(From left) Elected Body chair Maurice Walker, Elected Body members Kaylene McLeod and Helen Wright, and Kurrajong independent MLA Thomas Emerson. Photo: Supplied.
The ACT Government is not only failing to meet its commitments to resolve entrenched disadvantage faced by First Nations Canberrans, but its actions “threaten to entrench it further and more severely than before”, according to a new report.
The ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body’s Turning Point Report found that, of the 22 targets set under the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2019 — 2028, only four are on track to be met.
Four other targets are not on track, eight are worsening and six have no published data to allow them to be assessed.
“This means the ACT is now in a worse position than when the ACT Agreement was signed,” the report noted.
“It is a sobering reality that outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT have not only failed to improve, but in many areas, have gone backwards. If this is the measure of our government’s ‘commitment’, then public policy itself is failing those it was meant to serve.
“Far from resolving entrenched disadvantage, the ACT’s current trajectory threatens to entrench it further and more severely than before.”
The government has been using a phased approach to meet its commitments.
The Elected Body assessed the ACT First Nations Agreement and how many phase-two priority actions had been met. Photo: Report.
The Elected Body’s assessment of phase two found only 24 per cent of priority actions were either completed or on track for completion. Fifty-three of the 87 actions (or 61 per cent) had their progress status “inaccurately reported” in the 2024-25 Impact Statement, and about 34 per cent (30 of 87 actions) couldn’t be connected to any indicators at all.
“[This suggests] that either the ACT Agreement itself is not entirely robust (i.e. missing metrics), and/or that activity was misaligned with agreed outcomes,” the report noted.
“Government data is fragmented, siloed, weaponised and too often withheld. Too often, data is used to construct an image of progress that masks reality, rather than to reveal the truth that we are living.”
The report made 56 recommendations on how the ACT Government could get back on track.
“The Elected Body believes there is hope if the Government chooses transparency. Transparency gives truth, and truth provides another beginning,” it noted.
“How much we can accomplish depends on how much we can see. What is needed is shared data, real accountability and genuine partnership.
“We cannot afford more slow steps towards endless planning.”
Kurrajong independent MLA Thomas Emerson, whose advocacy has led to the ACT legislating Closing the Gap commitments for the public service, said the “brutal report card” highlighted yet another failure by the government to follow through on its promises to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“When the government doesn’t mark its own homework on First Nations issues, its grades are disastrous,” he said.
“This report shows that accountability has been lacking, action has been limited, and change has been slow … it’s time to turn things around.”
Mr Emerson called on the ACT Government to prioritise increased resourcing for the Elected Body to improve its commitment to shared decision-making.
“We need to empower the Elected Body to operate as an equal partner with the ACT Government,” he said.
“Insufficient, part-time remuneration of Elected Body members is disrespectful and not conducive to improved outcomes for our First Nations community.”
It’s as the ACT Government tabled its Phase Three Implementation Plan for the ACT Agreement, which was originally meant to start in January 2024.
The plan acknowledged that while “progress” had been made, “it is clear more must be done”.
“Phase Two … laid important groundwork for reform, but several commitments remain in progress with further work required,” it noted.
“Phase Three directly responds to these gaps. It commits to recalibrating reform delivery by embedding disciplined, community-led cultural governance into operational systems — moving from principle to practice.”
Priority actions include: piloting a culturally safe health and development screening check for three-year-old children fully implementing all recommendations from the 2019 Our Booris, Our Way final report and the 2024 The Long Yarn report; transfer of Boomanulla Oval to First Nations community control; and undertaking data analysis to identify racial profiling, conscious/unconscious bias and institutionalised/systemic racism.
An ACT Government spokesperson acknowledged the report and said it was “renewing its efforts to work in partnership” with the Elected Body and wider Indigenous communities.
“Recently, Cabinet established a Closing the Gap Subcommittee where the Elected Body along with all Cabinet Ministers and Directors-General are permanent members. This new subcommittee held its first meeting last month and has an ambitious workplan ahead,” they said.
“The ACT Public Service Head of Service and Director-Generals are also meeting this month to discuss closing the gap and future planning, with members of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body participating in this planning work.”
