Image Source: TRIBUNE

A pledge to close the health and wellbeing gap between Aboriginal and other Australians is failing, the government admitted Wednesday, describing the situation as a source of “national shame”.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said just two of seven key targets to improve the lives of Australia’s indigenous people were on track—unchanged from last year.

More Aboriginal children were enrolled in early education and graduating from high school than ever before, he said, but attendance rates were still lagging behind other groups.

Other targets to halve the gap in child mortality, literacy, life expectancy, and unemployment rates were not being met.

Morrison called the failure to give indigenous children equal opportunities to other Australian kids “a national truth and a national shame”.