Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the government rule out giving up on any of the seven existing Closing the Gap targets? And why is the government making it harder to achieve Closing the Gap targets, including the target to close the gap in life expectancy within a generation, by cutting half a billion dollars from the Indigenous Affairs budget?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll ask the Minister for Indigenous Health to add to this answer, but I just want to respond to the question about Closing the Gap and the targets. What we are engaged in at the moment is a very respectful and extensive consultation with Indigenous communities and leaders—and, of course, we have a big gathering going on here in Canberra at the moment as part of that—as we seek to frame new Closing the Gap targets that are more extensive and that bring in state and territory governments as well. It is a shared objective. The honourable member, as a former minister in a state government, knows very well that the responsibility for Indigenous advancement and closing these gaps and other gaps is one that is shared across governments.

The proposition that the government is cutting funding for Indigenous affairs is simply wrong. We are putting more resources into Indigenous advancement all the time. I want to just remind honourable members of what I said a moment ago in my earlier answer: the signal success of the Indigenous procurement policy. We all understand that economic empowerment is fundamental. The Commonwealth has shown strong leadership there in that regard, and it has been a success beyond all expectations. We're getting buy-in from state and territory governments and from the corporate sector. I'll ask the minister to add to the answer.

Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The priorities that have remained as the targets for Closing the Gap have been consistent. What we have is a 200-year level of disparity, and in 10 years we've set targets that address health and education. We're extending that to employment opportunities and the way in which we bring forward some of the levels of disparity, in a way that we've not been able to achieve to the extent that we had under the 10-year bilateral agreement between both sides of this chamber. But the level of commitment to making a difference doesn't diminish.

Certainly, within the health sector we've had some significant gains made, and we will continue to look at how we access mainstream resources that are available to all Australians. That will include the use of MBS items and the PBS, to make sure that the journey, just in health alone, incorporates other opportunities. But that doesn't diminish the existing effort or the commitment to funding. We will continue to focus on making sure that we close the gap in every facet of lives for Indigenous Australians.