Despite making up over 4% of the population, Australia’s First Peoples continue to face significant disparities, as PM Albanese observes: “Our stories are intertwined,” but all too frequently, “we are not together.”
According to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, much more work has to be done to improve the lives of Indigenous people.
Albanese presented the “Closing the Gap” report to parliamentarians on Monday, saying, “When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make progress, the entire nation moves forward… but we are clear-eyed about the truth that there is so much more to do,” according to his office.
About 4% of Australia’s 27 million people are descended from the country’s initial settlers.
Albanese stated, “Our stories are intertwined, but there are still too many areas in which we are not together, as the Closing the Gap report routinely lays bare.”
He said that although “only five are on track to be met” on time, the most recent Productivity Commission report showed “improvements” on 11 of the 19 targets outlined in the National Agreement.
“To Close the Gap would ultimately erase the gulf that lies between us and our true potential as a nation,” Albanese stated.
“The goal is to guarantee that every Australian has an equal opportunity in life,” he continued.
