Agreed reforms have not been prioritised and landmark agreement on Indigenous outcomes is doomed without urgent changes, Productivity Commission says
The Closing the Gap agreement on improving Indigenous outcomes will fail without fundamental changes, the Productivity Commission has warned, adding that successive governments have “failed to fully grasp” the challenges.
In a scathing report, the Productivity Commission has called for urgent changes to rescue the landmark agreement, accusing the federal government of “weak” action on key areas, not fulfilling its promises and a “disregard” for the suggestions of Indigenous communities. It says efforts to eliminate institutional racism in areas such as justice and health have “received little effort”.
“Most critically, the Agreement requires government decision-makers to accept that they do not know what is best for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” the Closing the Gap review states.
“Change can be confronting and difficult. But without fundamental change, the Agreement will fail and the gap will remain.”
The Labor government has so far resisted revealing its next plans in Indigenous affairs policy, after the unsuccessful referendum for an Indigenous voice last October.
The prime minister Anthony Albanese, the Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, and the National Indigenous Australians Agency have repeatedly dodged questions on whether the government will advance the Makarrata commission for agreement-making with Indigenous Australians, fuelling speculation Labor may be preparing to wind back its commitment to treaty and truth processes.
