February 13 each years marks the anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, who suffered trauma because of past government policies of forced child removal.
The anniversary this year falls on Saturday, marking 13 years since former PM Kevin Rudd delivered the iconic apology.
Since that year successive governments have delivered their annual statement’s on the Closing the Gap agreement, which was introduced formally in 2008.
However, the Morrison government has said it will not deliver a Closing the Gap statement next week, breaking the long-standing practice.
Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt said on Friday a statement would be delivered in parliament on February 15 marking the anniversary and outlining “the progress of key initiatives under way in the Indigenous portfolio.”
Minister Wyatt said under the new agreement the government would deliver it’s Implementation Plan on Closing the Gap in July 2021.
It comes as former PM Kevin Rudd criticised the Morrison government’s “refreshed” agreement in a speech to the National Apology Foundation on Friday.
Speaking in Sydney, Mr Rudd said he had last year welcomed the government’s changes to the Closing the Gap agreement but was critical of targets he said were “fuzzy in the extreme.”
