Closing the Gap

The majority voted in favour of a motion numbered 991 introduced by Senators Patrick Dodson (Labor), Malarndirri McCarthy (Labor) and Lidia Thorpe (Greens), which means it succeeded.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 13 years ago, on 13 February 2008, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in the Australian Parliament,

(ii) on behalf of the nation, the former Prime Minister apologised for the suffering inflicted on First Nations families, especially through the removal of children from their families,

(iii) the first Closing the Gap targets and strategy were part of the National Apology,

(iv) the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap contains additional targets, including to address overrepresentation in the criminal justice and child protection systems, and

(v) this is the first year since 2008 that the Prime Minister has not presented a Closing the Gap report to Parliament on the anniversary of the National Apology;

(b) acknowledges:

(i) the ongoing impact of dispossession, discrimination and trauma on First Nations people;

(ii) the continued disparity between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians, including the disproportionate number of First Nations children in out-of-home care, and

(iii) the responsibility of the Federal Government in maintaining the ambition necessary to achieve the Closing the Gap targets; and

(c) calls on the Federal Government to ensure adequate investment in the new Closing the Gap targets.