Our People
Closing the Gap Alliance
Orange is home to the first Closing the Gap Place-Based Plan finalised anywhere in NSW.
The plan is a 10-year, community-led commitment between Orange’s Aboriginal Community Controlled organisations – Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council, Orange Aboriginal Medical Service, and Orange Aboriginal Educational Consultative Group – to work together on closing the gap in Orange, across all 17 national targets.
Why this plan is different
Government sets the policy. Communities close the gap. That’s the principle behind the plan: Aboriginal Community Controlled organisations taking responsibility for outcomes in their own community, rather than waiting on outcomes to be delivered from Canberra or Macquarie Street.
Two targets are the immediate priority in Orange: The proportion of children developmentally on track, and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. Both are going backwards nationally. Orange is working to turn that around locally.
What’s already underway
- In-school support for Aboriginal students, helping maximise their chances of success through to the HSC.
- Cultural and social education for non-Aboriginal students, building understanding and acceptance of Aboriginal students in the school environment.
“The policy settings are put in place in the National and State Parliaments, but the Gap won’t be closed in Canberra or Macquarie St. It will only be closed by Aboriginal Community Controlled organisations in countless local communities across Australia.“
A model for other communities
Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO, Annette Steele, describes the plan as proof of what a genuine partnership between local Community Controlled organisations can achieve and one other NSW communities can follow.
“We need to do all we can to turn this situation around in Orange.”