Contemporary Issues Aboriginal Perspectives THIS CD HAS BEEN PRODUCED FOR TEACHERS TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM. IT IS A CONDITION OF THE USE OF THIS CD THAT IT BE USED ONLY BY THE PEOPLE FROM SCHOOLS THAT HAVE PURCHASED THE CD ROM FROM DIALOGUE EDUCATION. (THIS DOES NOT PROHIBIT ITS USE ON A SCHOOL’S INTRANET). Dialogue Education

GAMES  Click on an image above for a game of “Penalty Shootout” or “Hoop-shoot”. Try playing the game with your students at the start and the end of the unit. Make sure you have started the slide show and are connected to the internet. 2

Contemporary Issues The Indigenous Australian population is a mostly urbanised demographic, but a substantial number (27% as of 2002) live in remote settlements often located on the site of former church missions.

Contemporary Issues In 2004, Prime Minister John Howard initiated contracts with Aboriginal communities, where substantial financial benefits are available in return for commitments such as ensuring children attend school.

You Tube Stolen Generations / Australian Aboriginal Brief History Click on the image to the left. You will need to be connected to the internet to view this presentation. Enlarge to full screen.

Contemporary Issues Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations were those children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were forcibly removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments.

Contemporary Issues Stolen Generations On 13 February 2008, the federal government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, issued a formal apology to the Indigenous Australians over the Stolen Generations.

Contemporary Issues Political Representation Under Section 41 of the Australian Constitution, Aboriginal Australians always had the legal right to vote in Australian Commonwealth elections if their State granted them that right.

Contemporary Issues Political Representation It was not until the repeal of Section 127 of the Australian Constitution in 1967 that Indigenous Australians were counted in the population for the purposes of distribution of electoral seats.

Contemporary Issues Political Representation A number of Indigenous people represent electorates at State and Territorial level, and South Australia has had an Aboriginal Governor, Sir Douglas Nicholls.

Contemporary Issues Political Representation ATSIC, a representative body of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, was set up in 1990 under the Hawke government.

Contemporary Issues Political Representation In October 2007, just prior to the calling of a federal election, the then Prime Minister, John Howard, revisited the idea of bringing a referendum to seek recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution.

Contemporary Issues Age characteristics The Indigenous population of Australia is much younger than the non- Indigenous population, with an estimated median age of 21 years (37 years for non-Indigenous), due to higher rates of birth and death.

Contemporary Issues Life expectancy Aboriginal life expectancy is difficult to quantify accurately.

Contemporary Issues Life expectancy In some regions the median age at death was identified in 1973 to be as low as 47 years and the life expectancy gap between Aboriginals and the rest of the Australian population as a whole, to be 25 years.

Contemporary Issues Life expectancy Figures published in 2005 (59.4 years for males and 64.8 years for females) indicated a widely quoted gap of 17 years between indigenous and non- indigenous life expectancy, though the ABS does not now consider the 2005 figures to be reliable.

Contemporary Issues Education Aboriginal students generally leave school earlier—and live with a lower standard of education—than their peers, although the situation is improving, with significant gains between 1994 and 2002.

Contemporary Issues Education Percent achieving 2004 benchmark ReadingWritingNumeracy Year 3Year 5Year 7Year 3Year 5Year 7Year 3Year 5Year 7 Indigeno -us Australia The performance of indigenous students in national literacy and numeracy tests conducted in school years three, five, and seven is also inferior to that of their peers.

Contemporary Issues Education In response to this problem, the Commonwealth Government formulated a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy.

Contemporary Issues Health Indigenous Australians were twice as likely to report their health as fair/poor and 1.5 times more likely to have a disability or long-term health condition (after adjusting for demographic structures).

Contemporary Issues Health- Health problems with the highest disparity (compared with the non-Indigenous population) in incidence are outlined in the table below: Health complication Comparative incidence rate Comment Circulatory system 2 to 10-fold 5 to 10-fold increase in rheumatic heart disease and hypertensive disease, 2-fold increase in other heart disease, 3-fold increase in death from circulatory system disorders. Circulatory system diseases account for 24% deaths Renal failure2 to 3-fold 2 to 3-fold increase in listing on the dialysis and transplant registry, up to 30-fold increase in end stage renal disease, 8-fold increase in death rates from renal failure, 2.5% of total deaths. Communicable10 to 70-fold 10-fold increase in tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C virus, 20-fold increase in Chlamydia, 40-fold increase in Shigellosis and Syphilis, 70-fold increase in Gonococcal infections Diabetes3 to 4-fold 11% incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in Indigenous Australians, 3% in non-Indigenous population. 18% of total indigenous deaths. Cot death2 to 3-fold Over the period 1999–2003, in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, the national cot death rate for infants was three times the rate Mental health2 to 5-fold 5-fold increase in drug-induced mental disorders, 2-fold increase in diseases such as schizophrenia, 2 to 3-fold increase in suicide. Optometry/ Ophthalmology 2-foldA 2-fold increase in cataracts Neoplasms 60% increase in death rate 60% increased death rate from neoplasms. In 1999–2003, neoplasms accounted for 17% of all deaths Respiratory3 to 4-fold3 to 4-fold increased death rate from respiratory disease accounting for 8% of total deaths

Contemporary Issues Health Each of these indicators is expected to underestimate the true prevalence of disease in the population due to reduced levels of diagnosis.

Contemporary Issues Crime and imprisonment In 2009 the imprisonment rate for Indigenous people was 14 times higher than that of non-Indigenous people.

Contemporary Issues Substance Abuse Many Indigenous communities suffer from a range of health, social and legal problems associated with substance abuse of both legal and illegal drugs.

Contemporary Issues Substance Abuse The 2004–05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) by the ABS found that the proportion of the Indigenous adult population engaged in 'risky' and 'high-risk' alcohol consumption (15%) was comparable with that of the non-Indigenous population (14%), based on age-standardised data.

Contemporary Issues Substance Abuse The 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey reported that Indigenous peoples were "more likely than other Australians to abstain from alcohol consumption (23.4% versus 16.8%) and also more likely to consume alcohol at risky or high-risk levels for harm in the short term (27.4% versus 20.1%)".

You Tube Australia's Aborigines 'ravaged by alcohol' Click on the image to the left. You will need to be connected to the internet to view this presentation. Enlarge to full screen.

Contemporary Issues Substance Abuse NATSIHS 2004/5 also found that, after adjusting for age differences between the two populations, Indigenous adults were more than twice as likely as non-Indigenous adults to be current daily smokers of tobacco.

Contemporary Issues Substance Abuse Some communities (particularly in the Northern Territory) introduced kava as a safer alternative to alcohol, as over-indulgence in kava produces sleepiness, in contrast to the violence that can result from over- indulgence in alcohol.

Contemporary Issues Substance Abuse Petrol sniffing is also a problem among some remote Indigenous communities.

Bibliography # Geoffrey Blainey, A Land Half Won, Macmillan, South Melbourne, Vic., 1980, p75 # Birrell, R and J Hirst (2002). "Aboriginal Couples at the 2001 Census". People and Place 10 (3): 27. # Australian Aboriginal languages. Encyclopædia Britannica Online # Joel Gibson (10 April 2009). "Indigenous health gap closes by five years". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 September # Stephen Lunn (26 November 2008). "Life gap figures not black and white". The Australian. Retrieved 24 April # Marten, J. A., (2002), Children and war, New York University Press, New York, p. 229 ISBN # Pardoe, Colin (1991). "Isolation and Evolution in Tasmania". Current Anthropology 32 (1): 1–27. doi: / # Read, Peter (1981) (PDF). The Stolen Generations: The Removal of Aboriginal children in New South Wales 1883 to Department of Aboriginal Affairs (New South Wales government). ISBN # Stafford Smith, Mark; Mark Morgan, Kurt Seemann (4). "The ‘viability’ and resilience of communities and settlements in desert Australia". Rangeland Journal 30 (1). Retrieved 12 October # Rhys Jones:3,000-5,000, N. J. B. Plomley: 4,000–6,000, Henry Reynolds: 5,000–7,000, Colin Pardoe: 12,000+ and David Davies: 15,000. # T. Vos, B. Barker, L. Stanley, A Lopez (2007). The burden of disease and injury in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: Summary report, p. 14. Brisbane: School of Population Health, University of Queensland. # Wikipedia- Indigenous Australians- Current issues