Aboriginal Children in Australia

Health

Aborigines make up less than one percent of the total population in Australia. On every index, Aborigines fare worse than other Australians. Most Aboriginal families face health problems due to a lack of health care. They are at disadvantage in health standards, life expectancy, and infant mortality. Health risks and lack of proper health care place Aboriginal children at extreme risk for many diseases. In 1996, eighty percent of the children affected with pneumonia were Aborigine (Antonios 1997). Four times as many Aborigines have diabetes as compared to statistics of non-indigenous Australians. Maltrunition is also common among Aborigines. The government supports Aboriginal medical services in all states since such poor health standards exist in the culture. Nonindigenous health is also a relevant issue in Australia.

Living Conditions

Another factor affecting Aboriginal children are poor living conditions. Thirteen percent of these families do not have running water and thirty four percent of Aboriginal communities water supply is below the standard set by the government (Antonios 1997; Human Rights Commision 1997). On average, Aboriginal people have twice as many people dwelling and almost three times the number of people per room as other Australians (Brown 1980). A child living in these conditions grows up in less than adequate, overcrowded housing, where family pressures are great.

Physical

Neither the state and its policies, nor the non-Aboriginal community, provide a positive environment for Aboriginal children (Brown 1980). Conflict with White institutional authority and police authority is a part of Aboriginal life. Attitudes toward police are less positive among Aboriginal children (Rigby & Black 1993). However, Aboriginal children attending rural schools expressed more positive attitudes toward parents and other forms of authority.

Education

With the poverty and the absence of bare necessities that Aboriginal children face daily, it is no surprise that educational standards are extremely low. Thirty three percent of Aboriginal children complete schooling compared to the national average of seventy seven percent (Antonios 1997; Australian Bureau of Statistics). As a result of little or no education, thirty eight percent of indigenous people are unemployed and their income in sixty eight percent of the total population (Antonios 1997; Socialist Party of Australia 1995). The lack of opportunity for many Aboriginal children in the job market may lead to a life of crime.

Resources

Antonios, Z. (1997). Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders (Online). Available: http://www.hreoc.gove.au/social_justice/index.html

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1996). Key National Indicators (Online). Available: http://www.statistics.gov.au

Brown, R.G. (Ed). (1980). Children Australia. Sydney: George Allen & Unwin.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commision. (1997). Social Justice (Online). Available:http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/index.html

Rigby & Black. (1993). In J.Dewey & C. Murchison (Eds.), The Journal of Social Psychology (pp.846-851). Washington, D.C.: Helen Reid Educational Foundation.

Socialist Party of Australia. (1995,August). Discrimination against Aborigines. The Guardian. Available email: guardian@peg.apc.org

This page was written by Shana Cohen and co-authored by Amy Markus, Demah Esmail and Rachel Meisel as a part of our Children in Australia website.
We created this page as a collaborative project for our Children & Society class at Tulane University. The purpose was to discover the current standard of living for children in Australia. We explored various aspects such as health, education, culture, government, and Aboriginal versus Non-Aboriginal children. Our classmates explored other countries around the world and found similiar information pertaining to their countries.

December 18, 1998