Most Australian targets to reduce Indigenous disadvantage not on track: report

CANBERRA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Australia is failing to reduce the disadvantages faced by its Indigenous population, with only four out of 19 targets to do so on track to be met, according to a government report.

The Productivity Commission (PC), the federal government's top review and advisory body on economic, social and environmental issues affecting the welfare of Australians, on Thursday released its annual report on the national strategy to reduce Indigenous disadvantage.

Established in 2008 and overhauled in 2020, the Closing the Gap framework aims to reduce the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in 19 areas relating to health, education and economic outcomes.

The latest update shows that only four out of the 19 targets are on track to be met by the 2031 deadline. Those that are on track relate to preschool enrolment rates, employment and Indigenous land and sea rights, the PC said.

It said that progress has gone backwards on another four targets relating to Indigenous imprisonment and suicide rates, childhood development and the number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care.

"It is very concerning that we are still seeing outcomes worsening for incarceration rates, children in out-of-home care and suicide," Malarndirri McCarthy, the federal minister for Indigenous Australians, said in a statement.

The report found that the age-standardized suicide rate of Indigenous Australians increased from 23.6 per 100,000 people in 2018 to 30.8 per 100,000 people in 2023. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the suicide rate for the entire Australian population in 2023 was 11.8 per 100,000 people.

Thursday's report said that Indigenous outcomes have improved in six more areas, including life expectancy and healthy birthweights, but are not on track to meet the 2031 target.

Outcomes for one target relating to youth justice have not changed since the baseline year and the PC was unable to assess progress on the remaining four targets. ■