Work has begun to refresh Queensland’s Closing the Gap agenda including nine community workshops held across remote, regional and urban areas of the state to capture the priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, communities and organisations for the future.
Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Jackie Trad said the next iteration of the Closing the Gap agenda would place a greater focus on self-determination, and respect for culture and language.
“Today marks 11 years since prime minister Kevin Rudd committed to closing the gap in Indigenous disadvantage, and the Queensland Government is still determined as ever to making reparations for the grief, suffering and loss caused by past policies”, the Deputy Premier said.
“We respect that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have the capacity for excellence, the right to opportunity, and the desire to have a say in decisions that impact on their peoples, families, communities and cultures.
“We can only be successful at closing the gap if we work in true partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders, which is why our refresh of the agenda will involve working closely with communities to decide where to focus our efforts with regard to housing, justice, families and youth, economic development, healing, and eliminating racism and systemic discrimination.
“We are taking shared responsibility with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for delivering tailored solutions to ensure that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the opportunity to make a real difference in their own lives.
“The Closing the Gap report card, released last month, highlights that while we have plenty of work ahead of us, there has been some significant progress on some targets to date.
“We are on track to meet targets for Year 12 or equivalent attainment by 2020, and early childhood education programs for 4-year-olds by 2025.
“Today, on ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Closing the Gap day, which has a special focus on health and life expectancy, I’m particularly pleased to report that Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the highest life expectancy nationally.
“These are good results so far, and while we still have much to do, I look forward to seeing the improvements that will come from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people leading the design and implementation of meaningful change in their communities.
The Closing the Gap report card was released on 13 February 2019, the anniversary of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Apology to the Stolen Generation and is a whole-of-government report on progress towards addressing life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
