By Ringo Jose
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia is struggling to improve the lives of its indigenous people with only five out of 19 measures on track to meet targets, a government report showed on Wednesday.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 3.6 per cent of Australia’s population of about 27 million, but they rank near the bottom of almost every economic and social indicator, and have disproportionately high rates of suicide and incarceration.
The government’s annual Closing the Gap report – the first since Australians last year rejected a proposal to recognise indigenous people in the constitution – showed rising rates of incarceration, suicide and the number of indigenous children in out-of-home care.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said governments at all levels “have not done enough in the past” to improve the lives of indigenous people.
“We are committed to making a difference. The challenges are there. You can’t solve generational inequality overnight but what you can do is commit to making a difference,” Albanese said at a news conference on Thursday.
Australia has struggled for decades to come to terms with its indigenous people. Their ancestors arrived on the continent some 50,000 years before British settlers, but they were marginalised under colonial rule and are not even mentioned in Australia’s 123-year-old constitution.
A referendum held in 2023 to amend the constitution to create an original advisory body in parliament was rejected by 60% of voters who did not agree that the advisory body was the right solution.
The Productivity Commission report said Indigenous life expectancy had improved, but may not close the gap with the non-Indigenous group by 2031 as targeted.
Children born with a healthy weight, children enrolled in preschool, work, and land and sea rights are improving at the rates needed to meet the goals.
The report highlighted the lack of data needed to verify some metrics, and said these gaps affected its assessment.
“There is still a lot we don’t know,” said Commissioner Selwyn Bouton. “For example, we still don’t have a reliable source of data to assess whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have access to clean drinking water, sewage treatment and electricity.”