In his second Closing the gap statement to Parliament, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd released current statistics on the Government's progress to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. In his address, Mr Rudd declared 'There's evidence to suggest that some progress may have been made but the progress is clearly too slow'. He noted that governments must take responsibility for their past failures, but emphasised the need for Indigenous people to 'step up' and demonstrate leadership.
The statistical data show some improvement in education and employment outcomes, but Mr Rudd acknowledged the 'unacceptable' delays in the Indigenous housing program.