The Coalition of around forty Peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations (Coalition of Peaks) has today welcomed the formal commitment of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to the historic Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap.

COAG has today officially endorsed the Partnership Agreement which sets out for the first-time shared decision making on Closing the Gap between Australian Governments and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples through the Coalition of Peaks.

The Partnership Agreement establishes the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, made up of ministers from the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, and representatives from the Coalition of Peaks and the
Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to oversee and work together as equal partners to refresh the Closing the Gap framework for the next 10 years.

The Joint Council will next meet in Adelaide on August 23 and will consider new priority reforms to accelerate improvements in life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Quotes to attribute to Coalition of Peaks Convener and NACCHO Chief Executive Officer Ms Patricia Turner AM.

“I’m very pleased to see COAG acknowledge the historic Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap and note the important work of the Joint Council already underway.”

“We will only be able to close the gap with a continued commitment to shared decision making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on the design and implementation of key actions to close the gap.”

“The Coalition of Peaks is looking forward to participating in the next Joint Council meeting later this month. And I look forward to co-chairing the meeting with the Hon Ken Wyatt, the first Aboriginal Minister for Indigenous Australians.

About the Coalition of Peaks

The Coalition of Peaks is a representative body comprised of around forty Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peaks organisations that have come together to have their collective voice heard on issues that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Since the Closing the Gap framework and targets were first implemented in 2008, we have been calling on government to recognise the expertise that exist in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.

In an historic agreement, the Coalition of Peaks has formed a Joint Partnership with COAG in order to collaborate on the Closing the Gap Refresh process. This is the first time that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices have not only been invited to the table, but have also been empowered with shared decision-making responsibilities.

More information on the Coalition of Peaks: www.naccho.org.au/programmes/coalition-of-peaks/

For media enquiries or for interviews contact Andrew Blyberg on andrew@fiftyacres.com or +61 401 691 666