"What they all have in common, though, is making sure everyone has a voice towards finding the solutions."

Ms Brown, a Wailwan woman, said the Government's traditional top-down approach has failed indigenous people.

"Sitting up in government, up at the top, they don't listen," she said. "They don't know what's going on at the bottom, how people feel."

The Coalition of Peaks has identified three priority reforms.

The first is to develop and strengthen structures to ensure the full involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in shared decision making with Governments on closing the gap.

The second is a commitment to, and support for the building of the formal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector to deliver Closing the Gap services and programs.

Finally, it seeks a commitment by governments that mainstream organisations do more than they have been towards closing the gap, and are held publicly accountable for their actions.

"If you asked somebody on the street, I don't think they'd have a clue how big the gap for indigenous people is," she said.

"Maybe they know the basics of people passing away too early. But unless they work in an organisation that does data around all the targets, they don't really understand."

The Coalition of Peaks consists of about 40 organisations that have come together to have their collective voice heard, by consulting directly with local communities.

"It's a different approach which emphasises respect and listening to each other so that everyone's learning," Ms Brown said.

"At the end of the day, if local people don't tell us what's needed, then we can't help and nothing's going to change.

"This is a good time to speak up and be proud of ourselves and our culture."

Closing the Gap, which was launched in 2007, aims to achieve equality in health status and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-indigenous Australians by the end of the year 2030.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is an average 65.9/69.6 years for men and women in rural areas, and 72.1/76.5 years in cities, compared with the national average of 82.5 years.