Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that the Closing the Gap report 2018, A ten-year review: the Closing the Gap Strategy and Recommendations for Reset, was released in Parliament House on 8 February 2018;

(b) acknowledges that the target to achieve life expectancy equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples by 2030 will not be met if the current course continues;

(c) recognises that the Closing the Gap Strategy was effectively abandoned after five years, and that there is an urgent need for the strategy to be reset based on the existing Close the Gap statement of intent commitments with a corresponding national response and equitable, needs-based investment; and

(d) urges the federal, state and territory governments to implement the six recommendations of the review.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted? Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Deputy President. The government is absolutely committed to delivering better outcomes for Indigenous Australians, and the Prime Minister's Closing the gap report released today included the most promising results since 2011. The report shows we have achieved solid progress across target areas, compared with a decade ago. The government does not support this motion regarding the Oxfam review of the Closing the Gap agenda, as it is false to say the Closing the Gap agenda has been abandoned. It is false to say $500 million has been cut from Indigenous affairs programs and it is misleading to use experimental data to say the gap is widening.

Question agreed to.