Governments failing to met closing the gap commitments, damning new report finds

Federal, state and territory governments have been blasted in a damning new review that’s called for a significant overhaul.

A “business as usual” approach to Indigenous affairs is overwhelmingly failing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, a damning new report has found.

The final report of the Productivity Commission’s first three-yearly review of government action on the Closing the Gap agreement found governments had “failed to fully grasp” the nature and scale of change required to meet the obligations they signed up to.

The national agreement was agreed upon in 2020, outlining four priority reforms and calling for fundamental change in the way governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

As it stands, just four of the 19 national socio-economic targets are on track, while a further four are trending backwards.

The commission warned that without fundamental change, the agreement will fail, and pushed for governments to move to “power-sharing” arrangements with Aboriginal community-controlled organisations.

Consecutive governments have ‘failed to fully grasp’ the nature and scale of the changes needed to meet their Closing the Gap agreements, a new report has found. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

Commissioner Natalie Siegel-Brown said that to date, most government actions and plans to implement the agreement either “relabel business-as-usual, or simply tweak existing ways of working”, and said such practices could not continue.

“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,” she said.

The damning findings come as Anthony Albanese signalled his government is unlikely follow through on implementing the Uluru Statement of the Heart “in full” following the Voice to Parliament referendum defeat.

Facing questions during question time on Tuesday over whether the government was considering moving forward on delivering the second and third parts of the request – truth and treaty – Mr Albanese said various state governments were in their own processes.

He said the federal government was “certainly not in any negotiations on treaty”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney will work through the report’s findings. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Albanese later defended his government’s progress on addressing Indigenous affairs in an interview with the ABC, affirming that he had been clear with Indigenous leaders about Labor’s next steps after the Voice referendum.

“What we are doing is continuing to work on those measures – the priority is that Closing the Gap statement … that is very focused on employment,” he said on Monday.

“The objective is how do we go about achieving reconciliation and closing the gap in a way that is worthy of the great privilege of living on this great continent.”

Ms Siegel-Brown said progress on closing the gap was unlikely unless government organisations “fundamentally rethink their systems, culture and ways of working”.

“The lack of progress we have seen reflects a disregard for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s knowledge and solutions throughout government,” she said.

“Breaking down these entrenched attitudes and ways of working will require a focused and deliberate effort from every department and organisation.”

The Coalition of the Peaks, which represents 80 organisations, said the damning review showed the life outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would not change unless there was a “fundamental shift” in how federal, state and territory governments view the agreement.

The peak body said government must take the latest findings seriously.

“As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, we know what is best for our communities, but governments across the board are still not meaningfully giving us a voice in the decisions that affect our lives,” Coalition of Peaks acting lead convener Catherine Liddle said.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said the government would “take some time” to work with the Coalition of Peaks, and state and territory governments, to consider the findings of the report.

“We agree that progress by all partners in implementing priority reforms so far has not led to the extent of change needed,” she said.

Mr Albanese downplayed the government’s plans regarding treaty and truth-telling. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Next week, the government will present the annual closing the gap report and 2024 implementation plan to parliament.

“The annual report will take stock of progress made in 2023, and commit to new actions that focus on making a practical difference to the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians,” Ms Burney said.

In response to the damning findings

The Productivity Commission said the government should urgently implement four key recommendations: fundamentally rethink mainstream government systems and culture; share power; recognise and support Indigenous data sovereignty; and implement stronger accountability.

The commission found that although sharing power with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to make decisions about their communities was at the heart of government commitment, there was evidence of a “failure to relinquish power and the persistence of ‘government knows best’ thinking”.

In order to share power, the commission has recommended amending the agreement to better emphasise power sharing and have governments recognise Aboriginal community controlled organisations have expertise in knowing what works for their communities.

The commission said efforts to improve outcomes are “far more likely to succeed” when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lead their design and implementation.

Ms Liddle agreed.

“When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are given ownership over the decisions that affect their lives, the resources they need, and the opportunity to partner with government, we see better outcomes,” she said.

Originally published as Governments failing to met closing the gap commitments, damning new report finds