Page 3725 - Week 10 - Thursday, 14 September 2017
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This is essential in moving forward. It is essential because we need to confront the racial prejudice that is still experienced by many. It is essential because we will be having conversations in the next few years, as we consider further possible changes to the constitution. And it is essential as we continue to work with the Indigenous people in closing the gap between the Indigenous community and the non-Indigenous community, in the areas of education, health, business, housing and so on.
The referendum has, over the past 50 years, presented a symbol of recognition. Whilst this proposed day is also in that sense symbolic, it needs to flag a real intention by this government to start dealing with the many ongoing issues that face the community. I have mentioned many of the problems before and will continue to hold this government to account for them. The grim reality is that, whilst we are making progress in closing the gap in some areas, it is woefully inadequate, especially here in the ACT, where Indigenous numbers are small. We should have been able to make a significant difference, but we have not. There have been failures in child care and protection, in education, in housing policy, in public service employment, in health and in the growing prison numbers.
It was good to hear the other day some of the details of the childcare review from the Minister for Disability, Children and Youth. This review is long overdue. We are in serious danger of being confronted with a second generation of stolen children. It was also good to hear that the review will be conducted jointly with some of our key Indigenous organisations here in the territory.
Whilst we recognise that it will take time to fully understand the issues, there is already so much evidence available in this space. This was evidenced at this week’s SNAICC national voice for our children conference, which hosted over 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child welfare experts. Maybe the review process could be short-circuited and the minister could seek advice from some of them so that we can implement much-needed change in this sector sooner. Let us start the process for reconciliation here. We look forward to a day when the ACT will not be known for the high rate of children in care, currently the highest in Australia.
What was really disappointing, to put it mildly, was to hear the Chief Minister again dismiss the call for an Indigenous housing policy. To state that the need for a policy was only aspirational was a slap in the face for the Indigenous community, particularly when the homelessness rate in the Indigenous community is at the highest level, when 50 per cent of Indigenous people live in public housing and make up 8.7 per cent of public housing residents, when the cost of housing continues to rise, when the continuing levels of disadvantage experienced by the Indigenous community continue to grow, the result of high rates and skyrocketing house prices.
If we have to wait on the findings of the child welfare review, maybe the government could start the real process of reconciliation here. Perhaps it will start the real process for Indigenous reconciliation through the provision of jobs in the ACT public service, beginning with the Chief Minister’s own directorate. It would be wonderful to see the percentage of Indigenous employees grow from the low of 1.4 per cent to the goal of
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