This essay will assess the Australian governments efforts towards reconciliation with Aboriginal peoples, particularly the apology to the Stolen Generations and the Close the Gap campaign.

by abeeratif5gmailcom (student)

Rights and freedom essay

“Reconciliation will not work if it puts a higher value on symbolic gestures rather than the practical needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in areas like health, housing, education and employment.” Warren Mundine AO. I agree with this quote because practical actions that address Indigenous disadvantage are overlooked in favour of symbolic gestures. This essay will assess the Australian government’s efforts towards reconciliation, particularly the apology to the Stolen Generations and the Close the Gap campaign.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised to the Stolen Generations on 13th February 2008, which marked the first day of the Australia’s 42nd Parliament. This was a recommendation from The National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal Children from their Families, which suggested that “all Australian Parliaments and State and Territory police forces acknowledge responsibility for past laws, policies and practices of forcible removal and that on behalf of their predecessors officially apologies to Indigenous individuals, families and communities.” (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, n.d) Between 1910-1970, Indigenous children were taken from their parents as part of the Stolen Generations. They were adopted by white families and forced to reject their heritage and adopt white culture, by changing their names and forbidding them to speak their traditional language. This left a legacy of trauma and loss over many generations that continues to affect Indigenous communities, families and individuals today. (Australianstogether.org.au, n.d.)

There were mixed emotions within the Indigenous community in response to the speech. Some felt it provided much needed closure and it marked the beginning of a journey of healing and reconciliation: “Sorry may just be a word, but it should help the history of our past come back into our curriculum for the current generation to learn. An apology will mean a monumental weight has been lifted from people's shoulders.” - Sudye Jackson, retired Aboriginal footballer. “I feel great. I'm on top of the world, I'm floating on air. It's a big weight off my shoulders... It's the closure I need.” – Archie Roach, Aboriginal singer and member of the Stolen Generations. Yet, some felt it was redundant and wanted practical actions to address Indigenous issues instead: “The word 'sorry' doesn't come near what [my father] went through. They can apologise in a thousand different ways without saying sorry. Actions speak louder than words.” - Norman Stewart, son of a Stolen Generations member. (Gibson, 2008) “Blackfellas will get the words, the whitefellas will keep the money.” – Noel Pearson, Aboriginal elder. (Korff, 2019)

Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, responded to the apology on the same day. He said, “By acknowledging and paying respect, Parliament has now laid the foundations for healing to take place and for a reconciled Australia in which everyone belongs.” He noted this should the first step in a partnership and more steps should be taken to implement recommendations of the Bringing them home report and accommodate the needs of the Stolen Generations. He said there has been little attempt to consider these recommendations and he urged the government representatives to address this.

After ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

After the apology, the Council of Australian Governments invested $4.6 billion in the Close the Gap campaign for Indigenous health equality. This provided a framework to invest in basic health, education and other services needed to allow Indigenous Australians to have equal welfare as other Australians. However, in a decade, only two out of seven targets are on track to be met.

The target to halve the gap in child mortality rates by 2018 is not on track. Since the target baseline (2008) Indigenous child mortality rates have declined by 10 per cent (not statistically significant) but the gap has not narrowed as the non-Indigenous rate has declined at a faster rate. In the period 2008–12, the mortality rate for Indigenous infants was 1.7 times the non-Indigenous rate (6.2 per 1,000 live births compared with 3.7 per 1,000 live births). (Pmc.gov.au, n.d.)

The target to close the gap in life expectancy by 2031 is not on track. Between 2010–12 and 2015–17, Indigenous life expectancy at birth improved by 2.5 years for Indigenous males and by 1.9 years for Indigenous females (both not statistically significant), which has led to a small reduction in the gap. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2006 estimates show life expectancy for Indigenous Australians to be approximately 17 years lower than the total population for the period of 1996–2001.

Indigenous people have poorer health due to a range of factors, such as socio-economic status, quality and accessibility of the health system, risk factor behaviour (tobacco, alcohol, nutrition, exercise), social factors and environmental factors (e.g. over-crowded housing, poor drinking water and sanitation). These are complex interrelated factors which the government need to address.

The target to have 95 per cent of Indigenous four year olds enrolled in early childhood education by 2025 is on track. In 2017, 95 per cent of Indigenous four year olds were enrolled in early childhood education.

The target to close the gap in school attendance by 2018 is not on track. Attendance rates for Indigenous students have not improved between 2014 and 2018 (around 82 per cent in 2018) and remain below the rate for non-Indigenous students (around 93 per cent).

The report found the government’s Closing the Gap agenda failed to significantly improve health outcomes because they did not base their policies on meaningful consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. In future implementation, they aim to work with a strengths-based, community-led approach. They will share ownership of and responsibility for a jointly agreed framework with the Indigenous community, which included targets and ongoing monitoring of the Closing the Gap agenda. More specifically, there will be a three-yearly comprehensive evaluation of the framework and progress led by Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. (Closing the Gap Report 2019)

To conclude, practical actions to address Indigenous disadvantage needs to be prioritised over symbolic gestures. It is imperative we balance out the drastic inequality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians’ living standards, life-expectancy, education, health and employment. The government must learn from their failures in the past decade of the Closing the Gap campaign in order to improve Indigenous life outcomes.

Bibliography

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. (n.d.). Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples. [online] Available at: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/apology-australias-indigenous-peoples [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].

The article is written about the background of Kevin Rudd's apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples, which was a recommendation from the Bringing them home report. It also includes information about the events on the day and Tom Calma (the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner) 's response to the apology. It is written by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, which is a "world-renowned research, collections and publishing organization." It is an Australian Government statutory authority established under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. Therefore, it is a credible source which includes valuable information for my research.

Australianstogether.org.au. (n.d.). Australians Together | The Stolen Generations. [online] Available at: https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/stolen-generations [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].

The article is about the Stolen Generations and the injustices committed to them by British colonisers. It is written by Australians Together which is a non-profit organisation that shares information about Indigenous history and their stories. It is a reliable and credibe source which provides useful background informations about the Stolen Generations which is crucial for understanding my essay.

Gibson, J. (2008). Family saddened by apology that comes too late for some. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/national/family-saddened-by-apology-that-comes-too-late-for-some-20080213-gds0u0.html [Accessed 27 Mar. 2019].

This is a first-hand account of an Indigenous family’s negative reaction to Kevin Rud’s apology. It is a primary source and it was written in 2008, which is the main strength of the text. It is from the Sydney Morning Herald, which is a well-renowned and credible Australian newspaper. It is useful for my research as it provides a rich account of a Stolen Generation member’s experiences and perspective of the apology. It conveys the injustices of British colonisation and how it is difficult to forgive them for what they have done after a mere apology.

Korff, J. (2019). 'Sorry' apology to Stolen Generations, Available at: ://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/stolen-generations/sorry-apology-to-stolen-generations [Accessed 27 Mar. 2019]

This is an article sharing both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian reactions to Kevin Rudd’s apology throughout polls, print media, and quoted responses. The text’s main strength is it provides multiple perspectives of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, some who support the apology and some who don’t. It was relevant to my research because I could use people’s responses to the speech as an example of the community’s views on symbolic gestures versus practical actions. It is written by Jens Korff, the owner and author of Creative Spirits. His work was published by the National Library of Australia in Pandora, Australia’s web archive. They considered it to be “an important component of the national documentary heritage.” Therefore, this is a credible website with a wide and unbiased coverage of different Australian perspectives.

Pmc.gov.au. (n.d.). 1.20 Infant and child mortality | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2014 Report. [online] Available at: https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/indigenous/Health-Performance-Framework-2014/tier-1-health-status-and-outcomes/120-infant-and-child-mortality.html [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].

Closing the Gap Report 2019. (2019). [ebook] Available at: https://ctgreport.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2019.pdf?a=1 [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].