The Australian Medical Association is calling for a greater focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led solutions to address the unmet targets of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
New data released by the Productivity Commission yesterday reveals outcomes are worsening for several targets, including incarceration, rates of suicide, child removal and early childhood.
Four of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track to be met by their deadline. Those on-track targets show the value in governments working with communities to improve outcomes.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said the new data highlighted the critical importance of empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to design and lead responsive funding models and services to close the gap.
"It is crucial for all government departments and mainstream organisations to enable and embed First Nations leadership in the design of policies and programs aimed at improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples," Dr McMullen said.
"We are disappointed to see progress going backwards in many areas of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which shows the current approach simply isn't working."
The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in prison has risen to more than 2,300 per 100,000 people — a 30 per cent increase since baseline reporting started in 2018-19.
"There are clear opportunities to prevent contact with the custodial system, including through measures such as justice diversion and more broadly addressing the social and cultural determinants of health that put Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at risk," Dr McMullen said.
Youth incarceration rates also remain at unacceptably high levels.
"One obvious place to start is raising the age of criminal responsibility in all jurisdictions to 14 years," Dr McMullen said.
"There is overwhelming evidence to show contact with the custodial system in early adolescence, including being locked up in prison, condemns a child to a lifetime of developmental harm and disadvantage.
"Governments across Australia must learn from this evidence and act immediately to protect children from the vicious cycle of disadvantage."
The AMA recently wrote a letter of support for the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association's (AIDA) submission to the Senate Inquiry into Measuring Outcomes for First Nations Communities.
The AMA echoed AIDA's call made in their submission that Indigenous leadership in policy and program development must be embedded in mainstream organisations and government departments as part of systemic and structural change.
