Socially Valued ResourcesUnequal access for Indigenous Australians

Kate Donnelly Sydney Secondary College, Blackwattle Bay Campus

• Yolngu family members continue to teach their children traditional ways of life.Photo: Supplied

Heritage & enculturation

Health

•Indigenous Australians experience lower levels of access to health services than the general population due to:▫Proximity▫Availability▫Cultural appropriateness of services▫Transport availability▫Health insurance▫Affordability▫Proficiency in English

Remote communities

Health - Distance and Availability•ATSI people live further away from health

care▫26% live in remote or very remote areas▫Compared to only 2% of non-ATSI

• In 2002, 281 medical professionals per 100 000 population were employed in remote or very remote areas▫Compared to 312 in cities▫Largest difference in paediatrics (children’s

care)

A men’s shed without a Shed Titjikala NT

Health - Other factors affecting access• Transport

▫ATSI households are larger and are less likely to have a motor vehicle

• Insurance▫17% of ATSI people in

urban areas have health care

▫Compared to 51% of other Australians

Health - risk factors• Impact upon quality of

life▫Conditions such as

kidney disease, respiratory disease, circulatory system diseases and hearing loss

▫Nutrition▫Alcohol consumption,

smoking and use of other drugs

▫Mental health

BUT…• Major disparities in health status despite

higher spending on ATSI health (ABS 2005)

• In 2004-5 ATSI were 3 times as likely to be hospitalised as other Australians▫Diabetes is 4 times more prevalent

• Shorter life expectancy (17 yrs less)• Infant mortality is still 3 times the national

average

ATSI Non-ATSI

$3 901 per person $ 3 308 per person

Education & Employment

•Steady increases in school enrolment rates

•ATSI adults are twice as likely to be unemployed (13% in 2002) than non ATSI

•Income is equivalent to 59% other Australians

•40% of 10 – 17 yr olds in detention are ATSI (ABS 2002)

Pride in achievement

Pride in culture

Housing•More likely to live in some form of social

housing•Those in remote areas live in conditions that

do not support good health•9% living on overcrowded conditions

▫Can contribute to the spread of infectious disease

•1882 improved dwellings in 2001▫Of permanent dwellings, 31% required major

repair or replacement▫153 had not organised sewerage supply

• At Yarrabah Aboriginal Mission, two or three families - sometimes up to 25 people - share each house, which are little more than tin sheds.Photo: Meredith O'Shea

Solutions

•Reconciliation

•Northern Territory Intervention (?)

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtOxgkZDS4A

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