The Northern Territory welcomes the higher ambition of the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap and its priority reform areas.
We should aim for nothing less than parity for Aboriginal Territorians and all First Nations people.
The new National Agreement is a historic document that puts in place the framework for real progress.
It has, through the Coalition of Peaks, given Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders an equal seat with governments at the decision-making table for the first time.
Aboriginal leaders have determined the four Priority Reforms that governments will commit to as signatories to the National Agreement and will have an ongoing and formal role in program design and in providing direct feedback to governments on how the policy is working or not working.
This is significant. It has the potential to make real and beneficial change in the lives of Australia’s First Nations people.
The agreement includes 16 ambitious socio-economic targets that have been developed through the co-design process to meet the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to improve life outcomes and provides for states and territories to develop their own implementation plans.
As such, our government’s Everyone Together Aboriginal Affairs Strategy, released earlier this year, will now be updated to incorporate the guiding principles of the National Agreement.
The refreshed Strategy will form the basis of the Northern Territory’s implementation plan, acknowledging the challenges of complexity and remoteness we face.
It has been an honour to be part of the first Joint Council that has given Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a voice in determining the way forward.
I’d like to acknowledge John Paterson of Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory for his excellent advocacy in the Coalition of the Peaks and the NT Office of Aboriginal Affairs for their work in ensuring the Territory’s contribution to the national targets was heard.
