Addressing Indigenous disadvantage enjoys widespread community and business support. It has largely avoided the knee-jerk ideological split among political parties and media outlets that bedevils many other major societal issues in Australia today. Commonwealth-State bickering is also largely absent. And significant government, business, and community resources have been allocated to it.
Despite this positive environment, the relative lack of progress on the original Closing the Gap targets shows why focussing only on what needs to be done is not enough. Alongside the “what”, it is important to focus also on “how” things will be done. Over the last thirty years, Australia has not done enough to keep its “how” (what we call the future-making system) fit for purpose in a changing world.
It is therefore refreshing to see Commonwealth and State leaders agree not only to new Closing the Gap targets, but also to a new way of achieving those targets, this time with Indigenous Australians sharing the driver’s seat. Time will tell whether this is enough, or whether there is a need for additional new approaches to how the targets are reached. Australia’s Governments could use this new chapter in tackling Indigenous disadvantage to learn and adapt as they go.
We believe the cooperative Federalism emerging through the National Cabinet, the focus on two issues simultaneously (health and the economy) during the response to the coronavirus pandemic, and this new approach to Closing the Gap are positive examples of innovations in Australia’s future-making system.
Over the next three years, we’re undertaking solutions-focussed research through our Recoding the Future program with leaders, experts, and the public to uncover and prioritise more innovations. This will provide Australia with a better shared understanding of how Australia actually makes its future, a clearer picture of what’s working well and what’s out of date, and plans for the most promising solutions. From there, different players in Australia can take steps to implement the solutions. This is all part of our mission to understand and improve how Australia makes its future.
Ralph Ashton
Executive Director