Independent MLA Thomas Emerson will introduce a Private Member’s Bill intended to ensure the ACT government upholds its commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap because “we’re not on track to close the gap”.

The first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led review of Closing the Gap progress found that “governments have yet to commence any genuine transformative work. Governments continue with business-as-usual approaches that are inconsistent with their commitments under the National Agreement and are not yielding widespread impact.”

Emerson said Closing the Gap targets would not be met for Aboriginal people in the ACT without a significant shift in the way the ACT government operates.

“Closing the gap is everyone’s job,” he said.

“The National Agreement on Closing the Gap isn’t going to implement itself. The ACT government committed to making transformative changes when it signed on to the agreement, but too many of those changes haven’t been implemented.

“I will be introducing a bill in the coming week to make it clear that every public servant has a part to play in closing the gap, with added responsibility for those in leadership positions.”

The bill legislates the principles of the National Agreement in the statute governing the operation of the ACT Public Service, imposing clear requirements on all government officials to support the delivery of the Agreement with a particular focus on the transformational elements of Priority Reform Three.

“The message I’ve heard repeatedly from our local First Nations community is that promises haven’t been followed by sufficient action, and commitments haven’t been backed by sufficient accountability,” he said. “That’s borne out in this review and in the data, which shows we’re not on track to close the gap.”

Mr Emerson said the ACT was not living up to its name as Australia’s most progressive jurisdiction, as evidenced by having the country’s highest persistent homelessness rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the largest indigenous incarceration gap, and the highest rates of racial prejudice experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, at 76 per cent.

“The system is failing. In the ACT, an Aboriginal child is 12.5 times more likely to be in out-of-home care than a non-Aboriginal child. An Aboriginal young person is 14 times more likely to be in youth detention. An Aboriginal adult is 22.7 times more likely to be incarcerated. Systemic reform is needed,” he said.