A fresh approach to closing the gap
A fresh approach to closing the gap Journal Article
Policy
- Author(s): Jacobs, C
- Published: 2018
- Volume: 34
Abstract: In 2008 the Federal government introduced a range of key national targets addressing Indigenous health, education and employment. The targets, part of the Closing the Gap strategy, were a response to growing calls to address the severe disparity between the outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. They marked a watershed moment in Indigenous affairs, and gave genuine hope that this seemingly perpetual issue might finally have an endpoint by setting expiry dates for the targets to be reached. Ten years on, however, it appears that the Closing the Gap strategy is itself facing an important turning point. Four of the seven targets have a 2018 expiry date yet, as Table 1 opposite shows, only one of these—halving the gap in child mortality rates—is set to be met. Overall, only three targets are reported to be on track.