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Prominent Indigenous leader Tom Calma. |
Closing the gap means giving power back: Indigenous leaders
Issue 195 - 18 Feb 2010
By Julian Drape
NATIONAL:
ISSUE 195, February 18, 2010: If the Rudd government is serious about closing the gap between black and white living standards, more power needs to be handed to Aboriginal people to find solutions, Indigenous leaders say.
Both major parties should also aim to have Aboriginal MPs elected to federal parliament.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, delivering his second Closing the Gap progress report last Thursday, said: "Today I can report that on the ground we are seeing the beginnings of change."
He told parliament accurate data was still in short supply, but infant mortality was improving and more indigenous children were attending pre-school and finishing Year 12.
Employment rates were heading in the right direction, but literacy and numeracy results were mixed.
But on all measures a vast difference remains between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
The life expectancy gap is 11.5 years for men and 9.7 years for women.
That's down from the previously reported figure of 17 years, but only because of better data collection.
Mr Rudd last Thursday announced $90 million for improved health services for mothers and babies and vowed to open 17 new Indigenous sports academies.
But he also demanded Indigenous Australians "take greater responsibility for change" and their leaders "step up and take responsibility for restoring strong social norms in their own communities".
Indigenous leaders say they've already done that, and it's up to the government to engage with their people.
"He (the PM) talked about Indigenous people needing to take on a leadership role," former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner Tom Calma told reporters in Canberra.
"(But) I think we've demonstrated that and we need now for government to work with us ... in partnership."
Mr Calma, who now chairs the Close the Gap steering committee, said to create health equality by 2030 Labor needed an overarching plan rather than a piecemeal approach.
"Just putting in ad hoc initiatives won't achieve the outcomes that we want," he said, adding more money should be directed to Aboriginal-controlled health organisations.
Current social justice commissioner Mick Gooda believes Indigenous people need to own the problems they face and the solutions.
"There's been some inadequacies in the way the community has been involved up to date," Mr Gooda said.
"The challenge for the government is facilitating real engagement so Aboriginal people are part of it (finding solutions)."
In particular, there should be more Aboriginal people in federal parliament.
"What has there been in the national parliament? Two," he said.
"Both parties can and should do a whole lot better than that."
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the Rudd government has good intentions when it comes to tackling Indigenous disadvantage but poor results.
"Good intentions are not enough," he told parliament last Thursday.
"What we saw today (from Mr Rudd) was much evidence of additional process (and) new programs ... but not much evidence of changed outcomes for Indigenous peoples."
The former Indigenous affairs minister said it was easy to spend money "but much, much harder to make a difference".
Mr Calma said he was "surprised" by Mr Abbott's tough talk, because the opposition had previously committed to a bipartisan approach to closing the gap.
"Our challenge is now to work with Mr Abbott to make sure he understands ... that the time has passed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be treated like the political football." - AAP
 
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