Page 1146 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2012
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In recent decades, Indigenous people from across Australia have joined those in Canberra whose ancestors have always been here. Some have come to Canberra seeking to bring reforms for their people at a national level. Others came seeking work and careers in the rapidly growing city. Today we have a very diverse Indigenous community in Canberra. Many achieve much better life outcomes than elsewhere in Australia. However, as elsewhere in this country, a significant level of disadvantage persists.
With the growth in the Indigenous population, the ACT has sought to lead the way in government service delivery, staying committed to providing the highest level of support for, and engagement with, Indigenous people in the ACT, at the same time initiating and supporting innovative policies and programs. The Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators 2011 report has been a measure of the ACT’s performance, showing steady improvements in the provision of education, employment, homeownership and income levels for Indigenous people.
However, the Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage report also shows that significant gaps remain between Indigenous and other Australians. For example, while Indigenous students in the ACT do relatively well in comparison to other jurisdictions, as elsewhere in Australia significant gaps remain in educational outcomes and attendance. Indigenous students in Canberra are still achieving lower results than others across all year levels. And there is increasing Indigenous over-representation in the care and protection system, where the number of children on care and protection orders has increased to the highest rate nationally. While this increase could reflect greater levels of access to the system and services, reducing this over-representation remains a high priority. The ACT government is working very closely with the Indigenous community to find practical solutions. We want all children and youth to reach their full potential and achieve optimal health and education.
Indeed, ACT government initiatives directly address concerns of the local Indigenous community, such as effective democratic representation, seamless integrated services for children and young people, and enhancements in our education system to encourage all young Indigenous students to stay on in school and to advance to higher levels of attainment.
The development of the Ngunnawal bush healing farm is an example of the ACT government’s commitment to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to comprehensively address the complex issues surrounding drug and alcohol misuse. The healing farm will deliver culturally appropriate prevention, education, rehabilitation and outreach programs.
One of the more practical and important initiatives by the ACT government to address local disadvantage has been the creation of the ACT Indigenous Elected Body. The aim of the elected body is to give democratically elected representative voice to the Indigenous communities of the ACT.
One of the key engagements between the ACT government and the elected body has been an annual hearings process with ACT government agencies. The hearings
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