UNCC100: Opinion Editorial on Indigenous Australian Life Expectancy

This essay presents an opinion on the declining life expectancy among Indigenous Australians, particularly those from the Torres Strait Islands. It highlights the discrimination faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who constitute 3.3% of the Australian population, with a focus on disparities in medical treatment. The essay identifies coronary diseases, malnutrition-related child deaths, and chronic illnesses as major contributors to the lower life expectancy. It references governmental reports and census data to underscore the higher mortality rate among the indigenous population compared to non-indigenous Australians, advocating for the elimination of discriminatory practices to improve their well-being. Desklib offers a variety of solved assignments and study resources for students.

Running head: SELF AND COMMUNITY - OPINION EDITORIAL
SELF AND COMMUNITY - OPINION EDITORIAL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SELF AND COMMUNITY - OPINION EDITORIAL
The following paper attempts a discussion on the decrease in the life expectancy among
the residents of Australia who belong to the indigenous tribes. The life expectancy of the people
belonging to the indigenous tribes within the Australian territory have been observed to undergo
a steep decline in the recent times. This is due to the greater amounts of discrimination that is
faced by the people who have been living in the Torres Strait Islands of Australia.
The majority of the people belonging to the indigenous tribes within the country of
Australia are known to have been the residents of the Torres Strait Islands. These people are
majorly known as the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders who have been residing in the
country. These people are majorly the descendants of the tribes who have been residing within
the territories of Australia long before the colonization of the British people. The researchers,
however, have not yet arrived at a certain time period of the arrival of the indigenous Australians
on the mainland of the Australian territory (Georges et al., 2017). The indigenous Australians
have been known to have been discriminated against since the advent of the British colonization
of the Australian territories.
According to the census of 2016, the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders living in
Australia form up to 3.3% of the total population of the country, which makes up to almost
798,365 people of the entire Australian population (Abs.gov.au., 2019). These people however
tend to complain of the discrimination that they face. The major reason for the deaths and the
low life expectancy among the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders who have been residing
within the territorial boundaries of Australia. The people who have been belonging to the
Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander groups tend to be discriminated on the basis of the
medical treatments that they are offered. The majority of the deaths that lead up to the lower life
expectancy has been due to the lack of the proper treatment that is needed for the increase in the

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life expectancy of the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders (Aihw.gov.au., 2019). The major
reasons for the death of these people is succumbing to the coronary diseases. The majority of the
people who belong to the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders are known to have been
lacking the proper access to the medical treatments that are required for the increase in the life
expectancy within the given territory. According to Aihw.gov.au. (2019), the other major reason
for the lower life expectancy is the increase in the number of the child deaths that result from the
issues of the malnutrition or the spread of the infectious diseases among them.
The other major cause of the deaths of the adults within the territories of Australia refer
to the severe chronic diseases that are faced by the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders
residing within the territorial boundaries of Australia. The people who have been belonging to
the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders are known to have been suffering from a variety of
chronic diseases (Thompson, Talley & Kong, 2017). According to the reports, the death
certificates that are issued by the governmental bodies tend to reflect the fact that there are
multiple diseases that leads up to the death of the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders
(Closingthegap.pmc.gov.au., 2019). There has been observed a gap in the life expectancy of the
people in the recent times. The major number of the deaths of the indigenous population of
Australia have resulted from the natural causes of death like the age-related reasons. The rate of
the deaths among the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders that is observed in the recent
times show that the mortality rate of the indigenous people is higher than the people who belong
to the non-indigenous groups of residents of the Australian nationality.
Thus, from the above discussion, it might be well-inferred that the indigenous people of
Australian nationality face the discrimination against the non-indigenous people on the grounds
of the various services that they are offered by the government of the country. The Aboriginal

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and the Torres Strait Islanders have been facing a wide range of issues that can be mended
through the abolishment of the discriminating factors that are present in the Australian society.

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References
Abs.gov.au. (2019). Census: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. Retrieved from
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/MediaRealesesByCatalogue/02D50FAA9987D
6B7CA25814800087E03
Aihw.gov.au. (2019). Deaths in Australia, Life expectancy - Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/life-expectancy-death/deaths-
in-australia/contents/life-expectancy
Aihw.gov.au. (2019). Main contributors to the Indigenous life expectancy gap. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/5d39a104-a2d5-4ab5-900c-697ee0e5a1d8/ah16-5-8-
main-contributors-indigenous-life-expectancy-gap.pdf.aspx
Closingthegap.pmc.gov.au. (2019). Healthy Lives | Closing the Gap. Retrieved from
https://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/healthy-lives
Georges, N., Guthridge, S. L., Li, S. Q., Condon, J. R., Barnes, T., & Zhao, Y. (2017). Progress
in closing the gap in life expectancy at birth for Aboriginal people in the Northern
Territory, 1967–2012. Medical Journal of Australia, 207(1), 25-30.
Thompson, N., Talley, N. J., & Kong, K. M. (2017). The health of Indigenous Australians. The
Medical Journal of Australia, 207(1), 19-20.