00:00 The government's made commitments to mobilize all available avenues to overcome the entrenched
00:08 inequality faced by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
00:12 It's not that nothing's been done, but the report's making it clear that it's mostly
00:16 ineffective piecemeal changes.
00:18 For example, those 2,000 government initiatives for closing the gap are mostly old initiatives
00:22 dressed up as new ones with little explanation as to how or why they will help close the
00:28 gap.
00:29 There are four main commitments that governments agree to.
00:32 First is the commitment to shared decision-making.
00:35 This is rarely achieved in practice.
00:37 Policy partnerships relating to justice, social and emotional well-being, housing, et cetera.
00:42 The report says that they mostly function as discussion forums with little, if any,
00:46 authority.
00:47 A second commitment that was made is one to building community-controlled sector.
00:51 The report found that government policy, A, doesn't reflect that value, and in most jurisdictions,
00:57 it's unclear how much funding is allocated to those organizations.
01:00 There were also commitments to government accountability.
01:03 This is the big one.
01:05 Progress on that front has largely been small scale.
01:08 The report says it's barely begun.
01:10 And the final and fourth pillar is to have shared access to data and information.
01:15 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organizations are continuing to report difficulties accessing
01:19 government-held data, and when they do, it often doesn't reflect their realities.
01:23 Here's how Minister for Indigenous Affairs Linda Burney reacted to this today.
01:28 If there is ever an argument for the need for a voice, it is this draft report.
01:36 Like I say, it is difficult reading, and the important thing is to understand that what
01:44 it's talking about are real people, real families, and real communities.
01:51 It is not academic.
01:54 So Nabil, does the report include any recommendations to remedy these failings?
01:58 Yes, it does.
02:00 First is stronger accountability mechanisms.
02:02 So according to the report, as things currently stand, there are no consequences for failure.
02:06 The report reads, "Accountability is incomplete without effective consequences or sanctions."
02:12 And it says that one of the ways to do that is through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
02:16 bodies.
02:17 Voices to state parliaments, treaty processes, justice commissions.
02:21 These bodies could play a role in holding governments to account.
02:24 The report is also recommending embedding some of these responsibilities directly into
02:28 the public sector by designating senior leadership groups, performance assessments for all public
02:33 sector CEOs, executives, and employees.
02:37 It's a big report, so there are more recommendations, but it's also a draft report.
02:41 So it's still open for submissions until October 6th.
02:44 The final report is set to be delivered by the end of this year.
02:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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