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Rudd calls child abuse rise "devastating"
Thursday, 2 July 2009
12:50:22 PM
By Tara Ravens and Julian Drape
NATIONAL, July 2, 2009: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says a national report which has found a worsening in Indigenous child abuse is "devastating".
Aboriginal children are six times as likely to be abused as non-Indigenous Australians, according to the the Productivity Commission's report.
This is an increase on 2003 when they were four times as likely to be abused.
"This report on Indigenous disadvantage is a devastating report," Mr Rudd said outside today's Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Darwin.
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin released the fourth Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report at the start of COAG.
The state and territory leaders are expected to focus their efforts today on developing a national strategy for "closing the gap" and Mr Rudd conceded they faced a massive challenge.
"We have to redouble and treble our efforts to make an impact," he told reporters.
"It is unacceptable and it requires decisive action."
The report, which measures and compares 50 indicators of disadvantage, found there had been no improvement in 80 per cent of the economic and social categories.
Aboriginal people are 13 times more likely to end up in prison while Indigenous victims of domestic violence are hospitalised at a rate 34 times higher than non-Indigenous people.
While the gap between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous workforce has remained steady, there have been no improvements in Indigenous literacy and numeracy.
"It still reveals quite wide gaps in outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians," said Gary Banks who chairs the committee responsible for producing the report.
"It also shows mixed progress in terms of the challenge referred to by the prime minister in terms of closing the gaps."
But Mr Banks said there had been improvements in the key COAG target area of infant mortality.
He said governments also needed to learn from successful programs being generated from within communities, such as the NT's "No school, No pool" approach.
"Many of those things that work are quite unconventional by mainstream policy standards," Mr Banks said.
"They are things that the communities themselves have dreamed up as ways of dealing with problems."
Walking into COAG, NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson sidestepped a question about whether the report indicated the emergency response into Indigenous communities was failing to combat child sex abuse.
The report found the rate of substantiated notifications for child abuse or neglect for Indigenous children had more than doubled since 1999-2000.
"We are determined to close that gap (which) is evidenced by the Productivity Commission report," Mr Henderson said.
Ms Macklin said there had been a historic government underspending in Indigenous housing, education, health and employment.
"We understand that," she said.
"This report really does demonstrate the depth and the extent of the challenge in front of us."
Mr Macklin said the government had recognised it needed to "change the old ways" and work in partnership with Indigenous people. - AAP
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