Economics Assignment: Analyzing Indigenous-Non-Indigenous Disparity

This economics report critically analyzes the disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, focusing on health and education gaps. It highlights the Australian government's commitment to closing the gap, recognizing it as a long-term national priority. The report uses statistical data to demonstrate inequalities in education, employment, life expectancy, infant mortality, and chronic disease rates. It examines the economic implications of these disparities, emphasizing the importance of bridging the gap to improve the standard of living for Indigenous communities. The study also explores government initiatives and strategic platforms aimed at addressing these issues, including programs for improving health, education, and economic participation, ultimately aiming to achieve equality and improve overall well-being. The report concludes by summarizing government strategies, including funding allocations for strengthening the health workforce, improving health services, and addressing literacy and numeracy gaps.

Running head: ECONOMICS
Economics
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Authors’ Note

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Introduction
The current study intends to critically analyse the importance of closing the gap between the
Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians particularly in the areas of education and training
and health. Essentially, the Australian government also considers bridging the gap as an
urgent nationwide priority. However, closing the gap is essentially a long term project as
decades of disregard cannot be fixed suddenly. The current study hereby aims to examine the
extent of extant inequality in terms of education and training and health with data to validate
the findings. Moving further, the study elucidates the importance to bridge/close the
identified gap along with economic implications of the observed results for bridging the gap
in the overall standard of living between these two communities.
Identification of the problem can help in understanding the issues that are plaguing the
community with considerable substantiation based on valid facts as well as evidence. As
rightly put forward by Steketee et al. (2014), the Australian government declared a formal
commitment to address Indigenous disadvantage in Australia, referred to as “closing the
gap”. Essentially, the gap indicates towards the vast health as well as inequality in life
expectation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Particularly, the inequality
comprises of shorter expectancy of life, higher mortality rates of infants, poorer level of
health and low levels of education as well as employment. The current study section intends
to throw light on the extant inequality between the two specific communities in terms of
health and education and training.
Analysis of reports reveals the fact that disparity between Indigenous as well as non-
Indigenous health replicates a huge gap mainly between Indigenous as well as non-
Indigenous education. Essentially, the proportion of mainly Indigenous aged between 20 to
24 years old completing mainly year 12 or else equivalent was roughly 59% during the year

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2012 and the year 2013 as compared to 86% to 88% for diverse non-Indigenous Australians
(Knowles et al. 2017). However, during the year 2013, around 7.3% of the entire Aboriginals
as well as Torres Strait Islander probable year 12 overall populations attained total ATAR of
approximately 50 or more than that as compared to that of 44.3% non-Indigenous youth.
However, the rate of unemployment for nearly Indigenous Australians was nearly 5 times the
overall rate for non-Indigenous Australians during the year 2012.
Life expectancy can be considered as a broad indicator of long term health as well as well
being of the nation’s population. Essentially, there exists strong association between lower
levels of life expectancy for all Indigenous Australians. National statistics reflects the fact
that during the period 2012 and 2013, the overall rate of disability for mainly Aboriginals as
well as Torres Strait Islander Australians was approximately 1.7 times the overall rate for
particularly non-Indigenous Australians (Baum 2016). However, during the same period of
time, Indigenous Australians were roughly 4 times more probable to get hospitalised for
diverse chronic diseases in comparison to that of non-Indigenous Australians. National
statistics in Australia refer to the fact that during the year 2012 and 2013, the rate of
hospitalisation for family violence associated assault for mainly Indigenous Australians was
nearly 32.8 times higher than the rates of other Australians (Duckett and Willcox 2015).
In addition to this, the Indigenous Australians were also 3 times more probable to suffer from
mainly diabetes as compared to non-Indigenous people; however, the rate of death for mainly
diabetes among mainly Aboriginals as well as Torres Strait Islanders was nearly 7 times
higher than that of other Australians. As such, the potentially preventable rate of death for
primarily indigenous children was essentially 3 times more than principally that of the non-
Indigenous children during the period 2008 and 2012. In addition to this, national statistics
also indicate towards the fact that non-indigenous girls who were necessarily born between
the period 2012 and the year 2012 can mainly expect to live for a period longer than a decade

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in comparison to that of the Indigenous girls born for the same year (Thirlwall and Pacheco-
López 2017). However, the life expectancy for particularly men is even longer and it is
around 69.1 year for mainly indigenous men, whilst the figure for the non-Indigenous men
stands at 79.9 years. Again, in the areas of health, it can be observed from the national
statistics that during the year 2008 to the year 2012 the infant mortality rates among
aboriginals as well as Torres Strait Islander was approximately double in number than that of
the non-Indigenous children (Benería et al. 2015).
Furthermore, the Australian government also reported the fact that during the year 2011 and
2012, Indigenous children aged between (0 year-17 years) was roughly 8 times as probable as
the non-Indigenous children to become the subject of substantiates child abuse else wise
neglect. In addition to this, the juvenile detention rates as registered during the period 2012
and 2013 were nearly 24 times higher than that of the rates of different non-indigenous
youths (Todaro and Smith 2011).
Based on the results of the study, it can be hereby mentioned that there are severe
implications of poorer health and education and training conditions of indigenous Australians
in comparison to the non-indigenous population. However, since the year 2006, peak health
bodies, human rights units as well as NGOs have worked together to attain equality in respect
of health along with life expectation. Fundamentally, this is referred to as the “close the gap
campaign”. Analysis of the reports reveals the fact that closing the extant gap primarily in
terms of health can be regarded as a national priority. Basically, programs for improvement
are necessary for attainment of improved outcomes in terms of health and education and
training. Thus, this can assist in community involvement of the people in Australia. In a way
this development program for bridging the gap can help both individuals as well as
communities to acquire advantage from particularly the mainstream economy (Duckett and
Willcox 2015). This involves acquirement of advantages that includes job opportunities,

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economic independence and wealth generation that in turn can lead to better economic
participation. Subsequently, this can direct the way towards better standard of living of the
people. Thus, vigorous as well as rigorous approaches by the government can essentially
assist in leveraging as well as enhancing the condition of individuals and communities. As
such, after proper analysis of the results of the reports, government initiatives are undertaken
with the target of closing the gap and bridging mortality gap, achieving literacy as well as
numeracy attainment, lessening the gap in various parameters of health (Thirlwall and
Pacheco-López 2017). Particularly, COAG (Council of Australian Governments) has adopted
specific targets in this regard and has detected a large number of strategic platforms or in
other words building blocks that have the requirement of comprehensively addressing the
present state of disadvantages. Again, government is also utilizing seven strategic platforms
or in other words “building blocks” along with strategies aimed at attaining enhancements in
the targeted areas. Governing bodies have identified the building blocks to be establishment
of healthy homes, safe communities, better health condition, and development of early
childhood, schooling, and economic participation along with governance leadership.
Essentially, all the building blocks are anticipated to augment the overall standard of living of
people (Benería et al. 2015).
In conclusion, reports on current conditions of health and education and training have helped
Australian government to adopt suitable strategies aimed at maximizing the educational as
well as health outcomes. As part of the commitment, the government necessarily allocated
around $19 million for over and above 3 years for strengthening the health workforce for
Indigenous people, provided $21.5 to enhance health services in diverse remote areas and
many others. Again, government also considers literacy as well as numeracy as critical for
better well being of people. Based on the report, The Australian Government is essentially
depending upon the States as well as Territories to make certain that diverse resources in

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specific jurisdictions are paid to specific areas of soaring need. The data on literacy as well as
numeracy success attainment has led to specific corrective activities. Particularly, in the
budget the objective of COAG (Council of Australian Governments) is to halve the overall
gap present in literacy and numeracy attainment within the period of decade. Essentially, this
objective is also supported by fund allocation amount of $56.4 million in state financing for a
period of more than four years as a part of Government's National Action Plan on Literacy
and Numeracy.

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References
Baum, F., 2016. The new public health (No. Ed. 4). Oxford University Press.
Benería, L., Berik, G. and Floro, M., 2015. Gender, development and globalization:
economics as if all people mattered. Routledge.
Duckett, S. and Willcox, S., 2015. The Australian health care system (No. Ed. 5). Oxford
University Press.
Knowles, S.R., Tribbick, D., Connell, W.R., Castle, D., Salzberg, M. and Kamm, M.A., 2017.
Exploration of health status, illness perceptions, coping strategies, psychological morbidity,
and quality of life in individuals with fecal ostomies. Journal of Wound Ostomy &
Continence Nursing, 44(1), pp.69-73.
Steketee, C., Forman, D., Dunston, R., Yassine, T., Matthews, L.R., Saunders, R., Nicol, P.
and Alliex, S., 2014. Interprofessional health education in Australia: Three research projects
informing curriculum renewal and development. Applied Nursing Research, 27(2), pp.115-
120.
Thirlwall, A.P. and Pacheco-López, P., 2017. Economics of development: theory and
evidence. Springer.
Todaro, M.P. and Smith, S.C., 2011. Economics development. Addison-Wesley.