Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I participate in the Closing the Gap discussion before the House. I would like to recognise the other speakers who have participated in what I would regard as a largely bipartisan way. I also acknowledge the presence of the Parliamentary Secretary for Indigenous Affairs. I would like to thank him publicly, while I have the opportunity, for visiting my electorate last year and engaging with the Indigenous community in Gippsland. It was a greatly appreciated visit. He had the opportunity to learn from people in Lakes Entrance and Bairnsdale, where we have quite significant Indigenous population, about some of the health and education challenges we face and also some of the great achievements. I think that is—

Mr Tudge interjecting—

And the Clontarf Academy. The parliamentary secretary reminds me of our visit to the Bairnsdale Secondary College where the Clontarf Academy is doing some great work with young Aboriginal boys. I would like to begin my comments there in that while we saw some of the challenges faced in the Gippsland community, we also saw some of the great achievements. That pretty much sums up the Closing the gap report. There has been some significant achievements but also a concerning lack of progress in a range of areas. I would like to acknowledge the contributions of other members, particularly the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition for their contributions to House. As the Prime Minister pointed out, improving the lives of Australia's first people is a challenge beyond partisan politics. For many of us in this place, particularly those members who are living in communities where there are significant Indigenous populations, it is one of the biggest issues that we face as federal members.

The quote from the Prime Minister that I would like to refer to is:

On days such as this, we should acknowledge where we have failed. Equally, we should acknowledge where we have made progress and stir ourselves to keep persevering on this vital but difficult journey.

I acknowledge that the Prime Minister indicated that for every step forward there may be steps back in many cases. There are some key failings in the Closing the Gap statement this year in relation to our failure to have success, if you like, in relation to closing the gap in life expectancy within a generation by 2031. Also, there has not been the success we would look for in halving the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for Indigenous students. The one area where I think our greatest concern remains is in halving the gap in employment outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. That is because until we can find ways to have more Indigenous people becoming full participants and contributors to their own economic independence through paid employment and the dignity of having a job, we will not achieve the other significant challenges put to us by the Closing the Gap initiative.

In the brief amount of time I have, I would like to refer to one area where I am greatly concerned in relation to the health impacts on Indigenous people: the rate of domestic and family violence. The actual figures may be disputed from one reports the next, but the figure that is quoted to me is that an Aboriginal woman is 45 times more likely to experience domestic violence than a white woman. These violence patterns are of great concern in the non-Indigenous community, but to think that an Aboriginal woman is up to 45 times more likely to experience domestic violence remains an incredibly sobering statistic and a difficult challenge for our nation.

In a year when we have Rosie Batty being announced as an Australian of the Year and as we recognise that up to one woman per week dies at the hand of a partner or ex-partner, the challenge facing our Indigenous community is magnified beyond belief. It remains an extraordinary challenge to break down this pattern of abuse and dysfunction, which will require our ongoing and unrelenting focus both in this place and in state jurisdictions. We need to break that cycle of dysfunction. We need to get adults working. We need to provide safer homes and safer communities for young Indigenous people.

I congratulate members in this place who are committed to working to help close the gap on Aboriginal disadvantage in our nation.

See this speech in context