Closing the gap that matters

As Anthony Albanese announced the other day, 16 years after the Stolen Generations apology only four of 19 targeted outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are improving. And the gap is widening on four fundamental ones: children’s early development, rates of children in out-of-home care, rates of adult imprisonment, and suicide.

It is hard to imagine better evidence of what a damaging distraction to service delivery the voice debate was. The Prime Minister appears to acknowledge this, saying while the work of “truth telling” and treaty will go on at state and territory level, the federal government will focus on self-determination and tangible outcomes, nominating jobs, housing, education, health and justice. It is even harder to imagine improvement in the way government delivers programs for Indigenous Australians who lack access to city-level services without change. As the Productivity Commission puts it: “Governments have shown they can share decision-making when there is trust and a balance of power. But this tends to happen only during emergencies and when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have pushed governments to ‘come to the table’.”

That should be tables plural. Sclerotic bureaucracies applying rules without regard to local circumstances fail communities they do not know. Mr Albanese’s list of what the government will do next, including progress on house construction in remote communities and a jobs program, reads like public service talking points. But at least he acknowledges “the key ingredient is engagement with community organisations and communities to identify and develop local opportunities and jobs”. His Northern Australia Minister Madeleine King is already on to this, with a plan to empower people in remote communities to buy their own homes instead of renting them from public agencies. People will need real jobs so they can pay the mortgage, but including original Australians in the Australian dream of home ownership is about as tangible an outcome as the Prime Minister could ask for.

And it contrasts with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney, now flagging “truth telling” about the nation’s history in schools, which would not help close the gaps that matter. For decades this newspaper has campaigned for Indigenous Australians to have the same opportunities as all Australians, to the dignity that work provides, to the comfort of home ownership, to long and healthy lives, to the delight in watching children and grandchildren grow and prosper. And The Australian will keep campaigning. Mr Albanese nailed the challenge this week: “Australians want to close the gap. Australians believe in the fair go.” Practical ways to deliver are what matter most.