Joyce welcomes renewed efforts to Close the Gap

12 Feb 2014

Joyce welcomes renewed efforts to

Close the Gap

 

 

Federal Member for New England Barnaby Joyce said the review today of work towards Closing the Gap showed the challenge of turning good intentions into better outcomes.

 

“For the gap to close we must get kids to school, adults to work and the ordinary law of the land observed,” Mr Joyce said.

 

“We should want nothing less for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than we want for every Australian.”

 

Background:

  • While there has been a small improvement in Indigenous life expectancy, progress will need to accelerate considerably if the gap is to be closed by 2031.
  • The target to halve the gap in child mortality within a decade is on track to be met.
  • New data on whether enrolled children are actually attending school should also be available later this year.
  • To date, progress against the target to halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade has been disappointing. Only two out of eight areas have shown significant improvement since 2008.

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