Thursday, 9 October 2003
'This is a crisis': Social Justice Commissioner urges government to recommit to reconciliation
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Dr William Jonas AM, today called on the federal government to recommit to the reconciliation process and to achieving real improvements in the lives of Indigenous peoples.
"The current situation in Indigenous communities is an absolute crisis," said Dr Jonas. "I feel a mounting sense of despair and urgency among Indigenous people and communities relating to the need to address the impact of a range of issues - be it violence, abuse, unemployment, poor health, contact with criminal law processes, removal of children through care and protection and so on."
Dr Jonas was speaking in response to the release of the Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee's report 'Reconciliation - Off track'. The report was the result of an extensive inquiry into national progress towards reconciliation undertaken over the past 18 months, and which was instigated by a recommendation from Dr Jonas' 2001 Social Justice Report to federal Parliament.
The Committee's report highlights crucial failings in the current approach of the federal government to Indigenous affairs and the reconciliation process. It highlights:
- a lack of leadership from the federal government on reconciliation, and an inadequate legislative framework for progressing reconciliation;
- a lack of adequate financial support to sustain the reconciliation process, particularly through lack of funding for Reconciliation Australia;
- a lack of tangible and measurable benchmarks and targets to progress improvements in the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples; and
- a too narrow approach to reconciliation, by confining it to 'practical reconciliation' and a failure to appreciate the central importance of inherent Indigenous rights to the situation of Indigenous peoples.
The report states that this inquiry 'has clearly established that the Commonwealth Government's 'practical reconciliation' approach is failing Indigenous people' and that as a result, the reconciliation process 'is now off track' and 'there is a sense that momentum is being lost'.
"I am deeply concerned at the potential ramifications of a continuation of the Government's current approach' said Dr Jonas. "We are talking about further entrenching the inequality and marginalisation of Indigenous communities for future generations combined with a dissipation of public support and concern about this situation. We cannot allow this to happen."
"Over the past two years I have expressed serious reservations about the lack of accountability of 'practical reconciliation'. There currently exist no targets for achieving improvements in the lives of Indigenous peoples for which the government can be held responsible," said Dr Jonas.
"Recently released data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates the seriousness of this problem. Over the past five years, life expectancy rates for Indigenous women declined. The gap between life expectancy for Indigenous and non-Indigenous women increased from 18.8 to 19.6 years. For Indigenous men, the inequality gap also increased slightly from 20.6 to 20.7 years."
"If you look to a range of indicators about health and well-being you can see only marginal improvements in some indicators and worsening statistics in others. Overall though, there is a clear trend that the inequality gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous is getting wider across the board."
"In other words, we are moving further away from a situation in which Indigenous peoples can take their place as equals in Australian society," the Commissioner said.
Dr Jonas called on the new Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs to make a fresh start and address this serious crisis.
"The current lack of progress is deeply alarming for Indigenous peoples. However, there are some positive signs that the government is making baby steps in the right direction through its whole-of-government trials and collaborative approach through the Council of Australian Governments. The Senate Committee's report appropriately identifies ways forward which build on these developments and which will also mark a change from the problems of the current approach."
"It is time for the government, with the equal commitment of the states and territories, to commit to explicit targets for improvements in Indigenous livelihood. There is no joy for Indigenous people to know that we are likely to die 20 years earlier than our non-Indigenous brothers and sisters. We don't want to hear anymore about the 'record levels' of expenditure by the government. We want to hear about results and achievement. We want to know when Indigenous people will live as long as non-Indigenous Australians and when it will be that our communities will no longer endure third world health conditions which are entirely preventable."
"In my role as Social Justice Commissioner I intend to continue to provide guidance for achieving the necessary improvements," said Dr Jonas. "My upcoming Social Justice Report to the federal Parliament, which will be handed to the Attorney-General in December, will be providing a 'state of the nation' assessment of where we are at on Indigenous issues - of what is working well; what is not; where we are going backwards; and ultimately, in the big picture what needs to be done."
"I hope that my upcoming Social Justice Report and this important Senate Committee report will re-ignite community debate and passion about reconciliation and will lead to the government recommitting itself to addressing the crisis facing Indigenous peoples in this country," Commissioner Jonas said.
Media Contact: Paul Oliver (02) 9284 9880 or 0408 469 347
Last updated 9 October 2003.
