opinion
Long road to Reconciliation: ‘paradigm shift’ needed to close the gap

During Reconciliation Week, Governments at all levels will highlight their achievements in narrowing the gap and fostering reconciliation. However, amidst the celebratory tone, it’s crucial to acknowledge the past year’s shortcomings and setbacks along the road to reconciliation. Closing the Gap has failed to meet its targets, with a report from the Productivity Commission released in February describing Government action as “weak”. The Commission said without a “paradigm shift”, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous outcomes will continue. The vote to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the constitution failed last year in another blight on efforts for reconciliation. Shine Lawyers have launched class actions against the South Australian, Victorian and WA Governments, alleging they have taken part in creating a second Stolen Generation through child removals in February. It comes after the law firm reached a landmark deal with the WA Government to compensate thousands of Indigenous people who worked for little or no pay up until the 1970s to the tune of $180.4 million. Despite the landmark deal, each of the victims are set to receive only up to $16,000 for years of unpaid labour on Catholic Missions amounting to modern slavery. Earlier this year, images of three children restrained with cable ties for swimming in a neighbour’s pool were hauntingly reminiscent of the Kimberley’s shameful history of removal. The police “Liquor Files” revealed testimony from a Government health worker who said the State was complicit in what she described as a booze “genocide” in the Kimberley. Images of a Kimberley woman drinking hand sanitiser after being put on the Banned Drinkers Register by police were distributed across the State earlier this year, highlighting the effect of punitive alcohol policies where inadequate rehabilitation services remain. The nation sat in horror as news outlets reported a 10-year-old Kimberley boy took his own life while in State care earlier this year after having his case continuously blundered by the Department of Communities. Suicide continues to be the leading cause of death for Aboriginal children in the Kimberley — this is the desperate situation Government inaction and incompetence has lead our children to. Meanwhile, the mortality rate for Indigenous kids across the country remains twice that of non-Indigenous kids. Despite domestic violence in our communities continuing to be the worst in the State, a promised One Stop Domestic Violence Hub for Broome will be the last to be delivered in WA. The devastating effects of the removal policy continue to echo throughout our North West communities today, with more than half of the Kimberley Indigenous population descendants of the stolen generation, according to the Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation. On a local level, some steps have been taken forward, with the Shire of Broome signing a memorandum of understanding with Nyamba Buru Yawuru to mark Reconciliation Week last year. But the appetite for self-determination needs to be paired with adequate Government action if the country is to achieve its goals of reconciliation and create an equitable future for First Nations people. Lifeline 13 11 14

opinionLong road to Reconciliation: ‘paradigm shift’ needed to close the gap

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Long road to Reconciliation: ‘paradigm shift’ needed to close the gap