It was 12 years ago this week, when Kevin Rudd made an historic and heartfelt apology to members of the Stolen Generation and their families, on behalf of all Australians.
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The commitment to creating a better and more united Australia, and one that closed the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia was honourable, but the achievements since then continue to disappoint.
During his highly emotional almost 4000-word statement, Mr Rudd said it was important to lay claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
"A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity."
There can be few more serious or important priorities for a government and a nation than the health and wellbeing of all its citizens.
In this instance, we have failed. Miserably.
The Indigenous child mortality rate is still approximately double that for non-Indigenous children.
While there's been some marginal gains made over the past decade, the gap has widened due to higher improvements in the non-Indigenous child mortality rate.
The report does note improvements in education, with a stated goal to have 95 per cent of Indigenous four year-old children enrolled in early childhood education within another five years reportedly on track.
Sadly though, the gap widens as the school years progress, an indication that Indigenous children are failing to stay engaged in their schooling, although data for Victorian schools shows this circumstance to be less frequent than it is elsewhere.
The report also indicates there's also more work to be done on the development of literacy and numeracy skills among Indigenous students.
If as a nation we are serious about closing the gap, we simply need to do better to rectify to an ongoing tragedy that will always be judged not on the inputs provided by government, but on the results those inputs achieve.