by RustyCage » Thu Dec 20, 2007 3:16 pm
Here are some Indigenous issues that are significantly more important than some ultimately insignificant apology.
Demographic Statistics
* Indigenous Australians make up approximately 2.4% of the population of Australia, or an estimated 492,700 in 2005
* 11% of Indigenous Australians are Torres Strait Islanders. 14% of Torres Strait Islanders live in the Torres Strait area (the group of islands in the Torres Strait separating Indonesia and Australia) while 45% live in other parts of Queensland and 18% in New South Wales
* In 2001 the median age of Indigenous Australians was 21 years, compared with 36 years for the non-Indigenous population.
* Approximately 30% of Indigenous Australians live in major cities, 43% in regional areas and 26% in remote areas. This contrasts with the non-Indigenous population, only 2% of whom live in remote areas.
* Over half of Indigenous Australians live in NSW and Queensland, but the greatest proportion of Indigenous inhabitants is in the Northern Territory, where nearly 29% of the population is Indigenous.
Health indicators
* After adjusting for age, Indigenous Australians show a higher rate of most types of health conditions than non-Indigenous people. The difference is especially pronounced for arthritis, asthma, diabetes and endocrine/metabolic/nutritional disorders.
* Current life expectancy for Indigenous Australians is estimated at 59 years for males and 65 years for females; this is substantially lower than the total population levels of 77 years for males and 82 years for females.
* One factor influencing Indigenous people's access to health services is distance. Indigenous Australians are more likely to live at a greater distance from health services. This is further compounded by lack of access to transport, and by the relative economic disadvantage of Indigenous Australians which impacts their access to services which are not covered by Medicare, such as dentistry and physiotherapy.
* Cultural factors are also likely to form a barrier to access to health services. Indigenous Australians are more likely to access health services if Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander staff are employed at the service, especially in situations where the patient has a limited proficiency in written and spoken English. Approximately one-fifth of Indigenous people living in remote areas report difficulty in understanding or making themselves understood by service providers, and around half did not have a working telephone.
Educational indicators
* 18% of Indigenous adults have completed year 12, compared to 44% of non-Indigenous adults. This is an improvement on the 1994 rate of 10%.
* The proportion of Indigenous people aged 25-64 years who have a non-school qualification was 32% in 2002, compared to 57% of non-Indigenous people. This is an improvement on the 1994 figure of 20%.
* While Indigenous students comprised 3% of the total vocational education and training student population in 2003, they are still under-represented in higher education, accounting for 1% of the total higher education population in 2003.
Housing and Employment Indicators
* Indigenous people are half as likely to be purchasing their own home as non-Indigenous people (27% as opposed to 74%)
* The unemployment rate for Indigenous Australians is more than twice the rate for non-Indigenous Australians.
Even in the area of social justice, there are many thing more important than an apology. If the government wants to do something good for the Indigenous people of Australia, fix their education, employment, and most importantly, health issues.
I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run
