Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI)

• Overview

  • Only counted in the National Census and allowed to vote since 1967
  • From 1976, some land rights have been granted
  • Feel under-represented in politics and business
  • Life expectancy is 10 years less than White Australians
• How have they been discriminated against?

  • Australia's Racial Discrimination Act
  • The Australian Newspaper - offensive cartoon
  • Historical Oppression - forced removals (Stolen Generations), loss of land, exclusion from citizenship, and segregation
  • Systemic Inequality – higher incarceration rates, poorer health outcomes, economic disadvantages, and ongoing racism
  • Land & Rights Struggles – discrimination and socio-economic challenges persist despite recent advances
• How has this led to poorer health and education?

  • Forced displacement, discrimination in healthcare, and poverty have led to higher rates of chronic illness, mental health issues, and lower life expectancy
  • Historical exclusion from schools, intergenerational trauma, and socio-economic disadvantage have contributed to lower school attendance, literacy rates, and opportunities for higher education
• Statistics

  • Average life expectancy is 10 years less than White Australians
  • Highest level of drug and alcohol abuse
  • 2011 - 43.8% in remote areas, 2.2% of non-indigenous
  • 2014 - imprisonment rate 15x higher, 41% of adults smoked, 13.8% non-indigenous
  • 2015 - 30% lacked literacy skills
• Progress towards human rights

  • 2005-12 - life expectancy gap closed by 0.8 years
  • 1998-2012 - infant mortality rate decreased by 64%
  • 1992 – The Mabo case and Native Title Act recognised Indigenous land ownership
  • 2008 – government program aiming to reduce disparities in health, education, and employment between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians