Trends In Welfare Of Indigenous Australians 'Deeply Troubling': Australian Minister

(MENAFN- IANS) Canberra, Aug 1 (IANS) The Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy has described a new government report on the welfare of First Nations people as deeply troubling.

The Productivity Commission, the government's primary review and advisory body, on Wednesday published its latest report on Closing the Gap, the national strategy to reduce the structural disadvantages faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Xinhua news agency reported.

The report found that five of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track to be met and that progress on four targets has gone backwards.

According to the new data, the number of Indigenous Australians imprisoned, taking their own lives and losing their children to out-of-home care has increased from baseline levels.

In 2021, 34.3 per cent of Indigenous children commencing school were considered developmentally on track, down from 35.2 per cent in 2018.

McCarthy, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, said in a statement on Thursday that a bipartisan approach was needed to close the gap.

"These figures are deeply troubling, but I am determined to work in partnership with First Nations Australians, the Coalition of Peaks and State and Territory governments to bring about positive change," she said.

"I will be reaching out to my colleagues across the parliament to seek a bipartisan approach to Indigenous affairs."

The life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has narrowed, the report said, but a target of zero gap by 2031 is not on track.

Indigenous people born in 2020-2022 had a life expectancy of 71.9 years for males and 75.6 years for females compared to 81.2 years and 85.3 years for non-Indigenous males and females respectively.

Suicide was the leading cause of death for Indigenous Australians aged 15-39 in 2022.

Targets concerning healthy birth weights of Indigenous children, the proportion of Indigenous children enrolled in preschool, Indigenous employment and the proportion of Australia's land mass and sea area covered under Indigenous legal rights are on track to be met.

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