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Key findings:
- While there has been a small improvement in Indigenous life expectancy, progress will need to accelerate considerably if the gap is to be closed by 2031.
- The target to halve the gap in child mortality within a decade is on track to be met.
- In 2012, 88 per cent of Indigenous children in remote areas were enrolled in a pre-school programme. Data for 2013, to show whether the 95 per cent benchmark for this target has been met, will be available later this year.
- New data on whether enrolled children are actually attending school should also be available later this year.
- Progress against the target to halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade has been disappointing. Only two out of eight areas have shown a significant improvement since 2008.
- The target to halve the gap for Indigenous people aged 20–24 in Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates by 2020 is on track to be met.
- No progress has been made against the target to halve the employment gap within a decade.
Closing
Treaty between Nations
Creating Treaty agreements between two distinct and separate Nations is often harder than its is because both have to live within the terms that often stress equality rather than sub-nations. I only can reflect on our Treaty with the Queen of England back in 1876 who signed a lasting agreement with Treaty signatories of Treaty 6. Today often there are misinterpretation as to the obligation mainly because our forefathers did not have a written historical text rather depended on oral or voiced transmission of history that was passed down from father to son or mother to daughter etc. These were seen within tradition as being a Lived Treaty that was passed down it’s obligation by honoring its obligation in annual commemoration ceremonies held each year. It was stressed by our forefather that we honored our relationship as distinct Nations by allowing the other to live in Peace and Harmony. It is believed that by doing this we care for the other well being as it was not meant to bring control over the other. Today we are struggling with these very issues of increased industrialization of foreign business ventures (OIL, Gas, Mining etc.) that bring in economic growth to only one side of society that forgot it’s obligations and closing our relationship. It must be clear between each Nation not to forget it’s obligation and often two worlds will not have the same reference point towards a successful world view but still each must be respected.