Indigenous Australians are becoming more disadvantaged, with alarming increases in imprisonment rates, mental health problems and self harm, according to a damning Productivity Commission report released today.
Key points:
- Document billed as "most comprehensive report" on Indigenous wellbeing undertaken in Australia
-
Indigenous imprisonment rates up 77pc over past 15 years
- Commission estimates only 34 of 1,000 Indigenous programs are properly evaluated
The commission's Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report says despite some positive trends, the plight of Indigenous Australians has "stagnated or worsened" in critical areas of wellbeing.
Among the findings, the national Indigenous imprisonment rate has surged by 77 per cent over the past fifteen years and the hospitalisation rate for self harm is up by 56 per cent over the past decade.
The report points to a failure of policy and oversight, with the commission estimating only 34 of 1,000 Indigenous programs are been properly evaluated by authorities.
Productivity Commission deputy chair Karen Chester told the ABC's AM program the findings are a wake up call for all levels of government about the reality of Indigenous wellbeing and whether the $30 billion budget is being properly spent.
"You want to know that money is being spent not just in terms of bang for buck for taxpayers, but that we're not short-changing Indigenous Australians," Ms Chester said.
"Of over a thousand policies and programs, we could only identify 34 across the whole of Australia that have been robustly and transparently evaluated.
"At the end of the day, we can't feign surprise that we're not seeing improvement across all these wellbeing indicators if we're not lifting the bonnet and evaluating if the policies and programs are working or not."
The report is being billed by the commission as "compulsory reading" and the most comprehensive report on Indigenous wellbeing undertaken in Australia.
'The clock has been ticking for a while'
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were involved in the study, which was produced by the Productivity Commission for a review into government service provision.
Despite the disturbing assessment, a number of case studies have been highlighted where good governance is contributing to the success of Indigenous organisations.
These include the Waitja Tjutangku Palyapayi Aboriginal Corporation in Central Australia, which helps communities to counter economic disadvantage, and the Marius Project in the northern Victoria town of Swan Hill.
The report says areas of health, economic participation, life expectancy and aspects of education have improved from the update two years ago, with child mortality rates narrowing between 1998 and 2014.
But Ms Chester says it was now up to state, territory and federal governments to take the report on board to determine what is working and what is failing.
"I think the clock has been ticking for a while already," Ms Chester said.
While the report includes case studies of examples of "things that work", it says the small number available underscores the lack of Indigenous programs that are being rigorously evaluated for effectiveness.
The
Booming Industry continued: Australian Prisons A 2017 update
concludes:
"When the current use of prison is subjected to a critical social
justice analysis, as has been done in this article,
a number of things become clear.
• The facts that
increasing numbers of people with poor educational backgrounds, mental and cognitive disabilities and very low financial
capacity find themselves imprisoned, and when released have even less capacity to
negotiate their way around society successfully and are quickly returned to prison are
evidence of criminalisation of socially disadvantaged persons and systemic failures of
social and human services and of increasing inequity.
• There is an imperative
to reduce the number and rate of Indigenous Australians’ imprisonment.
• Australian society is
diminished by the increasing use of prison to address multilayered social disadvantage and difficulties.
A fairer and safer society with lower rates of offending is
likely to be achieved not by criminalising greater numbers of persons with less social
capacity, but rather by improving society’s capacity to support their most vulnerable members,
early educational, family, social and health support and reducing inequity in the community."