The Australian Greens question the Rudd Government's ability to Close the Gap in Aboriginal life expectancy and health disadvantage, if the PM can't even keep his commitment to report to Parliament on the first day of sitting.

"The Greens are concerned it appears Mr Rudd won't be reporting on progress in closing the gap on the first day of Parliament," said Senator Rachel Siewert.

"Two years after making the commitment that while-ever he was Prime Minister, the first sitting day of parliament every year would be marked by a report on the government's progress in "closing the gap" between black and white Australians - it looks like Mr Rudd will have a 100% failure rate, having never managed to keep this commitment."

Mr Rudd made this promise in London in a speech reporting on the apology to the stolen generations a month after that event.

"Perhaps it is because Mr Rudd can't put such a positive spin on progress?" suggests Senator Siewert.

"There have been few houses built, Aboriginal communities still don't have access to essential services, and the health and education services till aren't meeting Aboriginal needs," she said.

"Meanwhile the discriminatory Northern Territory Invention is still in place, and the Rudd Government is attempting to water down Native Title legislation yet again.

"Kevin Rudd should be embarrassed by situations such as occurred last year, when his Government refused to take the lead in resolving a dispute over essential dialysis services in Central Australia, and when his Minister for Indigenous Affairs was caught out deliberately misquoting figures to support the discriminatory NT Intervention."

"Mr Rudd seemed very keen on Indigenous issues around the time of the apology when he claimed "...the mood of the nation on Indigenous policy and politics is now very simple" but since then he hasn't found it so simple to restore the Racial Discrimination Act or to deliver reparations to the Stolen Generations."

"Resolving Aboriginal disadvantage is not simple, and will take much more than spin to fix," concluded Senator Siewert.

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