The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has published its Implementation Plan for the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
The historic agreement – to which ALGA, the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, and the Coalition of Peaks are all signatories – sets out four agreed priority reform targets and 16 socio-economic targets to improve life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
ALGA’s Closing the Gap Implementation Plan will:
- ensure local governments understand the Agreement and its commitments and encourage its adoption by local governments;
- assist the state and territory governments to work with local governments in the implementation of the Agreement; and
- support strengthened shared decision-making at the local level, supporting local government partnerships with the Commonwealth, states, and territory governments and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
ALGA President Linda Scott said the Implementation Plan reflected local government’s strong commitment to giving First Nations people the means to build stronger communities, particularly by accelerating new employment opportunities at the local government level.
“In many communities, councils are proud to be a major employer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and benefit from the skills of our highly trained, knowledgeable people in the work we do,” Cr Scott said in a media release.
“This Implementation Plan is also about providing local governments additional tools to embrace collaboration with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to deliver the Closing the Gap objectives in ways tailored to their individual circumstances and needs,” Cr Scott said.
Picture courtesy of East Arnhem Regional Council.