2021 Close the Gap Report released
Posted: March 19th, 2021
The 2021 Close the Gap report, Leadership and Legacy Through Crises: Keeping our Mob Safe, has been released, and it calls upon all levels of government to take action on improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In the report – released by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on National Close the Gap Day – AHRC recognises that in order to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes, governments “must be led by, and invest in, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander solutions”. The report makes 15 recommendations to government, including:
- Fully implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart and a constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice
- Raising the age of criminal responsibility immediately and nationally, from 10 years old to 14 years old
- Implementing the recommendations in the landmark Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Woman’s Voices): Securing Our Rights, Securing Our Future report to enhance the lives of First Nation women and girls
- Establishing greater environmental and heritage protections for sites that are sacred or culturally significant
- Prioritising truth-telling and healing processes to strengthen the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to stop the ongoing impacts of racism and intergenerational trauma
Other recommendations include encouraging young climate leaders and promoting strengths-based, community driven approaches to delivering better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
To read the report in full, visit the AHRC website here.
Learn more about the Close the Gap Campaign on the ANTaR website.