tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/indigenous-disadvantage-14873/articlesIndigenous disadvantage – The Conversation2023-09-29T05:43:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146432023-09-29T05:43:05Z2023-09-29T05:43:05ZPolitics with Michelle Grattan: Treasurer Jim Chalmers on jobs and work<p>Treasurer Jim Chalmers released his White Paper on employment this week. </p>
<p>Its aim is for everyone who wants a job to be able to get one without having to search for too long. </p>
<p>The paper says that a surprisingly large number of people are looking for work or for more hours of work, some three million, and that’s when unemployment is at a low 3.7% and we have labour shortages in multiple sectors. </p>
<p>Chalmers recognises that Australia’s labour market is “really resilient” and the government started in a position of “genuine strength” but the unemployment figures don’t paint the full picture: </p>
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<p>There are other indications around under utilisation and other data that we talk about in the white paper, but also a lot of people confront barriers to working or to working more. And that’s why really a big feature, a key focus of the white paper is how do we make it easier for people to grab the opportunities of a changing economy, which is creating jobs. </p>
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<p>In this podcast, Chalmers also canvasses inflation, migration, the cost of living pressures on households and concerns about China’s economy.</p>
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<p>OFFICIAL</p>
<p>The Hon Jim Chalmers MP</p>
<p>Treasurer</p>
<p>TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>E&OE TRANSCRIPT
PODCAST
THE CONVERSATION
FRIDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER 2023</p>
<p>SUBJECTS: Employment White Paper, full employment, employment services, Indigenous employment, industrial relations, migration, housing, China economy, budget, inflation, cost-of-living relief, interest rates.</p>
<p>MICHELLE GRATTAN, HOST: Jim Chalmers has released his white paper on employment this week. Its aim is for everyone who wants a job to be able to get one without having to search for too long - that’s full employment. The paper says that a surprisingly large number of people are looking for work or for more hours of work - up to some three million - and that’s when unemployment is at a low 3.7 per cent and we have labour shortages all around the place. Today, we have Jim Chalmers to talk with us about some of the issues in the white paper.</p>
<p>Jim Chalmers, how is it that all these people are looking for work or for more hours when we have this low unemployment rate and labour market shortages? What’s the story here?</p>
<p>JIM CHALMERS, TREASURER: First of all, Michelle, I think it is good to recognise that the labour market has been really resilient. I think the most stunning indication of that is since we started measuring unemployment month to month in 1978, 45 years ago, there’s only been 18 times where unemployment had a three in front of it, and 15 of those times have been under this Prime Minister Albanese so we start from a position of genuine strength but as you rightly say in your question, there are still people looking for more work or for more hours. A couple of ways to understand that - first of all, the unemployment rate is not the whole story. There are other indicators around underutilisation and other data that we talk about in the White Paper on jobs and opportunities but also a lot of people confront barriers to working or to working more and that’s why really a big feature, a key focus of the white paper is how do we make it easier for people to grab the opportunities of a changing economy which is creating jobs but we need to get better at hooking people up to them.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: And obviously, this is going to extend across a number of areas. For example, we’ve got the Royal Commission on Disability tabled today, a lot of people in the disabled sector will need help to get more work.</p>
<p>CHALMERS: Absolutely, and I pay tribute to Bill Shorten and Amanda Rishworth for the work that they’re doing alongside this Royal Commission. And again, if your listeners read the Employment White Paper, there is a big focus on how do we make it easier for people to overcome barriers to work and those barriers might be disability, they might be caring responsibilities. Frequently, it’s about communities where there is entrenched and often intergenerational disadvantage - and that’s a bit personal for me because I represent communities like that and in lots of ways one of the reasons I’m here and certainly one of the motivations for the white paper is because we need to bust up this cycle of intergenerational disadvantage and long-term unemployment. There are barriers to people being beneficiaries of the big changes underway in our economy and our society and we want to make it easier for people to grab those opportunities.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: One particular area of disadvantage is Indigenous communities, especially those away from the major population centres, from towns and so on out in the outback. Have you any particular strategy to try to deal with that challenge?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: I think two things are really important here, Michelle. One of the specific announcements we made when we released the white paper was about a genuine partnership between the Government and the Coalition of Peaks, an economic partnership which is all about working out the specific challenges in First Nations communities, but particularly, as you rightfully say, in remote communities. The whole white paper tries to say when we’ve got unemployment low in aggregate across the country, when we’ve got all these opportunities in aggregate, how do we get much better about thinking about specific communities and First Nations communities are obviously a big part of that, so there’s the economic partnership with the Coalition of Peaks, there’s also the way that we are reforming the CDP, Linda Burney is leading that work but the Voice is important here as well because whether it’s jobs policy or other kinds of policies, we need to move away from making policy for First Nations people and move towards making policy with First Nations people and that applies to the labour market, just as it applies to all of the other ways that we want to close the gap in health, incarceration, education and the like.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: I just should explain for our listeners, the Coalition of Peaks is a representative body that covers a very large number of Indigenous organisations. Now just returning to the general on employment, do you think that our employment agencies need a shake up? The system was privatised decades ago. Has that worked? Is it working?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: I don’t think it’s working as it should, or as well as it can. I pay tribute here to my colleagues, Julian Hill, who’s doing an important piece of committee work on this but also Tony Burke, the responsible minister. We recognise that employment services aren’t doing as good a job as we want them to and so what we’ve done in the Employment White Paper is to say, here are eight principles - I won’t read them all out for your listeners - but eight principles that we will rely on to reform the system. Julian, Tony, myself and other ministers are working to reform employment services along the lines of these eight principles but our objective here is really to think about it in terms of how do we invest in people’s opportunities and their capacity, their capability to grasp the opportunities of a labour market which has been relatively strong and for lots of reasons, too many to go into here, the system has been falling short and that’s why we want to change it but we’re doing it in a really methodical, really considered way and we thought the best way to give people a sense of where that’s headed is to outline the eight principles that we’ll build the new system on.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: In the paper, you define full employment as everybody who wants to get a job being able to do so in a reasonable time, without too much delay. Did you consider putting a number on the unemployment rate that represents full employment? Why did you decide not to publish such a number? The Keating white paper on employment in 1994, for example, had a target of cutting unemployment from then 10 per cent to five per cent by the year 2000.</p>
<p>CHALMERS: Now I understand that people have raised this in the week or so since we released the white paper. There’s a few things I’d say about that. First of all, there is a technical assumption about full employment called the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment, the NAIRU and that’s an important assumption. It’s a necessary number that feeds forecasts in budgets and the work of the Reserve Bank but that is distinct, but complementary to how we talk about full employment in the white paper and the reason why we’ve tried to broaden it out and talked about sustained and inclusive full employment, a new definition of full employment, is because as I said earlier, this isn’t just about the unemployment rate, it’s about underutilisation, it’s about underemployment, it’s about concentrated areas of long-term unemployment and so we’ve tried to broaden out these considerations rather than say the be all and end all is one number. The other important thing here, the other reason why we haven’t gone down the path that you describe in your question is because we want to drive down full employment over time. There’s a near-term consideration but in the medium term and in the longer term, a lot of the investment we talk about in the white paper is about trying to get unemployment lower, as low as we can, but consistent with all of the other pressures in our economy, so one static number wouldn’t really do the job - it’s a range of measures and it’s an aspiration over time to create sufficient opportunities so that everyone who wants a job can find one without looking for too long.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Business representatives have said that the initiatives in the White Paper will be overwhelmed by the Government’s proposed changes to industrial relations. How do you respond to this? And why was relatively little said about industrial relations issues in the paper?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: First of all, I don’t accept that we went ‘light on’ describing our changes to industrial relations. I think in a number of places in the White Paper, you can see where we’ve talked about job security or getting wages moving again, or the gig economy, these are all important parts of our industrial relations strategy so I’m not sure that that critique - obviously I’ve heard it – obviously, I listen respectfully when people have got views about the work that we’ve done here but I don’t accept or agree that industrial relations is absent, it’s in lots of ways kind of central but I think just as importantly, if you look at the feedback from the major business groups, which has been caricatured as focused almost exclusively on industrial relations - that’s not been the experience. The head of ACCI said “this is an important strategy, no doubt about it”, and backed in our approach to full employment, talked about our approach to productivity - quite positive about it. The BCA said that the White Paper’s areas are “well targeted to deliver sustained employment growth, job security and productivity.” They talked about the synergies between their work and my work and this paper. The AIG said, “it’s an important blueprint designed to equip ourselves for the future.” And I could go on, but I won’t. My point is here, Michelle, the business community - which I work closely with and I appreciate, and I’m grateful for all the ways that we do that, collaborate very closely - they’ve been quite positive overall about the Employment White Paper. They haven’t been focused exclusively on the areas where there’s not unanimity in industrial relations, and I really welcome the quite positive feedback that we’ve had from them.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: We’re getting a detailed policy on migration soon but there are a couple of questions I’d like to explore with you on this. The net migration intake is running well ahead of the forecast, is this a problem, especially given the acute housing shortage we confront?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: Well, the net overseas migration figure is historically high and that’s largely a consequence of two things. First of all, the international students are coming back much faster than was anticipated after COVID and secondly, we are an incredibly attractive destination for people on tourist visas. So the students and the tourists are driving that higher than usual number and both of those things are good for our economy in the sense that they feed our services, exports and so that’s important. I think one of the things that people don’t understand about the net overseas migration numbers is that it’s demand driven - it’s not a government target, it’s not a government policy to hit a certain number, it is a consequence of those students and the tourists and it’s a net figure and so what we need to do is to make sure that we can manage pressure on our population and that’s what we’re doing. That’s one of the big reasons why housing has become one of the top handful of priorities for the Government - billions of dollars flowing into investing in affordable housing and that’s because if we want all of the benefits of migration, being an attractive place for people to live, then we’ve got to make sure that we manage those pressures wisely and that’s what we’re doing, that’s what our housing policies are about, the Employment White Paper goes to it, and Clare O'Neil’s migration strategy will go to that as well.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: The Government’s emphasis is on attracting high skilled migrants yet a lot of our labour shortages are in semi-skilled or even unskilled work - for example, in aged care, even in the building industry. So, how do you deal with this problem?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: Well, the migration strategy that Clare O'Neil is putting together does go to some of these issues - and aged care, in fact, has been already - even before the release of that overarching strategy has been a big priority for us, and in building as well. I think what people will see, and I don’t want to kind of front run or pre-empt Clare’s really great work on this, but the migration strategy is largely an economic strategy. It’s about making sure that the migration system works for us, in our interests and part of that is making sure that we’re filling the needs of workers in areas where they are genuinely needed, but also not treating that as a substitute for training. The Employment White Paper has a big focus on training and education, lifelong learning, retraining, reskilling, and that’s our highest priority. But the migration system’s got a role to play here, not as a substitute for training but as a way to make it complementary and that’s the approach that Clare’s taking.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: One of your goals is to reignite productivity, and of course, you’re overhauling the Productivity Commission, but is this getting harder to do in an increasingly service-dominated economy? There’s much less scope for productivity improvement in areas like hairdressing or aged care than in manufacturing.</p>
<p>CHALMERS: I think it’s harder to measure productivity in some of these industries, the services sector, and we know from the Intergenerational Report and the Employment White Paper that we expect workers, for example in the care and support economy, the need for those workers is going to absolutely explode as our population ages and it is harder to measure productivity in those areas but that doesn’t make it any less important. And so, so much of our training agenda, so much of what we’re investing in in terms of participation, all of that is to try and make sure that our whole economy but particularly sectors where we’re going to get lots of growth, that they are as productive and innovative and as competitive as possible. How we adapt and adopt technology is crucial to that, how we manage the energy transformation is crucial to that but I think most of all, how we invest in people, how we invest in the stocks of human capital in this country will go a long way to determining whether we can make these growing sectors of the economy, including in the services sector, more productive so that people can get higher wages and lift living standards overall in our economy.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: What happens to the economy also depends on what happens elsewhere outside Australia. You’ve been worried about developments in China over recent months, the slowing of the Chinese economy. What’s your latest thinking and information on this?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: Well, I’m still quite concerned about China. I think you would expect me to sort of maintain a hierarchy of concerns about our global economy in our domestic economy and I think in the global economy, China’s really number one for me at the moment. There are challenges in their property sector in particular, we’ve seen really quite a substantial slowing across a range of indicators in the Chinese economy and that has big consequences for us, of course, in a world where China plays such a big role in our prospects and so I’m still concerned about it. I monitor the Chinese economy very closely, as does the Treasury, as do all the private sector players that we talk to and it remains an ongoing concern. I’m confident that the authorities there know that they’ve got a problem and you hear in dispatches the different sorts of considerations that that might bring the Chinese Government but overall, China’s still a big concern, it’s something that we monitor incredibly closely.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: You’ve just announced a $22 billion surplus for last financial year, the Budget projects deficits for this financial year and continuing on. But surely now, realistically, there’s a good chance of a surplus this financial year isn’t there?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: It genuinely remains to be seen, Michelle, and revenue in the budget is really unpredictable at the moment for a couple of reasons. First of all, we’ve seen a bit of a recovery in some of our commodity prices, but they have actually been underneath forecast trajectory, for a little while, earlier in the year and so how that all kind of nets out remains to be seen - revenue is a bit unpredictable and also, there are good reasons to be conservative about all of this. Our economy is slowing considerably as a consequence of China and the impact of the rate rises which began before the election and that has implications for revenue and for the budget as well, so I would prefer to be careful and cautious and conservative about revenue really all of the time, that’s the approach I take but especially when the global and domestic economy is so unpredictable and that has consequences for the prices the world pays for our goods and services.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: There is increasing pressure at the moment, of course, given higher petrol prices and people’s grocery bills going up and so on to spend more money. We’re hearing calls all over the place for extra help for households. You’re resisting this. How do you justify that?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: Well, the point I’m making is that we are right now rolling out billions of dollars in cost-of-living help and that’s because we recognise that people are under extreme pressure right now and that’s why we’ve been able to get the budget in better nick but that hasn’t come at the expense of rolling out relief - whether it’s help with energy bills or taking the edge off out-of-pocket health costs, the biggest increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance in 30 years, really so many different ways we’re trying to roll out this cost-of-living help to take some of the edge off inflation without adding to it and so that’s our focus, that’s still rolling out right now and that’s an important part of helping people to deal with it. We’ve also got to ensure that we can afford whatever assistance we’re providing and last year we were able to get the budget in better nick and provide that assistance but the pressures on the budget are actually intensifying rather than easing - whether it’s aged care or Medicare, defence, the NDIS, the interest bill on our debt, we need to make sure that we’re managing the economy in the most responsible way. We’ve struck a good balance to here on cost-of-living help as well as improving the budget position and that’s our focus right now - rolling that help out. In future budgets, if there’s room to do more or if there’s a case to do more, obviously we consider that then but for now, our focus is on the cost-of-living relief that we’ve already budgeted for.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: This week we saw the monthly inflation numbers tick up. Do you think that people should be worried about another interest rate rise now or later?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: As you know Michelle, I try not to predict or pre-empt the decisions that the Reserve Bank takes independently but what they would typically do is they would look at the overall direction of travel when it comes to inflation and yes, there was a tick up in that monthly number but those monthly numbers are notoriously volatile, they can get lumpy and so what they would do is they would see that quarterly inflation peaked before the election last year, it peaked in annual terms around Christmas time, the overall direction of travel has been that inflation is moderating and I would anticipate that they would factor all of that in, including really quite a weak retail figure that we got this week as well. They will factor all of that in but the other thing which is really important here - and none of your listeners who’ve got a mortgage need reminding of this - but the interest rate rises that are already in the system are biting quite hard in our economy, you see that in the consumption figures, you see it in retail, you see it in household saving and so the Reserve Bank, when they look at this and take their decision independently, they will weigh all of those things up and not just one monthly inflation figure which was driven largely by petrol prices as a consequence of some of the global suppliers pulling back on production.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Jim Chalmers, I just want to finish up by going back to the Employment White Paper and putting to you a somewhat contrarian point of view when we’re thinking about encouraging more employment, people to work longer. Do you think there’s a case to be made that people are actually working too much? In other words, they need jobs, obviously, but when we talk about more and more hours, more and more participation, this is good for economic growth but beyond a certain point, are there social and other costs from everyone working so much?</p>
<p>CHALMERS: Of course there are and what we’re really trying to do here is to give people choices. People are best placed to work out what is the best combination of their work responsibilities and family responsibilities and how do they work enough and earn enough to provide for their loved ones and what we’re talking about here, whether it’s our changes to early childhood education or the way that we think about investing in skills or really right across the board including making it easier for older people to work a little bit more if they want to, not forcing them but giving them that choice - all of these things really are about helping people make the best choice that they can for their own situation. Obviously it’s concerning when so many people have to work so many jobs in order to provide for their loved ones and so we want to make sure that jobs are not just secure but that people are fairly paid so that they get decent reward for their effort and that all comes back to giving people the choices and the capability and the skills to do the best thing for themselves and for their loved ones and that’s a pretty good summary of what we’re trying to do in the White Paper.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Jim Chalmers, thanks very much for making time to catch up with us today. It’s been a big week for you because you’ve been travelling around Queensland, selling the message and getting in touch with people’s feedback, no doubt. That’s all for today’s politics podcast. Thank you to my producer Mikey Burnet. We’ll be back with another interview soon but goodbye for now.</p>
<p>ENDS</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214643/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In this podcast, Treasurer Jim Chalmers canvasses inflation, migration, the cost of living pressures on households and concerns about China’s economyMichelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1556472021-02-25T19:03:30Z2021-02-25T19:03:30ZOdds are against ‘first in family’ uni students but equity policies are blind to them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386040/original/file-20210224-17-z15pst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5971%2C3977&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/behind-view-photo-portrait-nervous-scared-1463740004">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s that <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/increased-demand-from-domestic-students-pushes-uni-enrolment-caps-20210131-p56y7m.html">time of year</a> again when hundreds of thousands of Australian students start university for the first time. Commencing students account for about 40% of the more than <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/resources/2019-student-summary-tables">1.6 million Australians</a> enrolled in university (as at 2019, the most recent available data). It’s an important step for many in pursuing their educational and occupational dreams. </p>
<p>Those who are first in their families to pursue higher education can find this momentous step both exciting and daunting. “First in family” refers to students whose parents do not have a university degree. They are complete “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00131911.2020.1740172?journalCode=cedr20">newcomers</a>” to higher education. </p>
<p>University is uncharted territory for these students, their families and even their communities. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-020-00428-2">Our research</a> shows “first in family” students often face complex and multiple forms of disadvantage that shape their transition to university. Despite this cohort of students now accounting for about <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2012_eag-2012-en">half of university enrolments</a> nationwide, government and university policies often overlook the particular challenges they face.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-first-in-family-uni-students-should-receive-more-support-38601">Why first-in-family uni students should receive more support</a>
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<p>Only about <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EEducational%20Qualifications%20Data%20Summary%20%7E65">one in four Australian adults</a> hold a bachelor-level or higher qualification. But if a young person has a university-educated parent that <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2012_eag-2012-en">almost doubles their odds</a> of attending university.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="thoughtful young schoolchildren in class" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386036/original/file-20210224-17-loakz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386036/original/file-20210224-17-loakz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386036/original/file-20210224-17-loakz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386036/original/file-20210224-17-loakz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386036/original/file-20210224-17-loakz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386036/original/file-20210224-17-loakz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386036/original/file-20210224-17-loakz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The difference in aspirations between students with parents who have university degrees and those who don’t emerges from an early age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/thoughtful-elementary-students-sitting-classroom-143627596">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>An overlooked equity category</h2>
<p>Australian universities are now often described as being <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-should-start-planning-for-universal-tertiary-education-110783">open to the masses</a>. However, the enduring relationship between parental education and university enrolment harks back to the days of an <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_50-1">elite higher education sector</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-should-start-planning-for-universal-tertiary-education-110783">Australia should start planning for universal tertiary education</a>
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<p>For the past three decades, the Australian government has invested heavily in programs to <a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/365199/widening-participation.pdf">widen participation</a> in higher education. The aim has been to create a student body that more closely reflects the broader population. </p>
<p>The government has <a href="https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A2270">focused on a number of groups</a> that are underrepresented in higher education, usually because of social, economic and/or educational disadvantage. These “equity target groups” are: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Indigenous Australians</p></li>
<li><p>people from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds</p></li>
<li><p>people from regional and remote areas</p></li>
<li><p>people with disabilities</p></li>
<li><p>people from non-English-speaking backgrounds (NESB)</p></li>
<li><p>women in non-traditional areas of study.</p></li>
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<p>Improving access to university for these groups is vital for a fair and just society. However, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-020-00428-2">our research</a> shows first-in-family students are overlooked in this equity agenda. </p>
<h2>A clear gap in aspirations</h2>
<p>Our study focused on students in primary and secondary school. We drew on survey data from 6,492 students (across Years 3 to 12) enrolled in 64 government schools in New South Wales. The survey was part of a <a href="https://www.newcastle.edu.au/research/centre/teachers-and-teaching/aspirations-and-equity">larger four-year project</a> examining the formation of educational and occupational aspirations among young people. </p>
<p>We compared the prospective first-in-family students to their peers with university-educated parents.</p>
<p>We found many prospective first-in-family students belong to multiple equity categories. They are more likely to identify as Indigenous, come from lower socioeconomic circumstances and live in regional/remote areas than those with university-educated parents. </p>
<p>These prospective first-in-family students often experience overlapping forms of social and economic disadvantage. For example, many were from a low-SES background <em>and</em> lived in a regional or remote area. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-australians-prospects-still-come-down-to-where-they-grow-up-102640">Young Australians' prospects still come down to where they grow up</a>
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</p>
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<p>However, some first-in-family students don’t belong to any existing equity groups. As a result, current equity interventions could overlook them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386055/original/file-20210224-19-dl7jqq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386055/original/file-20210224-19-dl7jqq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386055/original/file-20210224-19-dl7jqq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386055/original/file-20210224-19-dl7jqq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386055/original/file-20210224-19-dl7jqq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386055/original/file-20210224-19-dl7jqq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=637&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386055/original/file-20210224-19-dl7jqq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=637&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386055/original/file-20210224-19-dl7jqq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=637&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Overlaps of socio-demographic categories for prospective first-generation students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">On ‘being first’: the case for first-generation status in Australian higher education equity policy, S. Patfield, J. Gore, N. Weaver (2021)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Next, we examined the students’ educational aspirations. Starkly, we found prospective first-in-family students are much less likely to aspire to university than those with university-educated parents. The gap was clear across every stage of schooling.</p>
<p>Even after accounting for other socio-economic and demographic factors, we found young people with university-educated parents were just over 1.6 times more likely to aspire to university than their prospective first-in-family peers. This finding mirrors enrolment trends.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest prospective first-in-family students begin to rule out the idea of higher education from an early age.</p>
<iframe title="Students with university aspirations (in %) by year level" aria-label="Interactive line chart" id="datawrapper-chart-RYS8S" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RYS8S/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="263"></iframe>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/poorer-nsw-students-study-subjects-less-likely-to-get-them-into-uni-127985">Poorer NSW students study subjects less likely to get them into uni</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What this means for policy and practice</h2>
<p>Our research provides evidence of the need for a targeted focus on supporting first-in-family students to gain access to university. </p>
<p>While first-in-family status intersects with many existing equity categories, it’s an additional form of educational disadvantage that current policy doesn’t cover.</p>
<p>Practically, conversations about university need to occur early in schooling. It’s not a matter of asking young people to “choose” their post-school destination. Instead, they should be exposed to a wide range of possible options before they decide this pathway “isn’t for them”.</p>
<p>Some first-in-family students end up deciding later in life to go to university. That’s why <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/enabling-programs-help-disadvantaged-university/">enabling programs</a> are also crucial to help these students get into higher education.</p>
<p>Arguably, first-in-family status should be the quintessential concern of university equity agendas. These students face unacknowledged hurdles in navigating a different pathway from the one their families took.</p>
<p>Their triumph in “being first” should be recognised for the new course it sets in family histories, often against great odds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155647/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Patfield received funding via an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship to support this research. The larger project was funded by the NSW Department of Education and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Gore receives funding from the NSW Department of Education, Australian Research Council and Paul Ramsay Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha Weaver does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Children of parents with degrees are 60% more likely than ‘first in family’ students to want to go to university. The aspiration gap exists throughout school, but equity policies neglect its impacts.Sally Patfield, Postdoctoral Fellow, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, University of NewcastleJenny Gore, Laureate Professor of Education, Director Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, University of NewcastleNatasha Weaver, Lecturer in Statistics, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1026482018-10-07T18:53:09Z2018-10-07T18:53:09ZIndigenous people with disability have a double disadvantage and the NDIS can’t handle that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239280/original/file-20181004-52663-1hc61ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People with disability living in remote communities may receive money for supports, but that doesn't mean there's anywhere to purchase them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) began a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/understanding-the-ndis-28996">full national rollout</a> in July 2016 with a fundamental objective to give those with a disability choice and control over their daily lives. Participants can use funds to purchase services that reflect their lifestyle and aspirations. <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/ndis-two-years-on-60287">Two years on</a>, how is the scheme faring?</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with severe disability face many barriers to fully accessing the support offered by the NDIS. This group of people has already experienced long-standing isolation and are particularly vulnerable to being left behind, again.</p>
<p>The prevalence of disability among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is twice that experienced by other Australians. It is more complex in terms of more than one disability or health issue occurring together, and it is compressed within a shorter life expectancy. </p>
<p>The latest <a href="https://www.ndis.gov.au/medias/documents/national-dashboard-aug18/National-Dashboard.pdf">NDIS quarterly report</a> states 9,255 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are participating in the NDIS (roughly 5.4% of the total). Though, being a “participant” means they have been signed up to an insurance policy. It doesn’t necessarily mean the policy has been paid out. And many others aren’t on the scheme at all.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239249/original/file-20181004-52695-kero76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239249/original/file-20181004-52695-kero76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239249/original/file-20181004-52695-kero76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239249/original/file-20181004-52695-kero76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239249/original/file-20181004-52695-kero76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239249/original/file-20181004-52695-kero76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239249/original/file-20181004-52695-kero76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239249/original/file-20181004-52695-kero76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous status of active participants with an approved plan, according to the NDIS.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ndis.gov.au/medias/documents/national-dashboard-aug18/National-Dashboard.pdf">NDIS Quarterly Report/Screenshot</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are an <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/products/DAFD731067E636D3CA256F0F0079D6E3?OpenDocument">estimated</a> 60,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia with a severe or profound disability. In 2014-15, <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4714.0">around 45%</a> of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over said they experienced disability – 7.7% of whom needed assistance with core activities some or all of the time. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/232565570?selectedversion=NBD63825015">recent research</a> shows Indigenous people who live with disability experience far greater inequality when it comes to social, health and well-being, compared to other population groups. This includes Indigenous people without disability, and people with disability who are not Indigenous.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/understanding-the-ndis-the-scheme-does-not-yet-address-all-the-needs-of-indigenous-people-with-disabilities-57572">Understanding the NDIS: the scheme does not yet address all the needs of Indigenous people with disabilities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Many struggle with basic survival needs</h2>
<p>My research consisted of statistical data and the personal testimonies of 47 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability. It showed the NDIS isn’t accommodating the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability. </p>
<p>People in one Aboriginal community said while the NDIS was providing support packages – in some cases at around A$50,000 per person per year – these were not translating into actual expenditure as there weren’t any disability services in the community that NDIS participants could purchase. </p>
<p>Members from another Aboriginal community pointed out that some families needed food and blankets because they were homeless and hungry. But while the NDIS is legislated to provide “reasonable and necessary” supports, food and blankets don’t meet the requirements of the definition. As one Aboriginal community Elder said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Swags and blankets are something that our families ask for all the time, help with making sure that they’ve got somewhere warm and safe to sleep, and that’s a real practical thing […] And now the NDIS is saying ‘No, we don’t buy swags and blankets for people. That’s not reasonable and necessary’. But if you’ve got nowhere to sleep, of course blankets and swags are necessary.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239261/original/file-20181004-52678-1b6v1yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239261/original/file-20181004-52678-1b6v1yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239261/original/file-20181004-52678-1b6v1yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239261/original/file-20181004-52678-1b6v1yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239261/original/file-20181004-52678-1b6v1yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239261/original/file-20181004-52678-1b6v1yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=883&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239261/original/file-20181004-52678-1b6v1yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=883&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239261/original/file-20181004-52678-1b6v1yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=883&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This wheelchair couldn’t survive the conditions in Alice Springs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In another community, wheelchairs provided to people with a mobility impairment weren’t suitable for an environment with no footpaths and where the heat can sometimes melt away the tyres. </p>
<p>This image shows what happens when a wheelchair designed for an urban environment is used in remote Australia.</p>
<p>We also spoke with people who said the houses built for them under a remote housing scheme didn’t have disability access in mind. In the Aboriginal community where the below photo was taken, we were told if people with disability came over, they would have to be lifted over a ledge and around the house so they could join in. </p>
<p>These cases highlight an unfolding design fault of the NDIS: if a person with a disability doesn’t have survival basics, the scheme falls short in its capacity to ensure the choice, control and independence it was set up to achieve for people with disability.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239262/original/file-20181004-52666-1k1ehd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239262/original/file-20181004-52666-1k1ehd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239262/original/file-20181004-52666-1k1ehd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239262/original/file-20181004-52666-1k1ehd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239262/original/file-20181004-52666-1k1ehd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239262/original/file-20181004-52666-1k1ehd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239262/original/file-20181004-52666-1k1ehd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239262/original/file-20181004-52666-1k1ehd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Disability access is missing in houses built under the remote housing scheme.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ndis-is-delivering-reasonable-and-necessary-supports-for-some-but-others-are-missing-out-97922">The NDIS is delivering 'reasonable and necessary' supports for some, but others are missing out</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Social policies must work together</h2>
<p>Proponents of the NDIS might point out it is designed as an insurance scheme and not intended to provide welfare. Basics such as blankets and food would be more the purview of the <a href="https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/programs-initiatives/closing-gap">Closing the Gap framework</a> to address Indigenous disadvantage. </p>
<p>But the NDIS and Closing the Gap live on two separate government islands, with no bridge in between. The NDIS is a market-based scheme devoid of a strategy that fills the gaps in basic public structure that make markets work. Nor does it have a plan to develop a workforce to meet the demand for disability services in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, despite the link between disability and social inequality, there is no reference to disability in any of the Closing the Gap targets. </p>
<p>Addressing the core public infrastructure needed to make the NDIS work in remote communities, or developing the workforce to meet the demand for disability supports in the hard-to-reach markets are not quick fixes. We need a longer term strategic approach that focuses on community development to overcome the sustained inequality that comes with being both Aboriginal and living with disability.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-improve-the-ndis-for-people-who-have-an-intellectual-disability-as-well-as-a-mental-illness-97921">How to improve the NDIS for people who have an intellectual disability as well as a mental illness</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102648/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Avery received research funding funder the National Disability Research Development Agenda jointly implemented by Commonwealth, state and territory governments, and from the Lowitja Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health for this research.
He is the Research and Policy Director at the First Peoples Disability Network (Australia), a community-based Indigenous disabled peoples organisation.</span></em></p>The NDIS has good intentions, but its design doesn’t seem to support the unique needs of Indigenous people living with a disability, particularly if they’re living in remote communities.Scott Avery, PhD Student, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/621662016-07-24T20:04:11Z2016-07-24T20:04:11ZTeaching phonics skills alongside reading raises literacy achievement among Indigenous children<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131198/original/image-20160720-8014-1pdgfn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indigenous children in Australia continue to slip below national minimum standards for literacy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Neda Vanovac/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>“Despite a long history of policy attention, no consistent improvement has been made in the literacy and numeracy achievement of Indigenous Australian primary school students.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is the latest finding from the <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/indigenous-primary-school-achievement">2016 Productivity Commission report</a> on Indigenous primary school achievement.</p>
<p>It reveals that Indigenous children are still greatly disadvantaged in numeracy and literacy skills. </p>
<p>Around nine out of ten Year 9 students in remote Indigenous communities are at, or below, the <a href="http://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/">national minimum standard for literacy</a>. </p>
<p>The situation is similar for those Indigenous children living in other areas of Australia, including cities. </p>
<h2>Raising achievement among Indigenous achievement</h2>
<p>Maori children in New Zealand face similar issues, and trail behind non-Indigenous children in literacy and numeracy. </p>
<p>They also tend to be disadvantaged, marginalised from minority groups, living in poverty, spread across remote, rural, and urban areas, not expected to do well, and attend schools that are unable to break the cycle of failure. When a child lags in literacy, it sets them up for failure in later life.</p>
<p>So how can the Australian government break this cycle and raise Indigenous achievement to mainstream levels? </p>
<h2>A program that’s working</h2>
<p>A literacy program being used for Indigenous, disadvantaged children in New Zealand has had some success. </p>
<p><a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01222/full">Research shows</a> that the program helped to raise literacy levels of Year 2 Indigenous Maori children attending schools in poor areas to average levels with just a small change to current methods.</p>
<p>In the study, a group of 96 six-year-olds were randomly put into four groups: phonics, where children learn to read by sounding out words, book reading, where children read books again and again and learn words visually, mathematics, where children did maths and no reading at all, and a combination of phonics and Big Book – books with large print and colourful illustrations – reading. </p>
<p>After 12 30-minute lessons that took place once a week over several months, the group with the combination approach was significantly ahead of the other groups on a number of measures. </p>
<p>They were at average levels for their age in word reading, and approaching average in reading accuracy, comprehension, and spelling. Whereas the control groups (phonics only, book reading only, mathematics only) lagged behind. </p>
<p>The success of the approach was that it combined the teaching of phonics skills with the reading of authentic children’s literature. There was direct instruction – where the teacher taught specific phonics rules for how to sound out and pronounce key words from the book – and an engaging format (children’s literature). The stories were chosen so that children could relate to them. </p>
<p>This approach was so successful because children learned rules to help them sound out words from their Big Book, and because they were able to see the rules in action while reading the Big Book with their teacher.</p>
<p>Indigenous children are currently taught phonics separately from reading. The combined approach, however, shows children how to sound out words from the Big Book first and then to read the words in the Big Book.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131315/original/image-20160721-31151-1b79pyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131315/original/image-20160721-31151-1b79pyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=694&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131315/original/image-20160721-31151-1b79pyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=694&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131315/original/image-20160721-31151-1b79pyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=694&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131315/original/image-20160721-31151-1b79pyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131315/original/image-20160721-31151-1b79pyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131315/original/image-20160721-31151-1b79pyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Combined approach: before reading the Big Book called Greedy Cat, the children studied words from the book that follow phonics rules like the ‘ur’ in ‘purr’, the ‘ill’ in ‘still’, and the ‘ch’ in ‘lunch’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Laura Tse</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Closing the gap</h2>
<p>A similar combined approach would be effective for Indigenous children in Australia both at the early childhood level and in the regular school system. </p>
<p>It’s an approach that the <a href="http://closingthegap.dpmc.gov.au/">2016 Closing the Gap report</a> – which sought to find out what was and wasn’t working for Indigenous Australians – is looking for. </p>
<p>This research is part of a wider conception of school change originally developed by education psychologists at <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept92/vol50/num01/How-Project-READ-Builds-Inquiring-Schools.aspx">Stanford University</a> called Project Read that aimed to teach children not just to read but to increase their other academic skills as well.</p>
<p>It focused on language and literacy, especially decoding, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.</p>
<p>This <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED338726.pdf">school-wide model</a> has been implemented in both high and low poverty areas of the US. The project had a strong impact in one South Central Los Angeles school that had always been below the district average but whose language and reading scores, over a ten year period, had gradually come much closer to that average. </p>
<p>Such positive results for one school in a poor area showed that progress can be made across the whole school.</p>
<p>Self-belief is a requisite requirement for success, and good academic skills can provide a solid foundation for self-belief. This approach could set the necessary foundations and help close the gap for Indigenous children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Dillon receives funding from The Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Nicholson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A New Zealand literacy program is helping to raise Indigenous achievement to mainstream levels.Tom Nicholson, Professor of Literacy Education, Massey UniversityAnthony Dillon, Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/590622016-06-07T20:23:07Z2016-06-07T20:23:07ZElection 2016: the issues in non-metropolitan Australia<p>Rural and regional Australia is a big place. That’s obvious enough. Still, it’s easy to forget that the communities and industries of non-metropolitan Australia are diverse. They face a variety of challenges and often have different, if not competing, stakes in government policy. </p>
<p>But what are the issues that deserve attention leading up to the 2016 federal election? While not everyone living in rural and regional Australia will see eye-to-eye on how these issues should be resolved, I will return to this list closer to election day to see just how many have made their way onto the national political agenda.</p>
<h2>Infrastructure</h2>
<p>Government investments in transport, energy, telecommunications and water infrastructure are fundamental to the productivity of rural and regional industries. </p>
<p>Made well, these investments can enhance economic and social participation, minimise negative environmental impacts, and support adaptation to climate variability and change.</p>
<p>It follows that, when it comes to evaluating the case for public investment, one eye needs to be on the business case while the other needs to be on the potential for social and environmental co-benefits. This is where most of the issues listed below come into play. </p>
<h2>Unemployment</h2>
<p>Nationally, unemployment rates in non-metropolitan Australia are similar to those in the capital cities. However, rural and regional labour markets are volatile, with extremely high unemployment in particular locales. Place-specific strategies to assist these locales deserve consideration.</p>
<p>The loss of over <a href="https://docs.employment.gov.au/documents/australian-jobs-2015-publication">55,000 mining jobs</a> nationally since late 2012 hit a number of regional cities hard. In <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/small-area-labour-markets-publication">Mackay</a>, unemployment rose from 11.7% to 18.9% in 2015. In <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/small-area-labour-markets-publication">Muswellbrook</a>, it went from 9.8% to 14.9%. The sector is expected to shed another 31,900 jobs by late 2020.</p>
<p>Other non-metropolitan regions experience particularly high youth unemployment. In March 2016, <a href="http://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/LFR_SAFOUR">young people aged 15-24 were unemployed</a> at rates of 31.3% in western Queensland, 22.3% in Cairns, 19.7% on the NSW mid-north coast and 19.5% in the Hunter Valley. The national average for this age group was 12.2%. For all workers the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/6202.0Main%20Features2Apr%202016?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=6202.0&issue=Apr%202016&num=&view=">unemployment rate was 5.7%</a>.</p>
<p>Nowhere in the country, though, are unemployment levels higher than in predominantly Indigenous townships like <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/small-area-labour-markets-publication">Aurukun, Palm Island and Yarrabah</a>. Unemployment today in these former forced relocation sites hovers above 50%. That’s nearly three times the already <a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-ways-we-can-improve-indigenous-employment-60377">high national unemployment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people</a>.</p>
<h2>Diversification and new economy jobs</h2>
<p>Changing workforce profiles mean that growth in the value of traditional rural and regional industries won’t necessarily solve the problem of unemployment.</p>
<p>Agricultural produce <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/58529ACD49B5ECE0CA2577A000154456?Opendocument">recorded an increase in value</a> between 2010-11 and 2014-15 of about 13%, or A$6 billion. Over roughly the same period, though, <a href="https://docs.employment.gov.au/documents/australian-jobs-2015-publication">agriculture, forestry and fisheries shed nearly 40,000 jobs</a>. Another 9,400 jobs are expected to go by late 2020. Innovation is driving improvements across many aspects of primary production, including labour productivity.</p>
<p>The same pattern is likely to be replicated in mining. Even if we assume a recovery in mineral and energy markets, we must equally assume that investment in labour-saving technology will continue to rise. </p>
<p>Innovations in remote sensing, ITC and robotics will enable the <a href="https://theconversation.com/robots-red-dust-and-the-future-of-mining-towns-5814">automation of more and more jobs</a> on site, favouring a concentration of operational jobs in metropolitan control centres. </p>
<p>By contrast, jobs in health care and social assistance and professional, scientific and technical services <a href="https://docs.employment.gov.au/documents/australian-jobs-2015-publication">grew 20.3%</a> nationally in the five years to November 2015. More than one-third of healthcare and social assistance employees (more than half-a-million people) are located in non-metropolitan regions. Of these, 45% work part-time and 79% are women. </p>
<p>Other human service industries, such as education and training, are also significant and growing regional employers.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, only 18% of professional, scientific and technical services employees (184,200 people) work regionally. Of these, 22% are part-time and 40% are women. </p>
<p>The national shift to professional, scientific and technical services is helping compensate for declining employment in traditionally male, blue-collar industries like manufacturing. However, the benefits of a rapidly growing professional and scientific workforce are concentrated in the major cities. This needs to change. </p>
<p>Both existing industries and industries of the future require access to high-level scientific and technical expertise. The more such expertise can be nurtured within non-metropolitan areas the better placed they will be to sustain their competitiveness, participate in the knowledge economy and diversify employment opportunities.</p>
<h2>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3238.0.55.001June%202011?OpenDocument">Two-thirds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians</a> live in rural and regional areas. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/Closing_the_Gap_2015_Report.pdf">Closing the Gap</a> reports demonstrate little progress against commitments to do so something about the disadvantage many experience. I will focus here on two issues with particularly direct implications for economic and social participation: incarceration and native title.</p>
<p>The rate at which Aboriginal and Torres Strait people <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/overcoming-indigenous-disadvantage">were imprisoned</a> rose 57.4% between 2000 and 2013, while the rate for non-Indigenous Australians remained steady. This suggests multiple policy failures related both directly and indirectly to the criminal justice system. </p>
<p>By contrast, the last decade has also seen multiple native title determinations. More than one-third of the Australian land mass is either <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/26/indigenous-australia-is-open-for-business-but-we-need-investment-to-realise-our-potential">owned by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander</a> peoples or has those peoples’ interests formally recognised. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-white-paper-a-game-changer-for-northern-australia-43458">Indigenous Ranger programs</a> have proven extremely promising as means to care for these lands and create meaningful employment opportunities. The opportunity to utilise native title assets to build businesses and yet more jobs is immense. Realising that opportunity will require genuine partnerships with native title rights holders and creative approaches to investment. </p>
<h2>Health, education and social services</h2>
<p>Coupled with unemployment, inadequate access to services is a key dimension of <a href="http://ruralhealth.org.au/documents/publicseminars/2013_Sep/Joint-report.pdf">rural disadvantage</a>. </p>
<p>It is no secret that access to services such as health and education diminishes the further you get from capital cities. The cost of delivery goes up and the task of recruiting high-quality staff gets harder. </p>
<p>The situation may not be so bad in large regional centres, but in rural and remote locales it is estimated that <a href="http://ruralhealth.org.au/sites/default/files/publications/fact-sheet-27-election2016-13-may-2016.pdf">lack of access</a> to GPs, dentists, pharmacies and other primary health facilities results in about 60,000 preventable hospitalisations every year. The National Rural Health Alliance identifies access to mental health, dental health, Medicare Locals, aged care and Indigenous health as urgent priorities. </p>
<h2>Climate change</h2>
<p>Almost certainly, climate change will prove a <a href="http://www.acola.org.au/PDF/SAF07/social%20and%20political%20context.pdf">major disruptive force for agriculture</a> and other rural industries. Existing strategies for dealing with climatic variability will help land managers adapt to low levels of temperature rise. As climate change intensifies, though, they will need to consider more fundamental shifts in land use. </p>
<p>Just as importantly, global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could increase the cost of fossil-fuel-based inputs or create barriers to the sale of produce seen as emissions-intensive. </p>
<p>Rural industries will need to work with government and research institutions to reduce their emissions, adapt to changing environments and develop new income streams.</p>
<h2>Natural resource management</h2>
<p>The environmental impacts of rural land use attract consistent media and political interest. Land clearing, habitat loss, damage to iconic ecosystems, water allocations etc make regular front-page news. </p>
<p>Natural resource management policy has been most successful when it has been less about penalising land users and more about long-term collaboration in support of environmentally and economically sustainable use. </p>
<p>For several electoral cycles, however, natural resource management programs have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/another-broken-promise-budget-switches-landcare-for-green-army-26818">renamed, reprioritised and/or replaced</a>. Regardless of the merits or limitations of individual programs, rural and regional Australia needs a return to coherent and stable resource management policy.</p>
<h2>Agriculture</h2>
<p>Agriculture utilises <a href="http://www.acola.org.au/PDF/SAF07/social%20and%20political%20context.pdf">more than half the land mass</a> and contributes more to the economic vitality of Australia than most people appreciate. Despite decades of declining terms of trade and periods of intense drought, the productivity and value of agriculture have continued to outperform many other parts of the economy. </p>
<p>At the same time, however, thousands of farmers have been forced out of the industry. Fewer people than ever are taking on farming as an occupation.</p>
<p>It is no longer reasonable to expect agriculture alone to support vibrant rural and regional communities. It is reasonable, though, to position Australian agriculture to capitalise on population and income growth in the Asia-Pacific region. </p>
<p>Policy needs both an eye to this potential and a sensitivity to the very real challenges those in the sector face.</p>
<h2>To the election</h2>
<p>Already in this campaign, a handful of non-metropolitan electorates and issues have attracted attention. It will be interesting to see if former independent MP Tony Windsor can pick off Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-top-dog-to-underdog-tony-windsors-fight-in-new-england-59447">in New England</a>, but the dynamics here tell us little about what is going on in rural and regional electorates more generally.</p>
<p>The Great Barrier Reef has emerged as one of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-election-is-our-last-chance-to-save-the-great-barrier-reef-59381">more prominent election issues</a> so far. Politicians of all hues have been visiting North Queensland to announce or defend natural resource and climate policies relevant to its health. </p>
<p>The audience for these announcements is probably more national than local. Electorates within the Great Barrier Reef catchment have lost numerous mining jobs and voters there will be just as keen to know the plan for employment growth. Can <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-the-barrier-reef-recover-from-the-death-of-one-third-of-its-northern-corals-60186">reef health</a> and employment growth be reconciled?</p>
<p>I’ll comment more on how these issues are playing out closer to election day on July 2. A month is a long long time in politics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stewart Lockie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Council of Learned Academies.</span></em></p>What are the issues facing rural and regional Australia? The challenges are many and varied – and only some have made the national political agenda – but these areas deserve better than neglect.Stewart Lockie, Director, The Cairns Institute, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/538202016-02-10T01:24:56Z2016-02-10T01:24:56ZClosing the gap and keeping the faith: short-term politics adds to long-term challenges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110890/original/image-20160210-3263-j62ysu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 2016 Closing the Gap report represents Malcolm Turnbull’s first substantial statement on Indigenous affairs since assuming office.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Mick Tsikas</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Malcolm Turnbull is the fourth prime minister to deliver the annual Closing the Gap report to parliament in its eight years of existence. Australian political leaders may find themselves easily dismissed, but the challenges of Indigenous inequality and disadvantage are much more difficult to displace. </p>
<p>The 2016 <a href="http://closingthegap.dpmc.gov.au/">report</a> represents Turnbull’s first substantial statement on Indigenous affairs since assuming office. He replaced the self-proclaimed <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-tony-abbott-be-a-prime-minister-for-aboriginal-affairs-17985">“prime minister for Indigenous affairs”</a>, Tony Abbott, who left little in the way of a policy legacy. In a climate of deepening divisions and frustration in Indigenous Australia, Turnbull’s <a href="http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/closing-the-gap-statement">statement to parliament</a> will be carefully scrutinised.</p>
<h2>Turnbull’s shifting focus</h2>
<p>This year’s report acknowledges limited progress towards targets that the Council of Australian Governments originally agreed in 2008. The gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has hardly changed. Indigenous employment rates have dropped. </p>
<p>In school education, NAPLAN results have shown inconsistent improvement in literacy and numeracy across all age groups. School attendance has not improved despite the <a href="https://theconversation.com/punishing-truancy-is-not-the-answer-in-indigenous-communities-21497">federal government’s efforts</a>. </p>
<p>The report presents little in the way of new data. It relies on the collection of statistical information from multiple agencies in different jurisdictions. Many of these have reporting cycles that do not fit the federal government’s reporting regime.</p>
<p>Abbott pronounced similar results a year ago as <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-11/close-the-gap-initiatives-failing-in-key-areas-mundine-says/6084512">“profoundly disappointing”</a>, but Turnbull’s emphasis is more positive. He drew attention to the discernible decline in mortality rates linked to circulatory diseases, substantial reductions in tobacco consumption, improvements in infant mortality rates, high immunisation rates, and strong results in Year 12 attainment and participation in post-secondary school education.</p>
<p>Abbott sought to reduce the complex Closing the Gap agenda to three key priorities, which were frequently captured in simple slogans – getting children to school, getting adults to work, and making communities safer. Each of these reflected a <a href="https://theconversation.com/work-with-us-not-for-us-to-end-the-indigenous-policy-chaos-35047">paternalistic judgement</a> of apparent failures within Indigenous communities.</p>
<p>Turnbull has taken a different approach. He is focusing on opportunities and shared responsibilities, rather than failures. </p>
<p>Turnbull has explicitly expanded the policy agenda. He highlighted the role of economic development and the need to foster Indigenous entrepreneurialism, the importance of empowering women and girls, and shifting the policy focus to incorporate the almost 80% of Indigenous people who live in urban and regional areas – rather than concentrating on remote communities alone. </p>
<p>Using language more reminiscent of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard in their reports, Turnbull evoked the need for evidence-based policy and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/turnbull-urges-stronger-partnership-between-government-and-indigenous-australia-to-close-the-gap-54414">strong partnership</a> with Indigenous peoples.</p>
<h2>Are the reports helping?</h2>
<p>Though commendable as a form of accountability – and as a means of keeping Indigenous disadvantage on the policy agenda – the annual Closing the Gap report has come to reflect a lot of what is wrong with Indigenous affairs.</p>
<p>The differences between each report reflect the prime minister’s own personality and priorities. But constant turnover in the political sphere undermines the sustained, long-term focus that genuine efforts to overcome Indigenous disadvantage will require. </p>
<p>The annual spotlight on the report also distracts from the shared responsibility for Indigenous affairs across all levels of government. Failures at state and territory level are too easily overlooked.</p>
<p>Attractive, glossy reports full of Indigenous art, photos and graphs too easily divert attention from the real implications of government funding cuts in Indigenous affairs. This is particularly the case with the introduction of the <a href="http://www.indigenous.gov.au/indigenous-advancement-strategy">Indigenous Advancement Strategy</a> and the shift to competitive tendering for services, to the detriment of many Indigenous-run organisations. </p>
<p>The reports list numerous policies and programs in place to tackle Indigenous disadvantage. But they fail to observe how the programs work, how long they have been in place and, in many cases, where the funding comes from and how it is allocated. Many of the programs are directed at the broader population, with Indigenous people receiving only a small proportion of the benefits.</p>
<p>The government’s reliance on measuring indicators and setting targets in Closing the Gap allows Indigenous affairs to be framed as an area of policy failure. But as Reconciliation Australia co-chair <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4403428.htm">Tom Calma</a> has observed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The lack of progress should never be interpreted as a failure by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It’s a failure of bureaucracy and a failure of the politicians to keep an even course and to keep the funding and the policy direction consistent.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many Indigenous leaders, such as <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/indigenous-drive-at-dead-end-warren-mundine-and-noel-pearson/news-story/7243c4af3457bd62df7d944c94ec2fca">Noel Pearson</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-09/closing-the-gap-doomed-to-fail-without-more-indigenous-input/7149442">Patrick Dodson</a>, have begun to distance themselves from Closing the Gap’s dominance in Indigenous affairs. Pressing issues that are frequently expressed by Indigenous people but not mentioned in the report include everyday experiences of racism at the personal and institutional level, the continuing importance of reconciliation, and the need for genuine empowerment of Indigenous communities.</p>
<p>Each year the Close the Gap Campaign Steering Committee presents its own <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/Progress_priorities_report_CTG_2016_0.pdf">parallel report</a> on progress and priorities from the perspective of a wide range of peak bodies, including Indigenous peak bodies and non-Indigenous health professional bodies.</p>
<p>This year’s report emphasises the long timeframe needed for real change in Indigenous health outcomes. While expressing “cautious optimism” about progress to date, the report calls for sustained commitment to the goals. Importantly, the report argues that we should be paying attention to inputs – not just outputs – and demanding government accountability on both.</p>
<p>Turnbull’s first foray into Indigenous affairs will need to be followed up by substantial and meaningful commitments in the May budget.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diana Perche does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Though commendable as a means of keeping Indigenous disadvantage on the policy agenda, the annual Closing the Gap report has come to reflect a lot of what is wrong with Indigenous affairs.Diana Perche, Lecturer in Politics and Public Policy, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/507562015-11-19T02:57:39Z2015-11-19T02:57:39ZHealthy Welfare Card begins here … where next?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101983/original/image-20151116-26090-1ugsn6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What do Ceduna and the other trial sites for the Healthy Welfare Card have in common? All are country towns with a mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Ceduna%2C_South_Australia.jpg">Wikimedia Commons/Nachoman-au</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Given the high profile of Indigenous disadvantage, is it a coincidence that certain welfare reforms first appear in Indigenous communities before being mainstreamed?</p>
<p>Under income management, a portion of a welfare payment is restricted in how it can be spent rather than being paid directly in cash. The Commonwealth <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2011-2012/IncomeManagementOverview">first introduced compulsory income management</a> to 73 remote Indigenous communities under the Northern Territory Intervention in 2007.</p>
<p>In 2010, income management was extended to non-Indigenous welfare recipients in the territory. <a href="http://caepr.anu.edu.au/others/Report-1418859519.php">More than 90%</a> of recipients, however, were still Indigenous. </p>
<p>In 2012, the government began rolling out trials to <a href="http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/centrelink/income-management/about-income-management#a4">depressed regional centres</a> across Australia, including Bankstown, Shepparton, Logan, Playford and Rockhampton. The difference was that income management was now subject to referrals, instead of compulsory. Indigenous recipients were now in the minority – <a href="https://data.gov.au/dataset/3b1f1fb7-adb5-48ea-8305-9205df0a298c/resource/bceeda43-d289-4cf4-86ec-b82e50361dc0/download/incomemanagementsummary2january2015.pdf">more than 80%</a> were non-Indigenous.</p>
<h2>Universal policy was Forrest Review goal</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102000/original/image-20151116-4970-zdsl02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102000/original/image-20151116-4970-zdsl02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102000/original/image-20151116-4970-zdsl02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102000/original/image-20151116-4970-zdsl02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102000/original/image-20151116-4970-zdsl02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102000/original/image-20151116-4970-zdsl02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1069&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102000/original/image-20151116-4970-zdsl02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1069&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102000/original/image-20151116-4970-zdsl02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1069&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Creating Parity review recommended that income management smartcards be applied to most welfare recipients.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://indigenousjobsandtrainingreview.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/3838%20Forrest%20Review%20Update%20-%20Full%20Report%20-%20Complete%20PDF%20PRO1.pdf">Commonwealth</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If the Coalition government implements the recommendations of its <a href="https://indigenousjobsandtrainingreview.dpmc.gov.au/forrest-review">Forrest Review</a>, aimed at “creating parity” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, the same trajectory may be proposed for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-cashless-welfare-card-trial-will-leave-us-none-the-wiser-49360">cashless smartcard</a> called the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/cashless-welfare-card-tackles-family-violence/story-fn9hm1pm-1227610073388?sv=97512b273a22b6d248b29dfa9a896dc2">Healthy Welfare Card</a>. </p>
<p>Although the review explicitly focused on Indigenous disadvantage, Andrew Forrest was uninhibited in making his recommendations <a href="https://indigenousjobsandtrainingreview.dpmc.gov.au/how-healthy-welfare-card-would-work">apply to all</a> “vulnerable” Australians.</p>
<p>As with the <a href="http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/centrelink/income-management/basicscard">BasicsCard</a> used for compulsory income management in NT Aboriginal communities from 2008, Forrest recommended that Healthy Welfare Cards be mandatory for all unemployed persons, carers, single parents and people with disabilities. </p>
<p>Essentially, that would be everyone except veterans and aged pensioners. Alert to the implications for the rest of Australia, the Australian Council of Social Service immediately <a href="http://www.acoss.org.au/media_release/groups_call_for_rejection_of_forrest_review_healthy_welfare_card/">opposed the move</a>.</p>
<p>The parliamentary secretary responsible for implementing the policy, Alan Tudge, <a href="http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansardr%2Ffd2f3451-f05d-425a-9815-471294607839%2F0009%22">has said</a> that trial sites were:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… selected on the basis of high levels of welfare dependence, where gambling, alcohol and illegal drug abuse are causing unacceptable levels of harm and there is an openness to participate from within the community.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It went unsaid that this involved sites with high numbers of Indigenous people, along with sufficient leadership and public support to back the trials.</p>
<h2>Trials involve a certain kind of town</h2>
<p>The locations first <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/trial-communities-back-no-grog-cashless-welfare-cards/story-fn9hm1pm-1227395552860?sv=44ea10098c0cbf2cb26e8422791a9a1c">mooted for the card rollout</a> – Kununurra, Moree and Ceduna – are country towns with freehold title, with Indigenous populations roughly one-quarter to one-third of the total. These towns face serious social problems, in addition to those related to welfare reform, which demand a coordinated government response.</p>
<p>After community objections emerged, Moree <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4279891.htm">was dropped</a>. It was replaced with Halls Creek, also a rural town, but with a population that is about 75% Indigenous. After <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/indigenous-communities-against-trials-of-cashless-welfare-card/story-e6frg6zo-1227565185570">divisions</a> emerged it too was dropped. </p>
<p>Interestingly, the government appears to be choosing trial sites from the small pool of towns (roughly 50 in number) with a mixed Indigenous and non-Indigenous population (25-75% Indigenous). The vast majority of towns in Australia are either overwhelmingly Indigenous (more than 75%) or overwhelmingly non-Indigenous (less than 25% Indigenous).</p>
<p>This week the government announced that the third trial site would be <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/hope-for-kids-in-the-welfare-cards-say-indigenous-elders/story-fn9hm1pm-1227611508691?sv=dd6c583595cc88764875c9025de23240">Wyndham</a>. Again, it’s a rural town where the Indigenous population is just over 50%.</p>
<p>If the Healthy Welfare Card is an Indigenous reform, why target these mixed country towns instead of Indigenous communities? We can think of two explanations.</p>
<p>First, the government must apply the reform equally to non-Indigenous welfare recipients to avoid accusations of targeting Indigenous people and facing charges of racial discrimination. Even in Ceduna, where only 25% of the population is Indigenous, Indigenous people still constitute <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Debit_Card_Trial/Report">an estimated 72%</a> of welfare recipients. In <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Debit_Card_Trial/Submissions">his submission</a> to a Senate inquiry into the trial, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda warned:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In view of these percentages, the trial may have a disproportionate impact upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in these locations.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The second explanation is that the Healthy Welfare Card is not an Indigenous reform at all, but intended for all Australians. On this view, the government is using the tragic circumstances of Indigenous disadvantage to legitimise a universal reform not otherwise palatable to the public. </p>
<p>Would the same public approval exist for trials in a non-Indigenous “population of high levels of welfare dependence” with “gambling, alcohol and illegal drug abuse” problems? Are the only people who fit this profile Indigenous? </p>
<p>Why not apply the trials as an extension to income management trials (Bankstown, Shepparton, Logan, Playford or Rockhampton), which already include a large number of non-Indigenous welfare recipients?</p>
<h2>So where is this policy headed?</h2>
<p>In understanding the battlefield of Indigenous affairs, it always helps to look backwards. When the Howard government launched the NT Intervention in mid-2007, it <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/racial_discrimination/publications/rda-nter/NTERandRDAPublication12%20December2011.pdf">suspended the Racial Discrimination Act</a>. That removed the possibility of a legal rights challenge.</p>
<p>Only after income management was applied equally to all unemployed citizens in the territory did the Rudd-Gillard government reinstate the act in 2010. This then allowed the <a href="http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/1511200/upload_binary/1511200.pdf;fileType=application/pdf">spread of “race-neutral” income management</a> to other parts of Australia.</p>
<p>Suspending the act required a huge political alignment. This was largely legitimated by the crisis of child abuse in the Northern Territory, including claims of <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/pedophile-ring-claims-unfounded-20090704-d8h9.html">paedophile rings</a>, which were later discredited. It would be very difficult for any government to achieve such moralistic bipartisan support again.</p>
<p>So does the government need a work-around by seeking out trial sites that are mixed rural towns with significant Indigenous populations? </p>
<p>The government is walking a fine line here. It must not be seen to single out Indigenous people, but, at the same time, it invokes the crisis of Indigenous disadvantage to legitimate the reform. </p>
<p>Is the Healthy Welfare Card an Indigenous reform or a universal reform in disguise? Let’s call it what it is.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Moran receives funding from an Australian Research Council Indigenous Discovery grant.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carroll Go-Sam receives funding from Australian Research Council Discovery Indigenous Grant. </span></em></p>Income management was first applied to Indigenous communities before being implemented more widely. The Healthy Welfare Card policy appears to be on this same path.Mark Moran, Chair of Development Effectiveness, The University of QueenslandCarroll Go-Sam, ARC Discovery Indigenous Award Researcher, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/417522015-05-26T02:10:53Z2015-05-26T02:10:53ZWho decides? A question at the heart of meaningful reconciliation<p>The recent ABC Four Corners program <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2015/05/11/4231553.htm">Remote Hope</a> was marketed as “an unflinching portrait of Australia’s remote Indigenous communities and their struggle to survive”. It could decide if it rehashed stereotypes <em>or</em> if it would break new ground – which would mean also being unflinching in portraying systemic issues central to gaps in <a href="http://www.who.int/social_determinants/sdh_definition/en/">social determinants of health</a> such as housing, employment, health and education and incarceration rates. </p>
<p>While the program endeavoured to provide a range of views and experiences from the past, present and future, it fell short of tackling what lies at the core of the issue: the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.</p>
<p>Four Corners focused on the Kimberley region of Western Australia and WA Premier Colin Barnett’s approach to potentially <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/nov/18/wa-plan-to-close-100-remote-and-indigenous-communities-devastating">“unsustainable remote communities”</a>. However, the issue goes beyond the Kimberley and the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-07/aboriginal-people-to-be-consulted-on-community-closures-wa/6451866">belated decision to consult communities</a> in that region. Northern Territory Senator <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=CDK">Nova Peris</a> has condemned <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-13/budget--nt-handed-funding-control-of-indigenous-outstations/6465350">a similar deal</a> being discussed by the NT government and the federal government. </p>
<p>In recent weeks, South Australia has <a href="http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/news-releases/all-news-updates/certainty-for-sas-remote-aboriginal-communities">struck a deal</a> with the federal government for funds to keep communities open. </p>
<p>This pattern of uncertainty for Indigenous people is fuelling <a href="http://rightnow.org.au/topics/education/explainer-what-happens-when-a-remote-aboriginal-community-in-western-australia-is-closed/">fear of being forcibly removed</a> from homes – a fear grounded in a lack of trust created at colonisation.</p>
<h2>A fractured relationship from the start</h2>
<p>Three core assumptions at colonisation set the foundation of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and who has the ultimate power in decision-making.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Under international (read European) law, Australia was claimed by the British as <a href="http://www.nfsa.gov.au/digitallearning/mabo/tn_01.shtml">terra nullius</a>. Indigenous people were viewed as inferior uncivilised savages who had no real place in a civilised society.</p></li>
<li><p>Aboriginal people were seen to be an inferior <a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/61774/2/Robin_Holland_Thesis.pdf">dying race</a>. All that could be done was to smooth the pillow of the dying race with policies of segregation, assimilation and control.</p></li>
<li><p>Aboriginal people were seen as a homogenous group. There were actually <a href="http://nationalunitygovernment.org/pdf/aboriginal-australia-map.pdf">hundreds of nations</a> at the time of colonisation, each with distinct cultural protocols and complex kinship systems. Law was inextricably linked with country and community.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This has been the context of a constant stream of policies, negotiations and deals on “Aboriginal affairs”. So, the key question is, when it comes to the lives of Indigenous people, who decides?</p>
<h2>Who decides?</h2>
<p>This question delves beyond what is portrayed in Remote Hope, providing a glimpse into why there have been many missed opportunities to strengthen and build that relationship. The past cannot be changed, but it is important to realise it continues to shape the present and future for as long as it is not directly addressed. </p>
<p>The relationship is now mired in a <a href="http://www.auspsa.org.au/sites/default/files/reconciliation_and_the_great_australian_silence_andrew_gunstone.pdf">cult of forgetfulness on a national scale</a>, a deep-seated psychological <a href="http://groups.psych.northwestern.edu/spcl/documents/Rotella-RichesonSPPS13.pdf">motivation to forget</a>. This prevents painful, identity-altering experiences from being recalled and incorporated into our nation’s history.</p>
<p>The consequences include assumptions, largely unaltered since colonisation, about who has the right to be the final decision-makers, which in turn has led to many missed opportunities for building strong relationships. </p>
<h2>Missed opportunities</h2>
<p>Australia’s history is littered with missed opportunities for building strong relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. An example is the <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/rciadic/">Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody</a>. The commission made 339 recommendations in 1991 to address underlying and systemic issues.</p>
<p>The majority of the funding from the federal government was allocated to underlying issues facing Indigenous people and communities – 1.9% of the A$400 million went to reforms of policing, custodial arrangements, criminal law, judicial proceedings and coronial inquiries. </p>
<p>Yet little real progress has been made in many socio-economic indicators since that time. Attention is still focused on underlying issues of Aboriginal people and their need to change, rather than reform of the system itself.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Paul Keating’s <a href="http://aso.gov.au/titles/spoken-word/keating-speech-redfern-address/">Redfern Speech</a> on December 10, 1992, provided another chance to move forward and build strong relationships. He identified that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the starting point might be to recognise that the problem starts with us non-Aboriginal Australians … it was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases and the alcohol … We took the children from their mothers … if we have a sense of justice, as well as common sense, we will forge a new partnership.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CRNG3srP6zY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Paul Keating’s Redfern Address provided an opportunity, sadly missed, to build a new relationship.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From there the <a href="http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/reconciliation">reconciliation movement was formalised</a> and the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights took another step forward. Mainstream government decided to build a movement with <a href="http://www.woroni.com.au/profile/anu-decision-makers-professor-patrick-dodson/">Patrick Dodson</a> leading the way. </p>
<p>But a change of government and a new prime minister, John Howard, meant the <a href="http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/fight-rights/indigenous-rights/reconciliation-convention-1997">momentum was weakened</a> by 1997. The stronger relationship did not build; another opportunity was lost. Mainstream government once again decided.</p>
<p>These examples illustrate the way a parade of governments “decide” and broker deals and “manage” Aboriginal lives. </p>
<p>Currently in Australia we have a non-Indigenous prime minister who decided to identify as the prime minister for Indigenous Affairs. He decided to take advice from a handpicked, as opposed to elected, <a href="http://iac.dpmc.gov.au/">Indigenous Advisory Council</a> chaired by Warren Mundine. He also decided to appoint non-Indigenous billionaire Andrew Forrest to chair the <a href="https://indigenousjobsandtrainingreview.dpmc.gov.au/about/andrew-forrest">Indigenous Jobs and Training Review</a>.</p>
<p>In the 2015 budget, the government decided to cut expenditure on Indigenous housing. Such decisions have been accused of lacking transparency, <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/05/13/budget-2015-indigenous-groups-call-more-funding-certainty">fuelling uncertainty</a> for Indigenous people and failing to build strong relationships.</p>
<h2>Working together builds relationships</h2>
<p>There are examples of wonderful successes across Australian, including in the <a href="http://www.klc.org.au/news-media/newsroom/news-detail/2015/05/13/creating-jobs-in-remote-communities-how-we%27re-doing-it">Kimberley</a> and <a href="http://www.indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/stories/western-technology-and-yolngu-culture-combine-improve-school-attendance">Northern Territory</a>. They provide templates for what works, for how Indigenous people working as true partners in their own enterprises can live a life that is both culturally and economically sustainable. </p>
<p>These Indigenous people have decided and have the support of non-Indigenous groups who are willing to learn from and with them. These are examples of what can work when relationships form and grow strong, where two-way decisions are made together.</p>
<p>There is, in the current situation, an opportunity to change the nature of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. It begins with considering the question “who decides?” It involves recognising that, though no-one today is responsible for creating the currently damaged relationships between Indigenous peoples and systems they are forced to interact with, we are the only ones who can be involved in healing and nurturing those relationships in the here and now. It requires humility, transparency and the courage to own our ignorance and fear.</p>
<p>Seeing Aboriginal people as some kind of social experiment, or as childlike and in need of protection by paternalistic policies and processes where government departments and governments broker deals and make decisions for and about them, further damages the already rocky relationship. The core issue is identified by Patrick Dodson, the father of reconciliation, who has asked <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/patrick-dodsons-heartfelt-plea-to-tony-abbott-change-course-on-indigenous-policy-before-its-too-late-20150314-1443jg.html">the direct question</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Does Australia want to have a relationship with Aboriginal people, or does it not? Or does it simply want to improve the management and control systems over the lives of Aboriginal people? That’s the seminal issue.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41752/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roslyn Carnes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Decisions being made from on high about the fate of remote Indigenous communities are symptomatic of a continuing imbalance in the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.Roslyn Carnes, Research Fellow, Centre for Rural, Regional Law and Justice, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/391852015-04-19T20:08:29Z2015-04-19T20:08:29ZState of imprisonment: if locking ‘em up is the goal, NT’s a success<p><em>This article is part of The Conversation’s series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/state-of-imprisonment">State of Imprisonment</a>, which provides snapshots of imprisonment trends in each state and territory. The intention is to provide a basis for informed public discussion of imprisonment policies and of the costs and consequences for Australia of rising rates of incarceration.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>If I were asked to outline a plan to ensure increasing incarceration, both generally and of vulnerable groups, I would just point to the Northern Territory of Australia. No need to <a href="https://theconversation.com/prisons-policy-is-turning-australia-into-the-second-nation-of-captives-38842">look to the United States</a>; their <a href="http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf">adult imprisonment rate</a> is only 623 per 100,000. The NT <a href="http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/policycoord/researchstats/documents/2013-14%20NTCS%20Annual%20Statistics.pdf">imprisonment rate</a> sits at 847 per 100,000 adults, nearly four times that of its nearest Australian rival, Western Australia.</p>
<p>Only <a href="http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf">36% of the US prison population is African American and 22% Hispanic</a>. Last year in the Territory, 86% of those in prison and 96% of those in juvenile detention were Indigenous. </p>
<p>The daily average number of prisoners has more than doubled in the last 20 years. By 2010 the growth in the NT prison population necessitated the construction of a 1,000-bed, <a href="http://newsroom.nt.gov.au/mediaRelease/9522">$500 million jail</a>.</p>
<p>With its opening, there is one prison bed for every 103 adults. Despite a recent report of lower-than-anticipated increases in prisoner numbers, based on growth over the last five years the new jail will reach capacity by 2018. </p>
<h2>Adopt punitive policing and sentencing policies</h2>
<p>As with many jurisdictions, “tough on crime” rhetoric dominates in the Territory. The mandatory sentencing regime introduced by the Country Liberal Party in the 1990s kick-started significant growth in prisoner numbers. Daily averages grew by <a href="http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/policycoord/researchstats/documents/2013-14%20NTCS%20Annual%20Statistics.pdf">31% over just two years</a>.</p>
<p>Despite early promise, including removing much of the mandatory sentencing regime, the decade-long Labor government also contributed significantly to these trends. Restrictive bail laws have increased numbers in custody, with 38% of those entering an adult prison and 60% of those entering youth detention unsentenced on reception. </p>
<p>The remaining mandatory sentencing provisions, for serious violence and aggravated property offences, mean that prison is the only option available in many cases. </p>
<p>And while undoubtedly more people are in prison, our community is certainly not safer. Recorded assaults <a href="http://www.pfes.nt.gov.au/Police/Community-safety/Northern-Territory-crime-statistics/Statistical-publications.aspx">increased by 24% between 2010 and 2014</a>. </p>
<p>The ineffectiveness of jail in addressing violent crime (indeed most crime) is also glaringly apparent when <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2014%7EMain%20Features%7EPrisoner%20characteristics,%20states%20and%20territories%7E10000">71% of adult prisoners</a> have served a previous prison term.</p>
<h2>Deny Indigenous people access to appropriate services</h2>
<p>Despite attempts to Close the Gap, Indigenous people living in remote areas of the Territory do not enjoy access to the same services as non-Indigenous people living in similarly sized communities.</p>
<p>Growing up in a town of 60 in rural Queensland, my family had access to a range of government services. These included a post office, a permanently staffed police station, a local primary school and a high school a short bus ride away. I cannot think of a similarly sized Indigenous community enjoying such facilities. </p>
<p>This lack of services has direct and indirect effects on rates of Indigenous incarceration. Without identification requirements for a driver’s licence, with no licensing or vehicle registration services and no public transport, Indigenous people, far more so than non-Indigenous people, are jailed for minor driving offences. While recent reforms have reduced these numbers, a not insignificant number of Aboriginal people have a criminal record for such offences. </p>
<p>Community-based orders are often unavailable in remote areas as there are no programs or Correctional Services staff to supervise them. Due to overcrowding and poor housing, Aboriginal offenders are also unlikely to meet the suitability requirements of a Home Detention Order (HDO). Only <a href="http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/policycoord/researchstats/documents/2013-14%20NTCS%20Annual%20Statistics.pdf">six Indigenous people received a HDO</a> in 2013-14.</p>
<p>While access to in-prison programs is low overall, access to culturally appropriate programs is even lower. With a few notable exceptions, programs are developed using Western psychological models and evidence about non-Indigenous offenders. Their suitability and success for Indigenous offenders are rarely evaluated. </p>
<p>Yet it’s ironically true, as one senior Corrections official once remarked, that it’s hard to see why we have special programs for Indigenous prisoners. Indeed, Indigenous-specific programming is all that’s needed.</p>
<h2>Embrace alcohol consumption as a core social value</h2>
<p>If largely unfettered access to alcohol is to be a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-23/giles-defends-nt-drinking-culture-as-core-social-value/4708310">part of the great Territory lifestyle</a>, then Territorians must accept that high levels of violence are here to stay. The association between excessive alcohol consumption and violence is long established, At least <a href="http://www.pfes.nt.gov.au/Police/Community-safety/Northern-Territory-crime-statistics/Statistical-publications.aspx">60% of all violent assaults</a> in the Territory are alcohol-related.</p>
<p>Public health education and evidence-based programs can play important roles in reducing alcohol-related harm. While such programs should be funded appropriately, supply restrictions must also form part of our response.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78362/original/image-20150417-27280-chul3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78362/original/image-20150417-27280-chul3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78362/original/image-20150417-27280-chul3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78362/original/image-20150417-27280-chul3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78362/original/image-20150417-27280-chul3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78362/original/image-20150417-27280-chul3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78362/original/image-20150417-27280-chul3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 2014, 86% of adult prisoners and 97% of those in juvenile detention were Indigenous.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/publik16/2780718220/in/photolist-5eHUDA-4Vz93E-4TBaGP-5AcJF9-4TBaQz-4QGVHa-7Tx3yN-4Vz97w-4Vz9dW-9Bv4ea-oo5EgG-5sC3yr-b4tg2F-b4tdRx-4BVdfT-aU5uzZ-ecLHtM-5hkJAK-4NVcft-6jNzK8-dYWPXh-LMun4-6FAyyN-r9cuE-dYWPZC-dYWPXY-dYR87r-dYWQ1o-5prNy6">flickr/publik16</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The 2007 NT <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-data-got-to-do-with-it-reassessing-the-nt-intervention-4993">National Emergency Response</a> introduced identification requirements for alcohol purchases above $100 but coupled this with criminalising those who consumed alcohol on Aboriginal land. The Banned Drinker Register showed early promise through a system that prevented alcohol purchases by those on certain court orders, but partisan politics brought it to an end in 2012. </p>
<h2>Ignore evidence of what works in child protection and youth justice</h2>
<p>Based on the growing body of evidence that child protection involvement, even notification to a child welfare system, is linked to involvement in the criminal justice system, there are increasingly troubled times ahead. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.childrenandfamilies.nt.gov.au/library/scripts/objectifyMedia.aspx?file=pdf/94/58.pdf&siteID=5&str_title=DCF%20Annual%20Report%202013%20-%2014.pdf">In the last year</a>, child protection notifications increased by 30% and the number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care by 26%. At the same time, the rate of completed child protection investigations decreased. </p>
<p>Youth justice fares equally badly. Diversionary programs are underfunded and exclude young people without a responsible adult. There are few programs for young people in detention or in the community, particularly in areas such as violent and sexual offending. </p>
<p>The failure of governments to meet the need for a suitable youth facility means young people are now locked up in a jail deemed unfit for adults; Correctional Services described the facility as <a href="http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/bitstream/10070/254131/32/NTN29NOV14PG017-MAI-COLOUR-PRIMARY.PDF">“fit only for a bulldozer”</a>.</p>
<p>Both systems are effectively driving young people’s further and deeper involvement in the criminal justice system. Young people are remanded in custody, sometimes for weeks, because no parent or family member comes to court, yet child protection maintains the young person is not in need of care. </p>
<p>Criminal charges are routinely brought against young people in residential facilities, rather than working through behavioural issues as we might in our own homes. Children in care have unpaid fines incurring interest and attracting further penalty, with no way of paying off these debts. </p>
<p>I offer no solutions here. When we decide we want different outcomes – a safer community, fewer people in jail – those solutions can be found in the thousands of words spoken and written by dozens of Aboriginal people and organisations, lawyers, academics and others, over many, many years. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read other articles in the State of Imprisonment series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/state-of-imprisonment">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Pippa will be on hand for an author Q&A between 10 and 11am AEST on Tuesday April 21. Post your questions in the comments section below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39185/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pippa Rudd has held senior positions in both corrections and child protection in the Northern Territory, as well as working as Chief of Staff and advisor to a number of Northern Territory Ministers. </span></em></p>The Northern Territory stands out for having one of the highest imprisonment rates in the world - much higher even than in the US - and it’s hard to argue that this does the community much good.Pippa Rudd, PhD Researcher, Menzies School of Health ResearchLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/389862015-04-16T01:57:33Z2015-04-16T01:57:33ZState of imprisonment: lopsided incarceration rates blight West<p><em>This article is part of The Conversation’s series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/state-of-imprisonment">State of Imprisonment</a>, which provides snapshots of imprisonment trends in each state and territory. The intention is to provide a basis for informed public discussion of imprisonment policies and of the costs and consequences for Australia of rising rates of incarceration.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The imprisonment rate in Western Australia (WA) has historically been high, second only to the Northern Territory. While WA is Australia’s largest state, it accounts for <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3101.0Main%20Features2Sep%202014?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3101.0&issue=Sep%202014&num=&view=">11% of the population</a>. Its prison population is <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2014%7EMain%20Features%7EPrisoner%20characteristics,%20states%20and%20territories%7E10000">15% of Australia’s total prison population</a>. </p>
<p>Currently, <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2014%7EMain%20Features%7EWestern%20Australia%7E10019">265 people per 100,000</a> adult inhabitants in WA are in prison. This is significantly higher than the national average rate of 186 per 100,000.</p>
<p>Further, while Indigenous people account for only 3% of the WA population, they make up 40% of the prison population. This is the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2014%7EMain%20Features%7EImprisonment%20rates%7E10009">highest over-representation</a> of Indigenous people in Australian prisons – the imprisonment rate is 18 times that of non-Aboriginal adults. </p>
<h2>A history of Indigenous over-representation</h2>
<p>It is clear that Aboriginal over-representation in the prison population is one of the most critical concerns in the WA penal landscape. This has long historical roots, reflecting the fierce battles between first peoples and the settlers during colonisation.</p>
<p>However, the more recent problem dates from the 1950s and has been linked to the economic development of the north of WA. Many of the cattle stations where Aboriginal people worked were closed or modernised, reducing the need for their labour. </p>
<p>This development, in combination with Indigenous people getting the right to equal wages, resulted in many of them losing their work and their home, leaving their traditional land and lifestyle and moving to the cities. These shifts, together with free access to alcohol, increased Aboriginal contact with the criminal justice system. This <a href="https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/110%C2%AD">created a situation of multiple disadvantages</a>, which have been shown to be linked to increased criminal behaviour, with consequences up to now. </p>
<h2>‘Law and order’ politics</h2>
<p>Indigenous over-representation does not tell the whole story of WA’s high imprisonment rates. If all people of Aboriginal descent were removed from the calculations, the state’s imprisonment rate would be 167 per 100,000. This is still significantly above the national non-Indigenous rate of 144. So there is more to be told to explain the penal position of WA in comparison with other jurisdictions.</p>
<p>As happened in other Australian jurisdictions, throughout the 1980s WA experienced a growing “law and order” discourse. Politicians from both the left and the right advocated a “tough on crime” approach. There were further examples of such initiatives during the 1990s.</p>
<p>One of these was the introduction of <a href="http://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/lawcouncil/index.php/law-council-media/news/352-mandatory-sentencing-debate">mandatory sentences</a>. This has limited the discretionary powers of the courts by setting a mandatory minimum sentence length for certain offences. Evaluation of the impact of mandatory sentences revealed that not only didn’t they achieve their deterrent effect in a way that prevented further offending, but they were also discriminatory and primarily affected Aboriginal people. </p>
<p>Another example was the introduction of “<a href="http://blogs.watoday.com.au/theverdict/2008/06/the_truth_about.html">truth in sentencing</a>” legislation in 2003. This abolished one-third remission of sentences and made access to parole harder. While initially courts were instructed to reduce the fixed term of their sentences to compensate for the abolition of remission, this caution was later repealed to allow for tougher sentences. </p>
<p>Not all political initiatives moved into a punitive direction. On two occasions, the government tried to cut down on the use of short sentences (up to six months) to stop the “<a href="http://www.supremecourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Joint_Development_Day_DCS.pdf">revolving door effect</a>”. But in reality, these reforms led to an increase of prison terms imposed on offenders, as well as the actual time they served in prison. This points to the importance of politicians and the judiciary being on one line.</p>
<h2>Changes to parole policy</h2>
<p>Parole provides for release before the end of the sentence, under certain conditions of supervision, to aid the transition to the free community. </p>
<p>A very significant <a href="http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/more-wa-prisoners-denied-bail/story-e6frg143-1226091277531">change occurred in 2009</a>, with the appointment of a new chair of the Parole Board.</p>
<p>While WA used to have a very liberal parole policy, with a rate of release around 90%, this dropped to 21% in the period under the new chair. This, in combination with an increase of cancellations of parole orders, caused a <a href="https://audit.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/report2011_11.pdf">rise of nearly 24%</a> in sentenced prisoners over a period of only eight months.</p>
<h2>Is this what the public wants?</h2>
<p>One could ask, what is wrong with all of the above if the politicians and judiciary are doing what the public wants? The core question here is if this is the case. </p>
<p>Public opinion research has demonstrated, over and again, that the public is not as punitive as assumed – even less so when given <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/401-420/tandi407.html">correct and sufficient background information</a> on offending behaviour. More importantly, it has been shown that differences in the levels of confidence in sentencing and the levels of punitiveness across the various states and territories are remarkably small. These can in no way explain the differences in imprisonment rates.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77429/original/image-20150409-15231-pormay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77429/original/image-20150409-15231-pormay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77429/original/image-20150409-15231-pormay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77429/original/image-20150409-15231-pormay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77429/original/image-20150409-15231-pormay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77429/original/image-20150409-15231-pormay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77429/original/image-20150409-15231-pormay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77429/original/image-20150409-15231-pormay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Keeping a person in prison - this one is east of Perth - costs the state an average of $345 a day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APrison_facility_east_of_Perth_western_Australia.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So it is far from certain that Western Australians wants so many people behind bars, and at such cost. The cost of keeping someone in prison is <a href="http://waamh.org.au/assets/documents/systemic-advocacy/submissions-and-briefs/20140109---wacoss-waamh-wanada-joint-submission-to-era-prisons-inquiry.pdf">$345 a day</a>, compared with $43 a day to supervise them in community services. Imprisonment is an expensive way to deal with crime.</p>
<p>Further, <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2014%7EMain%20Features%7EWestern%20Australia%7E10019">61% of the WA prison population</a> has been in prison before, so it doesn’t seem to reduce recidivism a great deal. </p>
<p>Finally, contrary to popular belief, <a href="http://www.police.wa.gov.au/ABOUTUS/Statistics/CrimeStatistics/tabid/1219/Default.aspx">crime rates in WA</a> – as in <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4510.0%7E2013%7EMedia%20Release%7EReports%20of%20sexual%20assault%20increase,%20most%20other%20crimes%20down%20(Media%20Release)%7E1">other jurisdictions</a> – are going down, while imprisonment rates are going up. So it is timely to ask what purpose it serves to have so many people in prison.</p>
<p>This question becomes even more glaring when we know that the prison population is not representative of the general population. It mainly consists of people who come from difficult social and economic backgrounds, and are vulnerable in many ways. </p>
<p>Other solutions are possible, as exemplified by European countries. These generally have much lower imprisonment rates, particularly in Scandinavian countries, as do other Australian jurisdictions.</p>
<p>I am convinced that alternatives to imprisonment are a better use of taxpayers’ money. Imprisonment, as stated by law, should be the option of last resort.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/state-of-imprisonment">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38986/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hilde Tubex receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Indigenous people are jailed at a rate 18 times that of non-Aboriginal Western Australian adults, but the overall rate is high too. The great costs of this punitive approach yield few clear benefits.Hilde Tubex, Future Fellow, Crime Research Centre , The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/387112015-03-12T19:14:34Z2015-03-12T19:14:34ZDon’t be surprised by Abbott’s comments about ‘lifestyle choices’<p>Prime Minister <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/10/remote-communities-are-lifestyle-choices-says-tony-abbott">Tony Abbott’s claim this week</a> that people living in remote communities were making a “lifestyle choice” that taxpayers shouldn’t be obliged to fund was not just the result of an unguarded moment. Rather, the phrase reveals an underlying view that social circumstances are the responsibility of individuals, rather than societies.</p>
<p>Commentators as well as Abbott’s top advisers on Indigenous affairs were quick to criticise the characterisation. Others suggested it was just another prime ministerial gaffe that shouldn’t distract us from the real issues. </p>
<p>Abbott is infamous for his <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbotts-10-biggest-gaffes-clangers-and-cringeworthy-moments-20150311-140qnp.html">gaffes and “dad jokes”</a>, but this was not one of those moments. A day after he made the remark, the prime minister defended his use of the phrase on the <a href="http://www.2gb.com/article/alan-jones-tony-abbott-18">Alan Jones Show</a>.</p>
<h2>Sounds familiar</h2>
<p>For those of us who work in, or observe, public health, using a phrase like “lifestyle choice” to shift responsibility away from the government is familiar territory. For decades, the risk factors of chronic diseases such as heart disease or type-2 diabetes were described as the “<a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/11950957">diseases of lifestyle</a>”, rooted in individual choice. </p>
<p>But chronic diseases actually have a <a href="http://phe.oxfordjournals.org/content/5/2/104">plurality of causes</a> that include genetics, environment, and social and economic circumstances as well as behaviour. To reduce them to individual choices misrepresents what we know about these complex diseases and places an <a href="http://phe.oxfordjournals.org/content/7/2/158.abstract">unjustified burden of responsibility</a> on individuals. </p>
<p>Still, it’s a useful device for cash-strapped governments. After all, if you alone are responsible for causing your illness, then you should also be responsible for its treatment. It provides governments with grounds for withdrawing all kinds of services. </p>
<p>Governments that emphasise “lifestyle choices” become free to ignore <a href="http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/">inconvenient facts</a> such as the correlation between lower incomes and poorer health. They don’t need to ensure equitable access to health care or to regulate companies that produce tobacco, alcohol or food. Being unhealthy, or ill, is after all simply a “lifestyle choice” within the full control of individuals.</p>
<p>“Lifestyle choices” also appear in other public policy debates as a way of drawing attention to individual responsibility, while minimising the contribution of structural factors. “Lifestyle choices” suggest health, education and employment opportunities, for instance, are solely or primarily within the control of individuals, and that there is little role for the state to intervene. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74609/original/image-20150312-13514-1ww0j4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74609/original/image-20150312-13514-1ww0j4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74609/original/image-20150312-13514-1ww0j4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74609/original/image-20150312-13514-1ww0j4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74609/original/image-20150312-13514-1ww0j4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74609/original/image-20150312-13514-1ww0j4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74609/original/image-20150312-13514-1ww0j4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beyond the clearly absurd idea that people in remote communities are making a ‘lifestyle choice’ is the question of why the prime minister would choose this form of words in the first place.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/publik16/2477400504">publik16/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>They also indicate who is “in” and who is “out”. Certain lifestyle choices have been used to define national identity, by taking cultural practices to indicate those who belong. These can be banal choices, such as wearing thongs at the beach, eating Vegemite or drinking a certain brand of beer. But they can also have more insidious expression. </p>
<p>In proposing that <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/pauline-hanson-backs-jacqui-lambies-calls-for-burqa-ban/story-fncynjr2-1227079952962">the burqa and niqab should be banned</a> in Australia, for instance, Pauline Hanson recently said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is Australia. If Muslims aren’t happy with our customs, they should find an Islamic country that accommodates their lifestyle choices and move there.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Who is responsible?</h2>
<p>Beyond the clearly absurd idea that people in remote communities are making a “lifestyle choice” is the question of why our self-appointed “<a href="http://www.liberal.org.au/latest-news/2013/08/10/tony-abbott-establishment-prime-ministers-indigenous-advisory-council">prime minister for aboriginal affairs</a>” would choose this form of words in the first place. </p>
<p>As in the public health context, it may be for the convenient policy implications. Calling something a “lifestyle choice” makes everything that goes wrong the responsibility of individuals; rather than a failure to provide services or the result of social and historical circumstances, shortfalls become individual failure. A lifestyle choice is something from which both policy ambition and discretionary funding may at any time be withdrawn. </p>
<p>While referring to his government’s own “long-term, ambitious framework” for <a href="https://www.coag.gov.au/closing_the_gap_in_indigenous_disadvantage">Closing the Gap</a> in Indigenous disadvantage <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4195123.htm">on the same day</a>, Abbott warned:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>if people choose to live where there’s no jobs, obviously it’s very, very difficult to close the gap.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This statement directly links the “lifestyle choice” of living in a remote community with the success or failure of efforts to close the gap. It shifts all the responsibility onto Indigenous people themselves, rather than government, which controls all the policy levers.</p>
<p>At first glance, this seems in stark contrast to <a href="http://www.indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/announcements/prime-minister-abbott-statement-house-representatives-closing-gap-2015">Abbott’s speech</a> in response to the Closing the Gap Report in early February, 2015. At the time, he said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>until Indigenous people fully participate in the life of our country, all of us are diminished. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>But this week’s events may help us appreciate more fully what the prime minister meant. It may be that the prime minister believes Aboriginal people in remote communities are choosing not to participate in the nation’s life, and indeed being irresponsible in a manner that indicates their not belonging. </p>
<p>Since this is their “lifestyle choice”, neither the government nor the prime minister for aboriginal affairs can be held responsible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Mayes receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Kaldor receives funding from the Australian Government under an Australian Postgraduate Award, as well as from Sydney Law School and the Charles Perkins Centre.</span></em></p>Abbott’s claim that people in remote communities are making a “lifestyle choice” reveals an underlying view that social circumstances are the responsibility of individuals, rather than societies.Christopher Mayes, Post-Doctoral Fellow in Bioethics, University of SydneyJenny Kaldor, Doctoral researcher in public health law, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.