VCOSS commits to Closing the Gap
On Tuesday 17 August 2008, the Victorian Premier, The Hon John Brumby, the HREOC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma, and the Chairpers
on of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), Justin Mohammed signed a Victorian Statement of Intent to Close the Gap on Indigenous disadvantage.
VCOSS was honoured to be invited to attend and participate in this historic event. As one of the signatory supporting organisation, VCOSS is committed to both working alongside Victorian Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and to assisting to ensure the mainstream community organisations provide culturally relevant services to help ensure that Victoria achieves the target on closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.
Victorian Premier signs Statement of Intent
VCOSS commends the Victorian Government in signing the Victorian Statement of Intent to Close the Gap. In doing so, the Victorian Government has committed to taking significant steps to ensure that this intent is translated into action and change to improve the outcomes for Indigenous Victorians. VCOSS believes that the Victorian Government needs to move quickly to build on its progress to date in improving outcomes for Indigenous Victorians. Successful measures need to be built on, alongside implementing additional strategies and supports.
VCOSS welcomed the Leader of the Opposition, Ted Baillieu, taking the significant step to also be a signatory to the Statement of Intent.
VCOSS urges the Victorian Government to ensure that signing the Statement of Intent is not solely a symbolic step. It is essential that it is the first step in continuing to Close the Gap in outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Victorians. As the Premier noted in his concluding comments, Victoria cannot be the best place unless it is also the fairest.