Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to make a contribution on the Closing the Gap ministerial statement. Sadly, the Closing the Gap report has become a yearly reminder of what we are not doing well in this country. This year's report is no different. It once again shows outcomes falling short of the targets that have been set. The Productivity Commission reporting today shows that only five out of the 19 targets in the national agreement are on track to be met. There have been improvements on 11 of the 19 targets, but on these issues we remain a long way from where we want to be as a nation.

In October 2023 Australians gave government a very clear message about the way in which they wanted these issues approached. Australians want to tackle these issues in a united way. They told us in no uncertain terms that they do not want this country divided along the lines of race, and thus want a united front when it comes to closing the gap. As my colleague Senator Nampijinpa Price has said many times, these issues should not be approached solely on race but should be looked at on the basis of need. I believe Australians understand that concept and it is their message that they want us to approach these issues in this way.

We need to rethink how we deal with Indigenous disadvantage and we need to find new ways of dealing with it. Senator Nampijinpa Price, with the full backing of the coalition, has, for a number of years now, been calling for a complete audit into government spending on Indigenous Australians and the government programs that supposedly support them. Without such an audit it is impossible to see how we can truly begin to close the gap. If we want to at least start down the road of making a real difference, an audit should be initiated as soon as possible. Sadly, support for an audit has not been backed in this place, or we could have already been on the way to discovering what is working and what is not. What money is being wasted? How could government money be better directed? What programs are working well and should be expanded? What should be rethought and the money potentially directed elsewhere? These questions and many more need to be answered if we are serious about the quest to close the gap. Without such an audit, I fear we will come back to this place year after year, giving the same regretful Closing the Gap speeches we have for many years.

All Australians want better outcomes for Indigenous Australians. We all want something done about the scourge of alcohol and drugs and the toll they take on many Indigenous Australians, particularly those living in regional and remote Australia. We see this played out on the streets of Alice Springs or remote communities elsewhere, including in my home state of Western Australia. We know that since the end of the cashless debit card the situation in many towns and communities has deteriorated again. Violence, and particularly violence within Aboriginal communities themselves, is all too often the scourge of alcohol and drugs. It is unsurprising, but desperately sad, that in the Northern Territory alone we have seen over 200 leaders and representatives from the Aboriginal community and from health and research organisations calling on Chief Minister Lia Finochiarro to keep measures that reduce alcohol related harm, which is a departure from the approach taken by her predecessor.

The rates of domestic violence and child sexual abuse, in many communities, are still way too high. More needs to be done to protect these children, who are vulnerable and often trapped in a cycle they unable to break free from. The coalition believe a royal commission into sexual abuse in Indigenous communities is a vital step, and we've asked the government to support this position. We also believe the cashless debit card should be reinstated. The scourge of alcohol and drugs is causing so many of the other issues we see in many communities, including increased levels of violence and crime. The cashless debit card helps children in these communities get the sort of support from their parents that all children in our nation deserve.

The failures that we see in today's Closing the gap report do not indicate a lack of good intentions or effort by a succession of governments and ministers. Over many years, governments have worked with community groups and other partners in an attempt to close the gap, but year after year we find ourselves in a similar position. That is why we need new thinking—a redoubling of effort but effort put towards the right initiatives. Make no mistake, all Australians want us to achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But Australians also instinctively know that there must be a better way than just throwing billions of dollars at the same sorts of initiatives that we have tried before.

We need progress on improving health, safety, housing, education and employment for Indigenous Australians. It is the responsibility of all of us in this place to work towards achieving those better outcomes. We can set ourselves targets, but unless we can achieve them, or at least go much closer to achieving them, Australians will rightly question our value on this vitally important national issue. We owe all Australians, but particularly disadvantaged Indigenous Australians, better outcomes.