All this bodes well for reconciliation in the years ahead, as an ever larger proportion of the adult population escapes the bonds of ignorance. The other side of the relationship between education and reconciliation relates to the continuing disadvantage suffered by Indigenous students in terms of participation, relevance and outcomes. As you know, the need for better educational outcomes for Indigenous people was officially recognised by all Australian Governments a decade ago. But since the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy was put in place in 1989, progress towards achieving the worthy goals of that policy has been, at best, mixed. There are many good programs in place at the Commonwealth, State, Territory and local levels, but the gap between Indigenous outcomes and those of the whole community refuses to go away.
Reconciliation suffers while that gap remains.
Even in these days of cash-strapped education, I think it's up to all of us to keep the pressure on among our peers and our elected representatives and in our communities. We must maintain the momentum towards equality of outcomes in education as in the other key areas of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage. The job of tackling disadvantage effectively is one important part of the bigger picture that I'm really here to talk about. And I'm happy to report that I, and my colleagues on the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, are quietly confident about the situation as we enter the last 18 months of our term of office. A lot of work has gone in, by this and previous Councils, to get us to the quite exciting position we're in today.