Australia failing to reduce Indigenous disadvantage: Report
Jul 28, 2022
Canberra [Australia], July 28 (ANI/Xinhua): Australia has made little progress in addressing Indigenous disadvantage, a report has found.
The Productivity Commission on Thursday released an update on the Closing the Gap -- a national framework that aims to reduce the disadvantages faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in 17 areas.
According to the latest data, only four of the 17 targets are on track to be met in the next decade, including healthy birthweight of babies, lowering youth detention rates and early childhood education attendance rates.
The gap between non-Indigenous and Indigenous rates of adult imprisonment, deaths by suicide and children in out-of-home care rates has worsened.
In 2020 the suicide rate for Indigenous Australians was 27.9 per 100,000 people compared to 25.0 per 100,000 in 2018.
Linda Burney, minister for Indigenous Australians, described the results as "disappointing."
"There are some disappointing results in the latest figures -- it's clear that more work needs to be done," she said in a statement.
"The Closing the Gap architecture can only work when all parties are invested and there is a coordinated effort from all jurisdictions in partnership with First Nations peoples."
Thursday's was the second update on the framework since a major shake-up in 2020.
