7am Lidia Thorpe: ‘We need to scrap Closing the Gap’
Feb 12, 2025
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, a fierce advocate for Indigenous rights, challenges the effectiveness of the Closing the Gap strategy, calling it a distraction. She highlights alarming trends, like rising child removals and high suicide rates among Indigenous peoples, questioning the government's commitment to real change. Thorpe argues for stronger federal responsibilities in youth justice and the introduction of a Human Rights Act. She emphasizes the need for genuine community engagement and self-determination, pushing for legislation that respects Indigenous rights.
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Closing the Gap: A Distraction?
- Lidia Thorpe believes the Closing the Gap initiative is a distraction, citing its origin under former Prime Minister John Howard.
- She points to worsening statistics on child removals, incarceration rates, and suicide as evidence of its failure.
Intentional Widening?
- Senator Thorpe argues that the widening gap is intentional, a result of ongoing systemic oppression and state violence against First Peoples.
- She highlights the allocation of funds to policing rather than community-led solutions as a key example.
Federal Intervention and Human Rights
- Thorpe believes the federal government should hold states and territories accountable for youth justice outcomes.
- She advocates for a Human Rights Act and incorporating the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Australian law.