Cultural Diversity: Impacting ATSI Engagement with NSW Western Systems

This essay examines the social, political, and economic factors affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people in Australia, highlighting the disparities they face compared to other cultures. It discusses how limited social opportunities, poor health, and inadequate income significantly impact their well-being. The essay also addresses the political factors, such as unfair government policies, that contribute to inequalities in health and economic status. Furthermore, it explores the challenges ATSI people encounter in engaging with New South Wales (NSW) systems, emphasizing the importance of forging partnerships with ATSI communities to address these issues. The impact on Westernized systems and structures, particularly in corrective services, is also considered, noting the security and health-related challenges that arise. The document concludes by referencing sources that provide further insights into these complex issues.

Running Head: Cultural Diversity
Cultural Diversity

Cultural Diversity
Factors Affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Cultured
people
Social Factors: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait cultures or indigenous people do not get the
social opportunities as the other people or other cultures in Australia would get. The
education and their poor health is one of the most important factors which affects them the
most when it comes to social impacts. The income is poor as compared to the other people
living in Australia. The infant diet is very poor as well. Aboriginal people never had their
owned lands and properties in `Australia. They had no social divisions. They were since the
inception of the European times not given the respect that they deserved. They are still
considered backward(Hudec, 2013).
Political Factors: Unfair policies have always added to the inequalities in health resulting
from the non-equal circulation of control and the incomes in between the indigenous people
and the other cultures of Australia. The Australian Government is failing continuously in
taking the cultural view in focussing on the social causes of fitness of these people. The kind
of social &economic policies that are made by the Government for these people, results in the
poor income and poor health of these indigenous people. Due to such policies, these people
do not get their rights(Lee, 2017).
Economic Factors: It is very evident that indigenous people have never been given the
position which other cultures have been given in Australia. They are not even given that
respect. They usually are excluded from the other cultures of the country and the society.
Hence, it impacts their economic factors as well. They are unable to do any kind of jobs, they
are unable to earn a better living for their families. Hence, due to this the children are poor
and their diet is also poor. The economy of these people is actually going beyond the
mainstream market. These people actually have accumulated and distributed the resources
and very hardly they have managed to be in economy order after the colonisation. The labour
costs are very low which impacts the whole living of these people(Walter, 2009).
All these factors really differ a lot when it comes to the comparison with the other cultures of
Australia and indigenous people. As mentioned above that indigenous people are still not
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considered as the respected community in Australia, they are not very well doing in social,
political and the economic factors.
Issues impacting ATSI people’s engagement with NSW
Forging tough partnerships of working with the ATSI society and groups and firms in some
particular areas is really significant. The engagement of NSW with such communities can
provide a better information and knowledge of the problems which are faced in the society.
The issues are:
1) The links of the family in the community.
2) The type of services provided and available in the community.
3) The expertise areas that the members of community holds.
4) The way these services can compliment work with the specific family or societies.
NSW mostly finds that ATSI groups and the firms are really very excited to get involved with
them as well as they also like establishing the connection with the people they feel their
connection with for present and future concerns (LWB, 2018).
Impacts on Westernised Systems and Structures
The corrective Services NSW actually bases their programs on the basis of the international
evidences and also have worked in collaboration with the independent evaluators in some of
their programs. Although the evaluation has been inconclusive because of the small sample
sized and data quality issues. There are sometimes security issues which comes in the
services of the NSW. Due to these quality and security issues, there are adverse impacts on
the western systems and the structures. People don’t take these security issues very seriously
and these can also be the increase in number of crimes and safety issues in the country. Then
there are health issues when people are inside the prison in the custody. There are people who
faces mental health issues and also other health issues due to which the western systems
areimpactful. The western cultures have all the facilities and the technologies. Due to this too
there have been issues like flying of drones outside of prisons and NSW has to deal with
that(Nsw, 2017).
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References
Hudec, P. (2013). Social Issues in Contemporary Australia: Indigenous People and the White
Majority. Retrieved September 19, 2018, from
https://is.muni.cz/th/cg9e0/Social_Issues_in_Contemporary_Australia_Indigenous_Pe
ople_and_the_White_Majority.pdf
LWB. (2018). WORKING WITH ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER
PEOPLE. Retrieved September 19, 2018, from
https://www.lwb.org.au/assets/Uploads/11789-LWB-Working-with-Aboriginal-v6-
WEB.PDF
Lee, V. S. (2017). Political determinants and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women:
don’t leave your integrity at the political gate. Journal of Public Health Policy, 38(3),
387-393.
NSW. (2018). A Strategy for supporting Aboriginal offenders to desist from re-offending.
Retrieved September 19, 2018, from
https://www.correctiveservices.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/aboriginal/
Aboriginal_Strategy_111114_Accessible.pdf
NSW. (2017). Response to Audit Office of NSW Performance Audit Report: Therapeutic
Programs in Prisons. Retrieved September 19, 2018, from
https://www.correctiveservices.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/media-releases/
Response-to-Performance-Audit-of-Therapeutic-Programs.pdf
Walter, M. (2009). An Economy of Poverty? Power and the Domain of Aboriginality.
International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies , 2(1).
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