Indigenous communities are key to closing the gap

The new Closing the Gap agreement, to be released within days, is set to break important new ground. Community-controlled Indigenous ­organisations will take much of the responsibility for delivering changes needed to reduce Indigenous disadvantage. That is welcome. The Australian has long recognised that improved outcomes in health, education, quality of life and employment need to be motivated by the main stakeholders in the process — families and communities. Adequate resourcing will be vital; and when the 16 revised Closing the Gap targets are released, the states and territories — as signatories to the agreement — will have a year to present implementation plans to the body to be known as the Joint Council, co-chaired by Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt and Pat Turner, who represents 50 Indigenous organisations. Given the depth of the problems that need to be addressed, the concerns of some Indigenous leaders are understandable. While Indigenous people taking control and responsibility should help, communities will need good leadership, training and support to tackle problems that governments, with all their resources, have not solved over 12 years.

The expected target to reduce the number of ­Aboriginal and Torres Strait ­Islander children in out-of-home care by 45 per cent by 2031, for example, is worrying some experienced workers in the fields of family violence and child abuse, as Paige Taylor reported on Tuesday. Jacynta Krakouer, a Mineng Noongar woman who teaches at the University of Melbourne’s department of ­social work, questioned whether the target was realistic. And Kyllie Cripps, a Palawa woman with 20 years’ experience in the field, worried that if the target were not reached, Indigenous organisations would wear the blame and the new approach could ultimately be dismissed as another failed social experiment.

Based on experience, it is clear that if substantial headway is to be made in meeting new targets, local communities and governments must adopt “best practice” approaches. On Cape York, for example, where four children aged 13 and younger — including one under 10 — allegedly gang-raped a five-year-old boy earlier this month, community leaders and medical professionals insist the Griffith (University) Youth Forensic Service program is the most effective of its kind in dealing with sexual activity and abuse among children. But it was dumped last year by the Palaszczuk government in favour of an alternative program. The new Closing the Gap system should allow communities to make those calls for themselves. As Alice Springs town councillor and Centre for Independent Studies director of Indigenous research Jacinta Nampijinpa says, a continuation of the “racism of low expectations”, especially with regard to child victims of sexual abuse, would be unacceptable.

It is also time, as Ms Nampijinpa says, for “Aboriginal women who have been beaten and silenced to have a voice”. To that end, it would be unfortunate if, as reported, a commitment to halve the proportion of Indigenous women and girls experiencing violence by 2031 is not included in the new targets. Instead, the states and territories are likely to commit to a “sustained and significant” reduction. With or without a numerical target, addressing the problem must be a priority. The ambitious target of a 15 per cent reduction in the number of Indigenous adults in prison by 2031 is a worthwhile goal. It will be assisted by Western Australia’s recent decision to desist from jailing fine defaulters. But regardless of race, crimes of violence and sexual attacks should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis in the interests of community protection.

As the nation embarks on a new chapter in practical reconciliation, economic fundamentals — regular school attendance, jobs, encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entrepreneurship and regional economic development — must be a central focus, as Warren Mundine, the former head of the Abbott government’s Indigenous advisory council and a former Labor Party president, wrote recently. Poverty, Mr Mundine noted, was “the reason for the gap in so many areas of health and life expectancy”. His observation that no “race, community or group of people” had “pulled themselves out of poverty without an economy” was valid.

After the new agreement and targets are released, possibly within days, the states and territories must build their implementation plans on principles such as accountability, transparency, adequate resourcing and best practice. Doing so, and setting down metrics to be achieved at local level, will provide the best foundation for success.