Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to ask the minister some questions around Closing the Gap. It's certainly clear that there are a number of targets that are not being met, and we are most definitely not on track to close the gap. I, like many members in the parliament, stand year after year after year reporting yet again on the failure of governments to meet these targets. I'm very happy to report that we are on track in infant mortality, year 12 completion rates and early childhood enrolment, which the previous speaker was referring to. They are the three most promising targets.

What is particularly concerning is that there has been no new funding allocated to the Closing the Gap strategy. That is despite the government announcing a 10-year refresh process back in February this year. That is a gross oversight, when we have failed to meet these targets year in, year out, and you have not a single new dollar attached to any efforts to ensure those targets are met in the future. No fancy word like refresh makes up for the fact that there's not a single new dollar allocated to achieve these ends. The fact that government has failed to allocate adequate funding to Closing the Gap is not just something that should outrage each and every Australian, it should outrage each and every member and senator in the Australian parliament, and it is insulting to First Nations peoples. Indeed, their peak organisations are living the impacts of this failure every day of their lives and are seeking to find remedies and redress, but they are doing so with their hands tied behind their backs, because they lack adequate resources and funds to do so.

The Closing the Gap strategy has been left to, effectively, languish under this government while that gap is widening. Further, the government has, yet again, failed to fund the implementation plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013-23. I'm sure my colleague, the member for Macarthur, will probably have some comments to make on that and what that means when you do not fund a First Nations health plan in this country.

There's a very clear message from First Nations peoples that they need to be more involved in the policy design and implementation processes here in Australia. This is something that has been grossly lacking. I might just remind the minister and members opposite that it is two years now since the Prime Minister stood up in this parliament to make a commitment—we all remember it well—he said it was time to stop doing things to Aboriginal people. He said that time had passed and we were entering into an era of doing things with First Nations people. When I heard those words in the parliament I thought, 'Fantastic. This government has finally arrived at a place where they understand the requirement for a genuine partnership with First Nations peoples in order to make good on the intent of the Closing the Gap strategy.' But it is time that government deeds matched those words, because that's what we fail to see.

I've got some questions for the minister. We've got the government's announcement of the 10-year refresh process in February this year. Can you please inform us of the progress since the last hearings and the timing going ahead? When is the anticipated date for launching the agreed refresh? I understand that at the COAG discussions the state and territory ministers are engaged on an ongoing basis. Is that correct? Have you engaged with state and territory ministers on proposed new targets? Have you met with them on these issues? Is there any correspondence with ministers that you could provide on this issue? Could you please explain how any new targets, when they're agreed to and finalised, will be funded, given there's no forward funding identified in the budget papers? Will there be a new budgetary process for that purpose or any new funding? (Time expired)

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