Portrait of the average indigenous Australian : Melbourne Indymedia

Editor of The National Indigenous Times, writes:

The 1967 referendum gave the Commonwealth power to legislate for indigenous people and required the census to count indigenous people as members of the Australian population.

And 40 years on? The statistics provided in this article are intended as a general snapshot only. The process of depicting an 'average Aborigine' is fraught on several fronts, not least of all because of a paucity of available data.

For example, some figures are only available from 2001, while others are from 2006. Also, the gap in some areas between Indigenous people in remote regions and those in metropolitan regions is huge, particularly in relation to health, employment and income.

But all that said, the 'average Aborigine' as depicted here correlates almost exactly with what those familiar with indigenous affairs would expect to see:

• Indigenous Australians make up a little under 2.5 per cent of the national population.

• Our 'average Aboriginal' is 20 years old, which was the median age for the entire Indigenous population in 2001, versus 36 for the non-Indigenous population.

• He more than likely lives in a family of 3.5 people, compared to a white family which averages about 2.6 people.

• An Aboriginal male born today has a life expectancy of about 59 years. But our 'average Aboriginal' is already 20 years of age, so his life expectancy at birth was much less, probably around 54 years. So in seven years time - at age 27 - he will have already lived half his life.

• Nationally, the average indigenous Australian is about 15 times more likely to go to prison than a non-indigenous Australian.

• On the day our Aboriginal turns 25, about six per cent of his countrymen will be in prison.

• In some areas of the country, as many as one in three Aboriginal males will go to prison at some stage in their life. So while our average Aboriginal may not, on average someone from his family is likely.

• He more than likely lives in a metropolitan or urban area - only about 25 percent of the indigenous population live in remote or very remote regions of Australia. Which is lucky for him - if he'd been born in a remote region, his life expectancy would have been under 50 years of age.

• Superannuation is obviously of little relevance to him - he will likely die long before he claim it.

• And he's unlikely to have any superannuation anyway. While the official unemployment statistics claim only about 20 per cent of indigenous Australians are unemployed, the real figure is much higher (probably around 50 per cent). More than 30,000 indigenous people are on the black work-for-the dole program (CDEP), yet still classified as employed.

• His average weekly household income (according to 2001 figures) was $364, compared to $585 for white households. Were he to live in a very remote area, his average weekly household income would have been $267.

• His father, on average, is probably already dead, with 45 percent of Aboriginal men dying before the age of 45.

• Our average Aboriginal's sister - if she marries - is 25 times more likely to suffer domestic violence than a non-Indigenous woman.

• On the education front, our average Aborigine is highly unlikely to have finished a Year 12 education - only about 38 percent of indigenous students do, compared to 76 percent of non-indigenous students. On the balance of probabilities, he probably dropped out during Year 11 or Year 10.

• Ironically, the longer he stayed at school, the worse his achievements (set against white students). In Year 3, he was more than likely to meet the national literacy benchmark. But by Year 7, he was already on average failing to meet the national numeracy benchmark.

• University is a pipe dream for him. In 2001, for example, less than 2 per cent of the indigenous population attended university, which was less than half of the proportion of the total Australian population that attended university.

• He's unlikely to ever own a home - only about one third of indigenous Australians achieve home ownership, compared to three-quarters of the white population.

• As for his health, our average Aboriginal's outlook is horrendous. Life expectancy gap aside, he is almost certainly a smoker (49 percent of indigenous Australians are, compared to 22 percent of non-indigenous Australians).

• He's almost three times more likely to develop heart disease. And if he does present at a hospital, he's 40 per cent less likely to receive diagnostic procedures than his non-indigenous counterparts. And believe it nor not, if he is admitted to hospital for his coronary problems, he's 2.3 times more likely to die than if he stays at home (where he's 1.4 times more likely to die).

• With the four worst rate of type diabetes on the planet, our average Aboriginal is 10 times more likely to have type 2 diabetes than a white Australian, and seven times more likely to be hospitalised because of it.

• If he marries and his wife attempts to have children, she's five times more likely to die at childbirth.

• Because he's over 15 years of age, he's more likely to be obese or overweight - 61 percent more likely, compared to non-indigenous Australians (48 percent).

• It all adds up to our average Aboriginal being about five times more likely to commit suicide than a white Australian, with 108 indigenous male suicides per 100,000 population, compared to 21 for white Australians.

Sleepwalking to annihilation

They weren’t drinking decaf at The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday. Both papers splash big today with some very excitable extrapolations from ACNielsen polling.

They say that on their figures the Coalition would lose 49 of its 87 seats in the House of Representatives, that Labor would be returned with 110 seats to the Coalition’s 38 and that Cossie, the PM and 11 more of the 23 ministers in the House would be looking for new jobs. There are long lists of likely Liberal losses, state by state.

Fortunately, there’s also a reality check from ACNielsen’s research director, John Stirton.

“This is not a prediction,” he says. “This is an assessment of where John Howard finds himself at the moment. It reflects the polling over the past six months. If history is any guide things will get a lot closer before the election and the election itself will be a lot closer than this, but it does underline that Labor is in its best position for over a decade.”

Although it is more than a decade since he retired as the Labor Party’s pollster, Rod Cameron remains the party’s favourite source for private advice. He had an interesting chat with Virginia Trioli and Michael Kroger on Lateline on Friday night.

“Labor has won the easy part of the vote,” he said, talking about IR. “There is a softer part of the swing which may not end up with Labor if it's seen to be too close to the unions.”

Cameron continued with this theme as he sketched an outline of how he expects the election to pan out: “The person who will decide the election is going to be living in the outer suburbs of Sydney, or Brisbane or Perth, or a regional centre right throughout the country,” he said. “He will be a skilled blue collar worker, or a contractor, or subcontractor or self employed. She will be a part time worker, clerical or sales assistant. They'll have a couple of kids who are going to low fee independent schools, they'll vote Labor at a State election, they had voted Labor federally in the past but haven't for a decade.

“They're telling opinion pollsters they're going to be voting Labor federally, but will they if Rudd is seen to be too close to the unions? This, I think, will be the actual key point. They will vote Rudd if he's not too close to the unions and they won't if he is.”

If a week is a long time in politics, then six months is a bloody eternity.

“Plainly the polls will be closer by election day than they are now,” Tony Abbott told Sky this morning.

It’s a pity his choice of words earlier wasn’t so good.

Talking about poll “annihilation” Abbott came over as disdainful and disrespectful.

“The PM very deliberately used that word because he wanted to alert the nation to the risk that it runs of a change of government,” Abbott said.

He warned that people have to realise they can’t afford to lodge a protest vote.

“The risk is that we might sleep walk into changing the government in a fit of absent mindedness almost. If we, the government, don't let people know that your vote — come the end the year — does have consequences, potentially dire consequences.”

Abbott suggested that the Australian public were a rather simple lot. Instead, it’s the government that are puzzled and perplexed.

Virtually all bar a few polls since January 2005 have had them behind.

Are they only just realising? Who are the sleepwalkers?

I killed Mulrunji
by Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley Monday May 28, 2007 at 09:12 PM

Officer's blow killed Mulrunji, says coroner

September 28, 2006

A POLICE officer landed the fatal blows that killed Mulrunji Doomadgee while he was in custody on Queensland's Palm Island, a coronial inquest has found.

Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley may face charges after the acting State Coroner, Christine Clements, yesterday ruled that Mulrunji died after being struck while on the floor of a police station on November 19, 2004.

Queensland's Premier, Peter Beattie, said the Attorney-General, Linda Lavarch, had referred the report to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will consider charges.

An autopsy in 2004 found that Mulrunji, 36, died from a ruptured liver and portal vein, and had suffered four broken ribs. The report sparked a riot on the island that left the courthouse, police station and barracks in ruins.

Ms Clements found that Senior Sergeant Hurley struck Mulrunji, who had been arrested for being drunk and disorderly and a public nuisance, several times after the pair wrestled at the back entrance of the station. She said Senior Sergeant Hurley was angry at being punched by Mulrunji as he let him out of the police vehicle.

"I find that Senior Sergeant Hurley hit Mulrunji while he was on the floor a number of times in a direct response to himself having been hit in the jaw and then falling to the floor," Ms Clements said.

"I conclude these actions … caused the fatal injuries. It's a terrible tragedy that such a minor incident can lead to a man's death in custody."

The accused riot ringleader, Lex Wotton, placed his head in his hands as Ms Clements read her findings to a Townsville courtroom. Mulrunji's de facto partner of a decade, Tracey Twaddle, wept silently. His three sisters were also in court.

In all, Ms Clements made 40 recommendations. She urged police officers to use alternatives to arrests when dealing with drunks, sought the establishment of a government-funded community patrol and diversionary centre on the island and recommended an overhaul of the police operational procedures manual.

Ms Clements said the tragedy could have been avoided, and she found police guidelines for routine checks on drunks in cells to be inadequate.

She also chastised the handling of initial police inquiries in which investigators from the mainland accepted lifts from and were guided by Senior Sergeant Hurley to the crime scene. They also had dinner at his house.

The Queensland Police Union has labelled the inquest a witch hunt. "This decision by the coroner has dumbfounded us. Chris Hurley has been hung out to dry by her," said the union's president, Gary Wilkinson.

"He has done nothing wrong and has the full support of the union."

The Queensland Government has set up a high-level task force to review the report's recommendations, while cabinet will consider the result of the review before the end of the year.

Outside the inquest, Palm Island's Mayor, Erykah Kyle, said the community wanted further justice. "[There's] a long way yet. A little at a time. We can only hope, you know."

AAP

Rudd's no alternative.

If Rudd does get in because he is somehow portrayed as an alternative then I don't see it here? Bummer!

For instance:
Where is the opposition to WAR?
Where is the opposition to WAR Crimes?
Where is the opposition to Military Spending?
Where is the opposition to Draconian Laws?
Where is the opposition to Refugee Detainment?
Where is the opposition to David Hicks 5 year detention?
Where is the opposition to the AWB scandal?
Where is the opposition to Islamophobia?
Where is the opposition to Political Scapegoating?
Where is the opposition to Political Fearmongering?
Where is the opposition to Neo-Colonialism?
Where is the opposition to False Flag Operations by the CIA?
Where is the opposition to the FTA 'Investors Rights Agreement'?
Where is the opposition to HIV Discrimination?
Where is the opposition to the Privatisation of Health?
Where is the opposition to Desecrating and Ignoring Aboriginal Affairs?
Where is the opposition to Subordinating Scientific and Medical Research?
Where is the opposition to Uranium Mining?
Where is the opposition to No WorkChoices?
Where is the opposition to Not Enough Public Housing?
Where is the opposition to Not Enough Public Education Funding?
Where is the opposition to Social Services Reform?
Where is the opposition to Desperate and Disabled to Work?
Where is the opposition to 6 weeks Social Security Payments Cut Off's?
Where is the opposition to Work for the Dole instead of Getting Better Education and Skills for Better Employment Opportunities?
Where is the opposition to Rorting the Social Security System by Corporate Greed?

Vote Nobody Next Federal Election
People want things to change but when ask what they think will change it they ask for more of the same? If things are going to change then they're never going to change whilst people give validity and credibility to a totally flawed system. Federal elections are coming up and it's the same old joke as usual - a "choice" that isn't one! Instead of not voting, how about voting for Nobody?

Hi Con. You seem like you've got your shit wired tight, my friend. A genuine intellectual with deep cognitive ability.

I look forward to reading more of your erudite contributions.