Economics Assignment: Marginalisation of Indigenous Australians

This economics assignment delves into the historical marginalisation and exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia. The essay examines the impact of colonisation, focusing on socio-economic, linguistic, and religious structures, as well as political and economic rights. It highlights the 'Uluru Statement from the Heart' and its call for constitutional reforms. The discussion includes the economic viability of Cape York communities, capability factors, and the need for sustainable development. The assignment emphasizes the importance of employment, education, housing, and healthcare in defining wellbeing, advocating for a comprehensive approach to address the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians. The essay concludes with a call for social and cognitive evolution to overcome biases and promote basic human rights for all.

Running head: ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT
ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
Cultural marginalisation of communities has never been a raiser of eyebrows. Ever
since humankind had the conception of hierarchy in societal structuring and class, somehow,
it became innately embedded in the collective cognitive consciousness that a certain group of
people hold absolute power over the rights of a set of other groups of people. Historically, the
most gruesome instances of marginalisation and social exclusion have always been of the
indigenous people of a particular nation and even in the current context, they continue to be
in the worst strata even amongst the poorest and the most disadvantaged with almost no
rights been identified for them, being denied of a socially accepted cultural inheritance and a
systemic discrimination cum exclusion from political and economic rights and powers, as
reported by The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII 2009). The case of the
indigenous Australians was not very different from the generic. This essay is focused on
looking at the history of the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander communities of
Australia and by identifying key aspects of their marginalisation and exclusion throughout
history as well as by studying relevant academic literatures, providing a comprehensive
course of action for the implementation of a much needed constitutional reformation
statement in a modern day business context.
Thesis statement
It is prudent, given the current business and commerce environment, to identify the
place of the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait islander communities in this world as well
implement key elements of the “Uluru Statement from the heart”.

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Discussion
The colonisation of the Australian aboriginal population was a stepwise process. The
beginning of the colonisation process was marked by the “incursion by the colonising group
into a geographical area” (Alford & Muir 2004, p. 102). It was swiftly followed by a ruthless
destruction of the indigenous socio-economic, linguistic and religious structures and
afterwards, by an increased external political control which included refusal of basic political
rights and suppression of voice by considering their cognitive abilities to be underdeveloped
(Roberts & Martin 1981). These stages were marked by high poverty rates, unemployment,
low overall health profile, increased psychological issues and substance dependency as well
as low self and community esteem (Watson 2014). The subsequent stages of the colonisation
saw an increasing dependency of the indigenous population on the mainstream communities
for basic amenities and inadequate provision of medical and educational services. As time
progressed, the gaps between the indigenous and the mainstream population increased and at
a point, as an aftermath of the whole colonisation point, racial segregation became one of the
most detrimental factors for the indigenous Australians.
As Altman (2018) elaborates in his paper, there are an approximately 1200 discrete
indigenous communities in the remote parts of Australia and each community accounts for an
average of almost only a hundred people each. The total Australian indigenous communities
were all formed as a product of the colonisation of the indigenous population and even until
the 1980s they were denied the basic rights and amenities like healthcare, education, proper
housing as well as income support that the urban and non-indigenous Australian population
enjoyed the luxury of (Altman 2018; Trewin & Madden 2005). Given that the provisions
came in late and it was also difficult to deliver all the services to the whole population, a
large part still misses most of the amenities or whatever is being provided as provisions.
Therefore, a need for sustainable development of the indigenous population was prioritised.

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On the other hand, a statement was also put forward by the indigenous communities in the
form of a case study at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, under the title “Uluru
Statement from the heart” (Council 2017). Uluru is a gigantic sandstone monolith close to the
town of Alice Springs in the northern territory and holds deep cultural and spiritual
significance for the aboriginal people, who believe the stone to be a resting place for ancestral
spirits. The statement made at the convention talks about the deep connection that the
aboriginal people share with their land and the unbreakable connection with their spirited
ancestors. In its essence, the statement was an appeal to the higher authorities to identify the
value of the land that the aboriginal people have an innate right to and help them be a part of
the identified communities of the country through constitutional reforms (Council 2017;
Davis et al., 2017). There have been considerations as well as debates for and against why a
sustained income for the aboriginal people is not sufficient to develop and enhance their
wellbeing (Biddle 2011). The aspect of the wellbeing of the indigenous Australians has
received considerable study and thought. Several issues like the lack of the aforementioned
amenities come up when the indigenous population is considered. In the study on economic
viability of Cape York Communities (Pearson 2005), several capability factors were posited
that could help assess the current scenario of the indigenous Australians and help better
devise a plan of action for any kind of constitutional reformation. These capability factors are
based on how well a certain set of services and provisions have been provided to people, how
badly the indigenous people need these services and how poorly these services are actually
implemented in their case. A deeper dive into the capability factors clubbed with a historical,
political, social and economic study of the indigenous population can help determine the
exact aspects that require urgent attention.
In my opinion, a large scale data on the factors that the paper on Cape York
communities identify should be the first step towards devising an action plan. The capability

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factors specifically highlight the aspects that are lacking in the indigenous population and
therefore can be instrumental in prioritising the necessary parameters for addressing. As an
effective plan, I believe the second most significant step should be a census based
identification of the population, followed by steady provision of services based on what the
capability factors analysis indicates, education, housing, health (physical and mental) and
employment being the top four priority. We cannot deny that in a current context of business
and development, employment is the one factor that would be instrumental in defining the
wellbeing of an individual as well as a community. At the same time we should not define
wellbeing through just one factor, either educational or healthcare. Instead we should be
focusing on a culmination of all these factors to determine the definition of wellbeing
Conclusion
As privileged citizens of the world, we have an innate cognitive tendency to not look
beyond a certain point in order to see what lies beyond the visual boundaries. Being a rightful
owner and possessor of socially and constitutionally defined rights and provisions, it becomes
easy for us to overlook the fact that there must be people who are lacking them while needing
them more than us. Socio – cultural hierarchy, economic privilege, educational sophistication
and an overall state of wellbeing determines whether or not an individual and his community
would be considered progressive. These are not the outcomes of any set rules or federally
declared statements, but a by-product of our own cultural bias that restricts us from seeing
what lies beyond our own comforts. In my opinion, there can be as well as should be no easy
alternative to the provision of the basic human rights to everyone in this world. I believe it is
not our job to judge based on what we have witnessed through history. Instead what we
should be doing is systematically progressing towards a state of socio – cognitive evolution
wherefrom we can start selectively trimming the social biases and attitudes that prove to be
detrimental for a certain set of people.

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References
Alford, K. and Muir, J., 2004. Dealing with unfinished Indigenous business: the need for historical
reflection. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 63(4), pp.101-107.
Altman, J., 2018. The Future of Indigenous Australia: Is there a path beyond the free market or
welfare dependency?-.
Biddle, N., 2011. Measures of Indigenous wellbeing and their determinants across the
lifecourse. Income, Work and Indigenous Livelihoods.
Council, R., 2017. Uluru statement from the heart. Viewed, 27, pp.2017-05.
Davis, M., Saunders, C., McKenna, M., Morris, S., Mayes, C. and Giannacopoulos, M., 2017, May.
Uluru Statement from the Heart. In Delivered at Uluru for the First Nations National
Constitution Convention (Vol. 26).
Pearson, N., 2005. Can Cape York communities be economically viable?. Viewpoint, Cape York
Institute for Policy & Leadership, Cairns, Qld.
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (United Nations) and United Nations. Statistical Division,
2009. State of the world's indigenous peoples (Vol. 9). United Nations Publications.
Roberts, J. and Martin, R., 1981. Massacres to mining: The colonisation of Aboriginal Australia (p.
34). Melbourne: Dove communications.
Trewin, D. and Madden, R., 2005. The health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples. Canberra, Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Watson, I., 2014. Aboriginal peoples, colonialism and international law: Raw law.
Routledge.