Prime Minister Julia Gillard meeting with Closing the Gap representatives and children at Parliament House in Canberra today. Source: News Limited
A NUMBER of protesters have been arrested at Kevin Rudd's Brisbane electorate office, after staging a sit-in in response to Julia Gillard's closing the gap speech, according to ABC reports.
They are calling for indigenous sovereignty to be recognised and more consultation with indigenous communities on decisions affecting them, the broadcaster says.
Police told AAP they had been called to an address at Morningside - where Mr Rudd's office is located - after reports of a disturbance.
Police could not confirm any arrests.
Julia Gillard today said Australia is on track to meet the first goal of its Closing The Gap targets this year but is struggling to improve other areas of life for indigenous people.
The PM said the program would this year achieve the goal of ensuring 95 per cent of indigenous four-year-olds in remote communities had access to early childhood education.
Targets for indigenous employment, infant mortality rates and completing year 12 were tracking well or would be met.
Premier Campbell Newman says alcohol-related problems are not confined to indigenous communities. Picture: Luke Marsden
But Ms Gillard was disappointed with ''mixed'' literacy and numeracy results and warned some targets such as life expectancy would be hard to meet.
Indigenous mortality had fallen 5 per cent but the rate needed to fall faster if the life expectancy target was met within a generation by 2031.
Delivering the fifth annual Closing The Gap statement to Parliament, Ms Gillard also warned the government may intervene in Queensland and the Northern Territory on plans to wind back alcohol restrictions if the moves undermined the targets.
''We know that some targets, like life expectancy, will be enormously challenging to meet, even with almost two decades still to run,'' Ms Gillard said.
''On others, progress has been encouragingly swift.''
Joining Labor's calls for the NT to reinstate a Banned Drinkers Register, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott recommitted bipartisan support for the Closing The Gap targets.
Northern Territory Acting Chief Minister Robyn Lambley says Canberra should mind its own business. Picture: Daniel Hartley-allen
Mr Abbott said he wanted statistics on school and work attendance in indigenous communities to be published regularly as well.
''All our noble sentiments don't matter if adults aren't going to work and if children aren't going to school,'' he said.
''We should know who is present and who is absent every day.''
However, the NT and Queensland governments have rejected the calls on alcohol plans.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman responded by saying alcohol-related problems were not confined to indigenous communities and Australia as a whole had a problem with alcohol.
''I simply say the policy of discrimination against Aboriginal people is not appropriate,'' he told reporters in Ipswich today.
''We need to tackle alcohol abuse issues across the board.''
Mr Newman went to the last election promising a review of the plans, which restrict or prohibit the sale and possession of alcohol and carry penalties including jail time for breaches.
Mr Newman said they had not worked to reduce alcohol-related violence.
Under the review, it will be up to individual communities to decide on the future of the restrictions.
But his Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Glen Elmes said communities that want to ditch alcohol management plans will have to show they can maintain public safety.
The Newman government's review has attracted some strong criticism, including from leading indigenous academic Professor Marcia Langton who has warned any easing of the bans will threaten lives, especially those of women and children.
Northern Territory Acting Chief Minister Robyn Lambley dismissed calls to reinstate its Banned Drinkers Register (BDR), saying Canberra should mind its own business.
''For Julia Gillard to start dictating from Canberra how we should implement alcohol policies and what they should be is an absolute nonsense,'' Ms Lambley told ABC radio.
Ms Lambley, who will soon meet with Indigenous Affairs Jenny Macklin in Canberra, said she would tell Ms Macklin how unimpressed she was with the PM's words.
''I think that she should be listening to us more than we should be listening to them,'' Ms Lambley said.
The BDR required people buying takeaway alcohol to show photo ID, which was scanned and checked against a list of problem drunks, who were then prevented from purchase.
Speaking on ABC radio, federal Indigenous Health Minister Warren Snowdon said the government had power when it came to bush communities but reinstating the BDR should be a matter of conscience for the NT government.
- with AAP
No comments:
Post a Comment