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National Congress welcomes the partnership approach on Closing The Gap refresh
NATIONAL CONGRESS of Australia’s First Peoples has announced it is pleased with the outcome of the long-awaited Closing the Gap Refresh process, which has led to this formal announcement by the COAG on a genuine partnership approach to be taken by the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments and First Nations peoples through their representatives.
A spokesperson said the COAG meeting outcome reflected the consistent messaging from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, of being integral to the making of the decisions on matters that affect their lives.
"We look forward to the progression of the settlement of a formal partnership arrangement by the end of February 2019," the spokesperson said.
"We will be prepared to work with the Ministerial Council on Closing the Gap, inclusive of Ministers nominated by their respective jurisdictions and representatives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to co-design the monitoring and evaluation plan on the framework of the Closing the Gap Agenda."
The Close the Gap Campaign was established in 2008 under Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership with the aim of achieving health equality for first peoples, as measured by life expectancy equality, by 2030. In 2016 the Redfern Statement Alliance called on the government for a better relationship and response to the crisis in our communities because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were concerned there had been minimal evidence of progress, which is detailed in numerous Close the Gap reports, including the 10th anniversary report in 2018. Substantial improvements are still yet to be reported.
"While this is a positive step, there is still tremendous effort and resources needed if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life expectancy equality is to be achieved by 2030.
National Congress co-chair Jackie Huggines said, “It has taken over 12 years for this to happen, but we welcome the announcement by COAG by including us in the decision-making process for our peoples.
"We are hopeful and consistent in our efforts to fight for our peoples by identifying gaps, highlighting requirements, reducing racism and stressing the importance of our culture to improve health outcomes," Dr Huggins said.
Last week Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed that Closing the Gap needed to be more than a strategy for governments, but a strategy that is owned by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as well.
“We are relieved that finally the Government has listened and taken the logical step forward by enabling our peoples in the decision making and partnership approach to enhance the likelihood of achieving life changing results through the Closing the Gap targets," National Congress co-chair Rod Little said.
"With this partnering approach, we have a unique opportunity to remove the life expectancy gap and commit to a nationally coordinated action plan to achieve this goal."
ABOUT NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AUSTRALIA’S FIRST PEOPLES
National Congress is the peak organisation representing the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. National Congress was established following extensive consultations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and leaders and has represented our peoples at the federal level since 2010. We represent close to 10,000 individual members from across Australia as well as over 180 peak and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.
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