Indigenous groups ‘don’t have last word on Closing the Gap’

The organisations that helped rewrite the Closing the Gap agreement do not have a monopoly on what comes next, Ken Wyatt says.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt announcing and releasing the National Agreement on Closing the Gap at press conference in Parliament House on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The 51 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations that helped rewrite the new Closing the Gap agreement do not have a monopoly on the decisions and economic opportunities that come next, according to Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt.

Mr Wyatt has moved to assure Indigenous entrepreneurs, leaders and groups across Australia they are not locked out of the plan to reduce Indigenous disadvantage by 2031, following claims the peak Indigenous bodies that helped write the 16 new targets had no mandate.

Called the Coalition of Peaks, their lead convenor Pat Turner will oversee the work to meet targets as co-chair of a Joint Council with Mr Wyatt. Former NSW Land Council chair Roy Ah-See was among critics who questioned how organisations that relied on government for funding could be fearlessly independent.

“You are never going to bite the hand that feeds you so how can these organisations be representative if they only receive resources from government,” he said.

The national agreement, announced on Thursday, gives states and territories a year to produce plans to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations to meet targets, some of them so ambitious they were not initially supported unanimously. Not every state and territory was initially in favour of a target to reduce the rate of Indigenous children in out-of-home care by 45 per cent by 2031 though they all signed the final agreement.

Mr Wyatt said the final agreement reflected the wishes of governments around Australia that they wanted to continue to work with a wide range of Indigenous organisations and keep partnerships like Empowered Communities, the alliance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander regions that talks directly to the commonwealth about policy issues.

“There are a number of clauses in the national agreement that make clear governments will continue to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, organisations and communities at all levels on Closing the Gap — not exclusively with the Coalition of Peaks,” Mr Wyatt said.

The agreement was a disappointment to one of the organisations that took part in the negotiations and ultimately signed on: the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service wanted more ambitious justice targets. It has been backed by the NSW Bar Association.