Closing the Gap

"There needs to be further fundamental and lasting change to assist in moving forward the debate about what needs still to be done to close the gap-or, in our view, to bridge the gulf."

CLOSING THE GAP

"Close the Gap" - these three words have become a permanent fixture of daily debate on Aboriginal Affairs, since the election of the Rudd Labor Government in November 2007.

The new Federal Government came to power with promises to use evidence based policy to seek to readdress the disadvantages confronting Aboriginal people.

The Rudd Government has set a number of key objectives to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage. They are:

To close the life expectancy gap within a generation.
To halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a generation.
To halve the gap in reading, writing and numeric achievements within a decade.

In September 2007, the NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Paul Lynch, also triggered a Parliamentary Inquiry Into Overcoming Aboriginal Disadvantage.

He did so by providing a reference to the NSW Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues to conduct a wide ranging Inquiry to consider the impact of health, education, employment, and housing on Aboriginal disadvantage.

The Committee was asked to conduct an audit of national, state and international policies and programmes and to seek a meaningful assessment of their effectiveness in closing the estimated 17-year life expectancy gap.

It was tasked with producing an interim report to the NSW Parliament by June 30, 2008, with a final report to be tabled in November 2008.

At its 215th meeting in September 2007, the Governing Council resolved to provide a detailed submission to the Inquiry.

Chairperson Manton, a number of other Councillors, NSWALC staff and LALC elected representatives and staff appeared before the Committee to give evidence during a series of hearings in Sydney and regional areas.

NSWALC lodged it's submission with the Committee in the fervent hope it demonstrates our abiding commitment to principles and practicalities.

In the submission, NSWALC Chairperson Bev Manton stated that there needed to be "further fundamental and lasting change to assist in moving forward the debate about what needs still to be done to close the gap-or, in our view, to bridge the gulf."

The NSW Government's Final Report in Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage in New South Wales was tabled on Thursday 27 November 2008.