The SquizLog

The Challenge to Close the Gap

Yesterday Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pledged to report annually on the government's progress towards closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Each year he will deliver his statement on the first day that federal parliament sits.

Already this year, following the historic apology to the stolen generations, there has been some progress. Just one week after a report that Indigenous health research was being ignored came funding announcements to tackle high rates of smoking in Indigenous communities as well as training initiatives to get more Indigenous people into the health workforce.

On the same day came a statement of intent to "achieve equality in health status and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians by the year 2030". Obviously, the realisation of this noble objective will require much cooperation. As Mick Gooda, chief executive of the Co-operative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health, says, "the strategy must involve all areas of government to be successful". He also asserted that community control is crucial.

As I write this I am mindful of Crescent Head, near Kempsey on the NSW mid-north coast. We have been enjoying our holidays there for over a decade. Each year it saddens me to see and hear about the divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Kempsey. I'm sure I'm only superficially aware of the background and the present day situation but it's obvious to me as an occasional visitor that there are huge challenges for Kempsey. Recently a committee of the NSW Upper House met in Kempsey to hear evidence about Indigenous people enduring substandard living conditions. And there has been a call for Kempsey's Indigenous people to "play a lead role in upgrading the Kempsey District Hospital".

It is heartening to hear about good intentions, helpful initiatives and community consultation. And good to hear that the PM will formally report on progress each year.

But, for me, the test will be evident on my annual holidays to Crescent Head and Kempsey. Hopefully that litmus test will show that the gap is truly closing.