Yoorrook responds to Productivity Commission Closing the Gap report

In response to the release of the Closing the Gap report by the Productivity Commission, Chair of Yoorrook, Professor Eleanor Bourke said:

“Today’s Productivity Commission report shows that to close the gap, governments must transfer power and resources to First Peoples on the issues that affect First Peoples’ lives. In last year’s Yoorrook for Justice report, Yoorrook Commissioners recommended reforms to achieve this through treaty negotiations and other mechanisms. 

“The evidence is clear that when First Peoples are engaged with and have control over decisions that affect their lives, the result is better outcomes. This is what First Peoples have long been calling for, it is what Yoorrook recommended, and it is what the Productivity Commission is highlighting in its report today.”

The Closing the Gap report is the Productivity Commission’s first three-yearly review of government action on the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. 

The Yoorrook for Justice: Report into Victoria’s Child Protection and Criminal Justice Systems, released in September 2023, detailed extensive systemic injustice, racism, discriminatory laws and policy failures that have, and continue to, cause harm to First Peoples in Victoria.  

Yoorrook for Justice includes 46 recommendations for reform to ensure First Peoples in Victoria can be safe, healthy and thrive.  

ENDS