The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison is rising, as worsening Closing the Gap outcomes are attributed to a lack of meaningful action by governments.
The latest Closing the Gap data, released by the Productivity Commission, showed the rate of First Nations adult prisoners was 2304.4 per 100,000 – an increase of 30 per cent since 2019.
The rate of Indigenous kids in youth detention was 26.1 per 10,000, an increase on the previous four years but overall the trend for this target showed no change from the baseline 2018-19 data.
The over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the out-of-home care system is worsening. While the rate of children in out-of-home care remained at 50.3 per 1000 children across 2023 and 2024, it has increased from 47.3 per 1000 in 2019.
Productivity Commissioner Selwyn Button.Credit: Louise Kennerley
Commissioner Selwyn Button said the review found that governments had not taken enough “meaningful action” to meet their commitments under the Closing the Gap Agreement.
“The continued worsening of outcomes we’ve seen in some Closing the Gap target areas shows the importance of governments taking their commitments to the National Agreement seriously, and taking meaningful actions to fully implement the priority reforms,” he said.
Overall, just four of the 19 targets are on track to be met, while another six targets are improving.
The target of a 15 per cent increase in land and sea Country covered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait people’s legal rights and interests is on track to be met. Life expectancy, the number of babies born at a healthy birth weight, and completion of tertiary education showed improvement but are not on track to be met.
AAP
Read the full article here
