Later today, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will deliver the ninth Closing the Gap address to Parliament in which he'll argue his government is turning the tide on Indigenous disadvantage. He'll draw on the latest Closing the Gap report which is expected to show some improvements in health and education outcomes. But there are obvious...

This ninth Closing the Gap report showcases real successes being achieved at a local level across the country—by individuals, communities, organisations and government. However, at a national level, progress needs to accelerate. Over the long term there are improvements across a number of the targets, however these improvements are not enough to meet the majority...

Executive Summary

"Abolishing CDEP was a well-intentioned mistake and CDP is our attempt to atone for it.” So said Tony Abbott in a recent exchange with journalist Amos Aikman in the Australian. CDEP was the Community Development Employment Projects scheme, which replaced unemployment benefits in a growing number of Indigenous communities after it was launched by the...

The Community Development Programme (CDP) is a remote-area Work for the Dole scheme that principally affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The program is billed by the government as 'helping people find work, and allowing them to contribute to their communities and gain skills while looking for work.' But there is mounting evidence that...