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Closing the gap report reflects poorly on coalition: Macklin
Friday, 3 July 2009
9:17:26 AM
By Julian Drape
NATIONAL, July 3, 2009: A report showing lack of progress in closing the gap between black and white Australia is an indictment of the Howard government, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said the picture painted in the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report, prepared for COAG, is "devastating".
It shows that when it comes to child abuse and imprisonment rates the situation is getting worse rather than better.
Ms Macklin says the coalition has to accept responsibility for the lack of progress since 2000.
"Tony Abbott should recognise that this report is a report on the Howard years and recognise that there is a lot more that needs to be done," she told Sky News.
Ms Macklin was responding to a call by Mr Abbott - the opposition's Indigenous affairs spokesman - for Labor to crack down on truancy in order to improve the employment and health prospects of Indigenous Australians.
Mr Abbott admits the coalition must share some responsibility for the poor state of Indigenous affairs with state Labor governments.
But he argues the Rudd government "can't entirely wash its hands of this, either".
Rather than talking about closing the gap on health, education and employment benchmarks within 10 or 20 years, federal Labor should crack down on truancy.
Fining parents if their kids don't attend school will lead to better overall outcomes, Mr Abbott said.
"That's what normally happens. If you don't send your kids to school you cop a fine unless you can demonstrate that the kids are uncontrollable."
The expectation had to be created and maintained that every Aboriginal kid was going to go to school.
Ms Macklin says the fundamental responsibility for making sure children attend school was with with parents.
But she points out that Labor last year passed laws authorising Centrelink to suspend welfare payments to parents whose kids wag school.
"It's the Labor government that's put this in place," she said.
"Tony Abbott should recognise that of all his time in government unfortunately he did not act to address this very serious issue." - AAP
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