Tamworth Regional Council, Aboriginal community to form partnership to Close the Gap

Councillor Marc Sutherland told media on Thursday that it was time for Tamworth Regional Council to take a role in closing the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

"The biggest issue regarding Aboriginal people is making sure Aboriginal people's voices are heard," he said.

"Making sure that Aboriginal people are key and central in the decisions on issues that impact them."

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Health services are typically not something local governments administrate, but Cr Sutherland said Tamworth's council should broaden its business.

There is already work underway to develop an agreement between council and local Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and formalise a commitment by local government to back them to achieve Closing the Gap targets.

"We're in the process or in conversations with our local [Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations] CAPO in looking at trying to put together a partnership agreement, some kind of relationship-setting document in which we can work out the commitment is moving forward," he said.

Tamworth council also plans to reshape its Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

Historically just an advisory organisation, the committee would become part of the partnership with council, he said.

That would be part of developing a positive relationship between council and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations.

"The first step under Closing the Gap which Tamworth Regional Council is now moving into ... is around developing and supporting the growth of those positive relationships..." he said.

"There's already a national commitment that's been made by Aboriginal people who have signed up to Closing the Gap. We know those 17 targets are priority areas across our regions.

"But how we get there is purely based off the conversation in the wants and needs and the aspirations of our Aboriginal community. That isn't a destination predetermined or set by Tamworth Regional Council."

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Held on the third Thursday of March since 2007, National Close the Gap Day is designed to highlight the need for progress on 17 national targets, including educational attainment, health and employment rates, and to eliminate the racial gap in life expectancy by 2031.

All three levels of government and the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations released a statewide implementation plan for closing the gap last year.

Australia's racial life expectancy gap is currently 10 years.

Tamworth's Aboriginal community-controlled organisations include early education centre Birrelee, Tamworth's Local Aboriginal Land Council, and the local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, the Tamworth Aboriginal Employment Strategy, among several others.

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