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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 8 Hansard (26 August) . . Page.. 2480 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

Mr Speaker, eight years ago this nation embarked on a process of reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians in clear recognition that a reconciled Australia is a much stronger nation. In September 1991 the Commonwealth Parliament passed legislation that established the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. The legislation was passed unanimously in both houses.

The council adopted a vision - "A united Australia which respects this land of ours; values the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage; and provides justice and equity for all" - and identified eight key issues to take the reconciliation process forward. These eight key issues have all been discussed in some form and at some length in this Assembly, and they are understanding country; improving relationships; valuing cultures; sharing history; addressing disadvantage; custody levels; destiny; and a formal document of reconciliation. There is not much time, given the enormity of the task and the decade's life span of the council, and we still have so far to go, as a report released in the last month by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Institute of Health and Welfare shows.

That report, "The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples", looks at just one of the council's key issues, disadvantage. It presents a chilling account of the current situation. It shows that indigenous people, when compared as a group with other Australians, are worse off in a number of areas that form the basis of our quality of life - employment, income, housing, health and education.

It is worth reflecting on some of the report's findings, drawn from the time of the 1996 census, in the context of today's debate. At that time, just three years ago, 41 per cent of indigenous adults were employed, compared with 57 per cent of other Australian adults. The average income for indigenous adults was $189 a week for males, and $190 a week for women. For non-indigenous males, the average income at that stage was $415, and for women $224.

Indigenous people were less likely to own their own home, and less likely to have completed any studies after school, when compared with other Australians. Indigenous children were four times more likely to be under care and protection orders, and six times more likely to be in out-of-home placements than non-indigenous children. Although indigenous people make up less than 2 per cent of the Australian population, almost 19 per cent of adult prisoners in Australian gaols were indigenous.

Indigenous people suffer from more health problems than other Australians and die younger. Census data shows that indigenous men can expect to live 56.9 years and indigenous women 61.7 years, compared with a life expectancy of 75.2 years for all Australian males and 81.1 for females. Indigenous people are more likely to be admitted to hospital than other Australians.

Mr Speaker, the snapshot of disadvantage presented by this report shows how far the reconciliation process has to go. Soberingly for us here in Canberra is the fact that all of these appalling indicators of indigenous disadvantage apply equally to the ACT. There can be no genuine reconciliation without a commitment to address these problems and

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