Australia struggling to improve Indigenous livelihoods, government report shows

1/8/2024 11:44

        Australia is struggling to improve the lives of the country's Indigenous population, with only five of 19 measures on course to meet targets, showed a government report released on Wednesday.
        
        Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 3.6% of Australia's population of about 27 million but they track near the bottom in almost every economic and social indicator, and have disproportionately high rates of suicide and incarceration.
        
        The government's annual "Closing the Gap" report - the first since Australians last year rejected a motion to recognise the Indigenous population in the constitution - showed a rise in imprisonment and suicide and the number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care.
        
        Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said governments at all levels had not "done good enough in the past" to improve the lives of the Indigenous people.