Closing the Gap: No more “Boundary Roads” in our hearts minds or metrics.

I think there is a lot of goodwill out there in the community for genuine and legitimate betterment of our First Nation Peoples. Certainly there is a justifiably loud voice that demands a reduction in the incarceration rates and deaths in custody and increase in the ages at which young offenders from our First Nation Peoples are incarcerated.

It seems to me that the best way to achieve those outcomes is along the lines of Closing the Gap Agreement.

I love the idea that First Nation Peoples are given a seat at the table of decision making.

The goals they have set with COAG look fantastic.

However, I am disappointed at the time-frames to achieve them is 10 years. Even the communists had 5 year plans!

I cannot help but think the targets are not ambitious enough and certainly I would have liked to have seen a shorter time frame to achieve higher metrics in the reduction of rates of incarcerations.

I know these are early days, but I hope governments can pour more resources and speed up the timetable for these targets to be met.

All parties to the National Agreement acknowledged the need for it to be a flexible, “living” document, working with the best evidence as it becomes available. So I hope we can all ask our state and federal representatives to speed up resourcing for the National Agreement so we can achieve better outcomes sooner.

The new Joint Council between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and governments on Closing the Gap (a shared commitment to empower our First Nation peoples to live healthy and prosperous lives), met for the first time on 27 March 2019.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and the 12-member Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations signed the Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap later that year.

This is the first time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been included as joint decision makers. The Joint Council supports national leadership, coordination and cooperation on Closing the Gap and provides advice to Australian governments.

On 27 July 2020, the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (the National Agreement) came into effect. https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement-closing-gap-glance

The National Agreement has 16 targets across the following outcome areas:

education,

employment,

health and wellbeing,

justice,

safety,

housing,

 land and waters, and

languages.

Targets are specific and measurable goals that will be monitored to show how progress is being made across each of the outcome areas. The Productivity Commission will publish a dashboard comprising data and associated supporting materials on progress towards the targets.

Each party to the National Agreement will develop their own implementation plan within 12 months of the Agreement coming into effect, and will report annually on their actions to achieve the outcomes of the Agreement. The Joint Council will review implementation plans and may provide advice on how the parties can better work together to achieve shared outcomes.

Some of the targets are: https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/targets

Target 10 and Target 11 deals with incarceration rates.

By 2031 there is a 30% reduction in 10-17-year-old First Nation youth are imprisoned and a 15% reduction for adults.

I am amazed that the percentage is set so low. That is 10 years away and only 15-30% reduction in the rate of incarceration?

I think we can and should do better.

I would have thought with all of community and government effort (once we get over COVID), should be directed to helping our First Nation Peoples realize their goals.

Debates have raged recently on raising the age at which our First Nation young people can be incarcerated for serious crimes from the current 10 years of age.

Yet how does that laudable desire fit into the 30% reduction metric? I think there has to be some discussion and cross over between legal reform and those interested in it (such as Attorneys general state and federal) and the National Agreement stakeholders.

Ditto on Target 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are not over represented in the child protection system and so there be a 45% reduction in out of home care by 2031 because if kids are not being looked after by parents because those parents are not fit parents, then there is a greater risk those kids will get caught up in the criminal justice system. So these things are all connected. It may be for example that the child protection system needs a high percentage (at least temporarily) to bring both the age of children who can be incarcerated as well as the rate of incarceration down. Also it may be that other forms of child protection system can be introduced which are in country community care from revitalized First Nation Communities being adequately resourced.

Jacinta Price director of Indigenous Research at the Centre for Independent Studies said recently too that: "“If we could convince Aboriginal families to protect their women, we would reduce the jail population by 50% according to Australian Bureau of statistics data on sentences for indigenous violence, sexual assault and homicide. Reducing the level of violence would automatically reduce the level of incarceration.”

 https://ow.ly/VeUM50AMRfe

Target 15 states “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people maintain a distinctive cultural, spiritual, physical and economic relationship with their land and waters” but wonder whether something so connected to “place” and therefore “language” and “custom” can be reduced to 15% increase in Australia’s landmass subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s legal rights or interests especially in urban areas. I can see how it may work for Torres Strait Islander peoples, but how about First Nation peoples say along the coastal strip from Burleigh down to Northern NSW?

Those First Nation people’s need a real and spiritual connection to their lands and waterways in a meaningful spiritual way that may not have anything to do with native title but more to do with respect, access and engagement with the help of elders and teachers of language etc.

There should be a qualitative as well as a quantitative metric. I saw in a video a young First Nations boy lament that there are many streets and roads in our urban areas called “Boundary Street”or Boundary Road”because that used to be the boundary across which aboriginal people could not pass.

If we limit our First Nation Brothers and Sisters to seeking % increases in lands they can control, it is inevitable these lands will be outlying areas and won’t help urban First Nation folk connect to the land, streams, plants and animals of their ancestors and so we need a much more integrated and qualitative approach.

This will involve some creative thinking with local government because we need to give back to our First Nation peoples the rights to have a say in how they and all the rest of us connect/re-connect with our natural environments.

No more “Boundary Roads” in our hearts minds or metrics.

https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/07/29/first-nations-closing-the-gap/

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-30/closing-the-gap-targets-indigenous-agreement/12421866