It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the Assembly. I’ve been asking a lot of questions in Budget Estimates hearings about government policy and expenditure in a range of different areas, and will provide an update on that soon.
For today’s update: you may have seen the news that I'm calling for the ACT to commit to becoming the first state or territory to Close the Gap in life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans. We’ve been talking about Closing the Gap for 20 years, and my first Private Member’s Bill can help get us there. I need your help to get it across the line.
It’s been two years since the ACT voted in favour of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. That vote delivered a clear mandate to the ACT Government to take action on First Nations justice. But the Government has been dragging its feet in bringing about the transformational systemic reforms they committed to under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
You might remember that in June I introduced my Closing the Gap Bill, developed in collaboration with local First Nations community leaders. The bill seeks to require, by law, all government officials to implement the principles of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap in their work, and all government agencies to report annually on the concrete steps they’ve taken on their Closing the Gap commitments. You can learn more about the bill here.
Passing the bill would implement key recommendations from the Productivity Commission’s 2024 review and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led 2025 review of progress on Closing the Gap, as well as the Jumbunna Institute’s reviewinto the over-representation of First Nations people in the ACT criminal justice system released just last Wednesday. These reviews all found that the Government has failed to bring about the systemic reforms needed to address the entrenched disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Yesterday, I published an open letter signed by 38 prominent community leaders, calling on the ACT Chief Minister and all Members of the Legislative Assembly to support the bill. Signatories include current and former members of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, former ACT Chief Ministers Jon Stanhope and Gary Humphries, respected First Nations community leaders, CEOs of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, and ACT Senator David Pocock.
Today, my opinion piece about the bill and why it’s needed has been published by The Canberra Times. You can read it here or, if you’re not a subscriber, check it out on my website here.
While the support from prominent community leaders has been incredible, we also need support from you and your networks to get this bill over the line.
Natalie Brown, chair of the Our Booris, Our Way Implementation Oversight Committee has lodged a petition calling on the Assembly to pass the bill. Please consider signing the petition, and sharing it with your friends, family and wider network using this link: https://epetitions.parliament.act.gov.au/details/e-pet-044-25
Let’s make sure all ACT MLAs know that our community expects this bill to pass.
Next Mobile Office
While i've got you, my next mobile office is this Friday at Dickson Shops from 4pm to 5pm. If you’re free, come along for a chat and let me know what you’d like to see me focus on as your local independent MLA. You can RSVP here.
As always, please flick through any feedback, ideas, or requests in the meantime.
Thank you for your support.
Tom