Sydney - Aboriginal children are almost six times more
likely to be abused as other young Australians, a government report
said Thursday.
Worse still, child abuse is more prevalent now than in 2003 when
the equivalent rate was four times.
The Productivity Commission report, which is compiled every two
years, showed no change in 40 of the 50 indicators of disadvantage.
'This report on indigenous disadvantage is a devastating report,'
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said.
The 500,000 people in Australia's population of 21 million who
describe themselves as Aboriginal are hospitalized as a result of
domestic violence at a rate 34 times higher than other Australians,
the report said.
The murder rate is seven times higher and the incarceration rate
13 times higher. In fact, the rate of imprisonment has increased
since 2000 by 46 per cent for indigenous men and 27 per cent for
indigenous women.
No improvement was recorded in reading and writing with two-thirds
of indigenous children failing to finish high school.
'The fact that despite all the efforts in the past, when it comes
to such basic things as literacy and numeracy standards, that we have
achieved no effective progress, means that we have to redouble and
treble our efforts to make an impact,' Rudd said when releasing the
report in the Northern Territory city of Darwin.
Opposition Liberal Party spokesman on indigenous affairs Tony
Abbott said the report reflected badly on both state and federal
governments and across the political spectrum.
'But the essential problem here is the doctrine of exceptionalism,
which has been far too prevalent for far too long,' Abbott said. 'I
think what we really need to do is to try and ensure that the same
reasonable expectations are adhered to in respect of Aboriginal
communities as applied to the general Australian population - and we
could start by trying to ensure that 100 per cent of Aboriginal kids
are enrolled at school.'
USA
Your Talkback on this Story