Is “Closing the Gap” a Total Waste of Time? скачать в хорошем качестве

Is “Closing the Gap” a Total Waste of Time?

Australia’s “Closing the Gap” strategy is a failure. With only 4 out of 19 targets on track, key areas like incarceration and children’s wellbeing are actually worsening. This video examines the official numbers, exposing the government’s flawed approach. The so-called “Closing the Gap”—an Australian Government strategy to address the significant inequalities in health, education, and life opportunities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians—is not quite, but close to being a complete flop. The ABC reported 30 July: “‘Dismally failing’: State and territory funding cuts urged for Gap failures. The latest Closing the Gap report reveals only 4 out of 19 targets are on track to be met, with the NT being the worst performing jurisdiction in the country.” On the Productivity Commission Closing the Gap Information Repository website, they show which targets are on track indicated by this tick symbol. The targets include: Early childhood education, with 94.2% of Aboriginal children enrolled in preschool—that sounds good; 55.7% of working age Aboriginal people are employed, which according to their data, is still significantly less that the 78% of non-Indigenous people who are employed, but it is on track and improving. If we just extrapolate that out a bit, at this rate, in a few decades, we should be at parity—that is, if the robots haven’t taken over all our jobs by then; Also, Land and waters subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s rights or interests are well and truly on track at 4.3 million square kilometres of land, noting that the entire country of Australia is only 7.68 million square km according to Google, meaning, 56% of Australia is subject to Aboriginal rights and/or interests. Not bad for a group that only makes up approximately 3.8% of Australia’s population. Noting, that this is still not enough. According to Target 15A, “By 2030, a 15% increase in Australia’s land mass subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s legal rights or interests.” When will this stop? When 100% of Australia is owned by Aboriginal people? However, these were the only four targets on track. According to the report, there were also four targets that worsened as represented by this backwards arrow symbol. These include: Children thriving, or lack thereof, with only 33.90% of Aboriginal children commencing school who were considered developmentally on track. Then there’s criminal justice, with an incarceration rate of 2,300 per 100,000, Aboriginal adults have become one of the most incarcerated peoples on Earth. According to their data, there is a huge gap between Aboriginal people and non-Indigenous people. Unfortunately, criminality is rife within the Aboriginal population. The target is for this rate to steadily decrease; however, the actual numbers show it going in the opposite direction. Whatever the Australian Government has been doing has not been working. Criminality is going up. When will this end? When 100% of Australia is owned by Aboriginal people and 100% of Aboriginal people are in jail? Please make it make sense. 50 Aboriginal children per 1,000 are in out-of-home care, a much worse rate than non-Indigenous children, and getting worse. The ABC simply wrote, “Indigenous children’s wellbeing a ‘disgrace to the government’.” And sadly, a growing number of Aboriginal people are taking their own life, much higher than their non-Indigenous compatriots. Unsurprisingly, Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe is angered by these results, with The Guardian reporting, “Lidia Thorpe condemns ‘shameful’ number of Indigenous deaths in custody as Closing the Gap measures worsen.” She warned that Australia is at risk of “losing another generation of First Nations people” to the criminal justice system without urgent action. This is from last year, but I think it is still relevant based on these results. The National Indigenous Times reported, “‘Deplorable’: More than 1 in 10 Aboriginal children in Victoria have been removed from their families.” Yes, more than 10% of Aboriginal children in Victoria are not living with their biological families. And finally, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is off to the Garma Festival in northeast Arnhem Land this weekend. But based on these recent results, understandably, not everyone is happy. The Australian reported, “Labor faces voice of mutiny as Albanese heads to Garma. Uluru Dialogue co-chairs Megan Davis and Pat Anderson have declared Aboriginal people would not ‘lap up’ Anthony Albanese’s message that Indigenous policy is progressing.” The numbers don’t lie. The Government’s Closing the Gap initiative is failing. MUSIC Allégro by Emmit Fenn