Episode description

This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament it must face up to the fact only five of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track, as he handed down the government's annual implementation plan.

Pledging an $842.6m investment in the Northern Territory over the next six years, the prime minister said closing the gap is about acknowledging what’s working and what isn’t.

The federal, state and territory governments, along with peak bodies, have committed to improving the lives of Indigenous peoples across 19 key areas including health, education, employment and justice – but more Aboriginal children are being taken from their families, more are ending up in prison, and suicide rates are devastangily high. 

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe believes the widening gap is by design – and argues Closing the Gap targets should be scrapped altogether.

Today, Senator Thorpe on why she believes the Closing the Gap strategy is a distraction and what real change would look like.

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Guest: Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe.

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