Not a Pretty Picture- For Indigenous People
“ I want to tell you how much the church esteems and loves you and how much she wishes to assist you in your spiritual and material needs.” Pope John Paul 2, Alice Springs,1986
Indigenous people often live under third world conditions in Australia – their own land. The 1991 Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody made this telling observation:
"the consequence of the history of Aboriginal people (since European settlement) is the partial destruction of Aboriginal culture and a large part of the Aboriginal population and also disadvantage and inequality.”
Life expectancy 2001:
· Indigenous males - 56 years
· all Australian males - 77 years
· Indigenous females - 63 years
· all Australian females - 82 years
Death rate 2001:
· Indigenous population twice the death rate of non-Indigenous
· death rate for Indigenous people aged 35-54 in NT Q’ld, South Australia and Western Australia, 5 times non-Indigenous population.
Infant mortality 2001:
- Indigenous Australians -11 deaths per 1,000 live births
- all Australians - 5 deaths per 1,000 live births
Causes of death 2001:
Death from accidents, assault and self-harm –
· 17%- Indigenous
· 6%- non-Indigenous
Hospitalisation 2001:
Hospital admissions -
· Indigenous - twice as likely to be hospitalised as non-Indigenous
General health 2001:
· Indigenous twice as likely to report health as 'fair or poor' (34%)
· non-Indigenous people (18%)
· Indigenous (15 years and over) - overweight (61%) non-Indigenous people (48%)
· Indigenous three times more likely to report diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians.
Educational achievement 2001:
Proportion of people over 15 years completing Year 12-
- major cities- Indigenous -25%, non-Indigenous - 46%
- remote areas –Indigenous- 8%, non-Indigenous people-35%.
Higher education 2001:
Proportion of people attending university-
- 5% of Indigenous people aged between 18 and 24
- 23% of non-Indigenous people between 18 &24
Labour force participation 2001:
People in labour force aged 15 and over:
- 52% of Indigenous people the labour force compared with
- 63% of the total population
Unemployment 2001:
Unemployment rate-
- 20% - Indigenous adults
- 7.2% - non-Indigenous adults
Income 2001:
Average weekly household income-
o Indigenous people - $364
o non-Indigenous people -$585
Home ownership 2001:
People owning or buying their own homes -
§ 32% of Indigenous
§ 71% of non-Indigenous
§ 13% of Indigenous people live in remote communities temporary dwellings eg tin sheds, caravans and 'humpies'.
Overcrowding 2001:
§ 15% of Indigenous households overcrowded
§ 4% of other Australian households overcrowded
Sewerage service 2001:
A survey of 1,216 Indigenous communities with a population of 50 or more found that 48% had reported sewerage system overflows or leakages in the 12 months prior to the survey.