Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In 2005 Tom Calma, as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, called for a deep commitment to achieve equality in health and in life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within 25 years. That was 2005; we are now in 2023. The outcomes of the Closing the Gap annual report last year highlighted the need for significantly more action. We do not see ourselves making the progress that was anticipated back then. We do not see ourselves making the progress that was anticipated when Kevin Rudd said sorry in 2007, and we don't need any of the other multitude of reports and investigations that are released to tell us exactly what this latest report tells us as well. We are not there; we are not making sufficient progress. There are far too many of the recommendations that are either stagnant or going backwards.

The implementation report that was released this year is the chance we need to turn those goals, to turn those aims, into a genuine action based plan, to set ourselves real targets, to set ourselves a real trajectory to make a fundamental difference because that's what we really need to do. The implementation plan includes such things as accelerating the building of new and remote housing, which is essential. It includes support for the prevention of family violence and for legal service providers to deliver those legal and nonlegal supports to women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. It also includes support for First Nations water infrastructure because we still have communities who do not have safe and reliable drinking water. There are also measures to look at the education outcomes for First Nations students, including on-country education, delivering improved access for junior rangers and more choices for families when it comes to culturally appropriate distance learning because distance learning is something that is an option if they do not wish to leave home.

We definitely need to do things differently. We need to work in partnership with communities to get better results. We must work together to close the gap and ensure that First Nations Australians have the same opportunities as every other Australian. Alongside the implementation plan the Voice to Parliament will be critical. I have worked in Aboriginal affairs in various roles and I've seen time and time again ideas, reports and suggestions being put forward only to fail. They may be implemented partly or not completely, or they may not be given enough time, or they may be poorly pitched. The idea of running the Voice to Parliament is that it will give us an opportunity to discuss that advice for how thing will go on the ground, how it will actually play out for people who are living in those communities, who are experiencing the health, life and life expectancy challenges that we see every single year in the Closing the Gap report. The Voice to Parliament will be an enormous aid for us to close the gap, by talking to the people who are affected, talking to people to whom we say we are trying to improve the outcomes, asking them, listening to them, taking their advice. The Voice will make a difference and it will help us to close that gap.

Senate adjourned at 19:44