Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] I begin by acknowledging the Palawa people, the traditional custodians of the land from which I am streaming today. I pay respects to their elders past, present and emerging.

For eight long years the government has shifted its responsibility in progressing closing the gap, deflecting it to the states and territories and leaving it up to future cohorts. It has been more than a year since the new Closing the Gap agreement was signed, yet First Nations people still have significantly higher incarceration rates, are more likely to die by suicide and are more likely to have their children removed than non-Indigenous Australians. These are statistics that we should not be comfortable with.

Disappointingly, only three out of the 17 targets are on track to being achieved. There's also no measurement on the progress of the four priority reforms which aim to change the way governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and are designed to strengthen their culture. These include: sharing decision-making, building the community controlled sector, transforming government organisations and sharing access to regional data. These reforms are meant to be the pillars for working with First Nation organisations to support the path to self-determination. I'm concerned that these have not moved beyond discussion. These are real commitments, and with political will we will improve all 17 targets and bring Australia into line with Closing the Gap. We need sustainable leadership and meaningful reform.

We do welcome the additional funding announced by the Prime Minister last week, but he has also clearly walked away from implementing a voice to the parliament. This is despite the fact that, at the beginning of his term, it was allegedly high on his agenda. Now there is no hope that the Liberals will get a legislative voice to the parliament before the next election. As always, Mr Morrison promises a lot but fails to deliver. They're clearly against the enshrined voice that is being called for by the Uluru statement. The Prime Minister also promised a new approach, and we welcome that, but previous history causes us to question this: is this new money he has announced or is this another rehashed announcement that is full of spin?

This is a government that never follows through, and this is something that is too important to miss the mark on. As we stand, Australians have done a great job of protecting Indigenous communities from the spread of COVID-19. However, there is currently limited data available on vaccination rates in Indigenous communities. It's important to ensure that comprehensive data is collected so that vulnerable communities do not fall through the gap. Despite Indigenous people aged 55 and over being classified as a 1b priority group since late March this year and Indigenous people aged 16 and over since June, vaccination rates are very low. According to data obtained by the Guardian from the Department of Health, approximately 24 per cent of the eligible population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have been vaccinated and just over 10 per cent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated. This compares with 41.4 per cent of the general population aged 16 and over who have received at least one dose and 19.7 per cent of the general population who are fully vaccinated.

The fourth priority reform under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap is shared access to data and information at a regional level. If we are to implement this reform and improve the health outcomes of Indigenous Australians, we need a higher level of detail in the data on vaccination rates. These priority reforms need to move from rhetoric to action—to ensure that, in the short term, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are safe from the threat of COVID-19 and to improve longer-term health outcomes so that they live as long and as healthy lives as non-Indigenous Australians. The targets set out by the national agreement must be addressed holistically, as all of the targets are interconnected. The Morrison government must ensure that they lift their game so that more than three indicators are on track.

Labor's plan to close the gap will take action to address inequality through policies that strengthen First Nations' economic and job opportunities. The First Nations population is young and rapidly growing, and there will be a surge in the number who will be joining the working-age population in the coming years. Having a job bolsters our economic independence and is crucial to determining our wellbeing. All Australians should have the opportunity to share in Australia's good fortune. However, currently, First Nations Australians have significantly lower rates of employment and workforce participation, and higher rates of unemployment.

To improve the economic and job opportunities of First Nations people, Labor will double the number of rangers by the end of the decade to 3,800 to help protect and restore both our biodiversity and our cultural values. The Indigenous rangers program will provide valuable employment for Indigenous people in regional and rural communities. The program maintains connection to country, grows local economies and protects and restores the environment. As part of this program, funding for Indigenous protected areas will also receive a boost of an additional $10 million each year to improve biosecurity, biodiversity and management of cultural sites, and Labor will deliver the $40 million of cultural water promised in 2018 but not yet delivered by the Morrison government.

To improve employment opportunities on another front, Labor will also set a target to increase First Nations employment in the Australian Public Service to five per cent by 2030. In the private sector, Labor will support the continuing work of some of Australia's largest employers in increasing the rate of First Nations employment, to prevent the ripping off of the First Nations arts and crafts which robs Indigenous artists of their income—

Debate interrupted.