Focus Study - SVR

Question 1

Education exclusion

• Enrolment early education
• Attendance rate

Answer 1

Data - DET, 2017
In 2017 around 95% of Indigenous four-year-olds were enrolled in early childhood education, yet among these, only 68% attended preschool for the recommended hours per year

In Semester 1, 2018, the attendance rate for Indigenous Australian students was 82%, compared with 93% for non-Indigenous Australian students

Question 2

Education exclusion ATSI people
- Teachers
- Example of ATSI teacher

Answer 2

Data - Creative Spirits, 2020
In 2015 only 1 in 100 teachers were Aboriginal

Rachel Bos, a Kaurna woman and teacher, recalls a male Year 12 student:
“his personal experience as an Aboriginal young man was a powerful perspective”

Question 3

Education Inclusion: Murri School

Answer 3

Brisbane

The Murri School focuses on practicalities such as buses to get children to school and using a holistic approach that gives families empowerment in school decision making

It has around 208 students ranging from Prep to Year 12

Provides close connection to health services: employs a family support worker, speech pathologist and a number of psychologists and counsellors

Question 4

Education Inclusion: Language

Answer 4

Western Australia: 68 schools

South Australia: 63 schools

“It makes me want to come to school” - YEAR 6 child

Over 95% in attendance

The school principle says reduction in vandalism since the consultation began with 350 break-ins in 2013 down to just one last year

Question 5

Employment Exclusion: Employment rate

Answer 5

2018 Indigenous employment rate was around 49 per cent compared to around 75 per cent for non-Indigenous Australians.

Question 6

Exclusion: Barriers to Employment
- Education
- Health

Answer 6

Data - Closing the Gap, 2020
Lliteracy, numeracy and digital problem-solving skills
2021:
- Year 9:
- 91% Non-ATSI and 66% ATSI

Major chronic diseases and fair/poor self-assessed health status have a strong negative relationship with participation in the labour force

Question 7

Employment Inclusion: Targeted Recruitment

Answer 7

In 2015 - Australian Human Rights Commission
- reserving certain positions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants guaranteed interview schemes
- engaging an Indigenous Recruitment Service to hire trainees, graduates and fill other roles

Question 8

Employment Inclusion: Indigenous Rangers

Answer 8

Work to protect native plants and animals, control feral animals and invasive weeds, reduce dangerous wildfires

June 2018, the program supports 118 ranger groups and funds over 831 full-time equivalent jobs

Retention rate 94%

“This is my favourite job and I always work hard to protect our country and help my community.” - Fabian Gaykamangu, Crocodile Islands ranger

Question 9

Health care exclusion ATSI
Smoke rate
First-time mothers
Life expectancy

Answer 9

⅖ smoke whilst pregnant
In 2016, the average age of first time mothers in Australia was 30-34, compared to 26 for Aboriginal peoples.

2015-2017
73.6 = ATSI
81.3 = Non-ATSI

Question 10

Health care exclusion: Burden of Disease
Leading cause of total disease burden

Answer 10

2.3x the rate of non-Indigenous
- Chronic diseases caused 64% of the total disease burden among Indigenous Australians.

Question 11

Health care Exclusion: Disability
Restriction of activities
Access to doctors

Answer 11

Data - ABS, 2019
In 2018–19, an estimated 27% reporting a core activity limitation or schooling/employment restriction

12.3% of Indigenous Australians living in remote areas reported that they have difficulty accessing doctors, compared with 8.6% of Indigenous Australians in non-remote areas.

Question 12

Inclusion: Culturally Safe Health Care

The … describes a vision for the Australian health system that is …

The Cultural Respect Framework defines cultural safety as…

Answer 12

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013–23

Culturally safe, free of racism and inequality and one where ATSI people have access to health services that are effective, high-quality, appropriate and affordable.

‘not [being] defined by the health professional, but is defined by the health consumer’s experience.’

Question 13

Improvements in health care
- Increase of Indigenous medical practitioners

Answer 13

360 Indigenous medical practitioners were employed in Australia in 2017—an increase from 230 in 2013

Question 14

Health care - Patient experience
- Doctor’s attitude

Answer 14

91% of Indigenous adults in non-remote areas who consulted a doctor in the previous 12 months reported their doctor always/usually showed respect for what was said (in 2018–19) (AIHW analysis)

Question 15

Technology exclusion ATSI people
- STEM subject
- Computer, internet connection

Answer 15

43% of ATSI children graduate high school with one STEM subject.

6% of residents have a computer and 2% have an internet connection. Mobile phone use is 43% in remote communities
- Lower than the national average

Question 16

Technology + Health care Exclusion
- COVID-19
- Examples of the lack of understanding and information

Answer 16

COVID-19 lockdowns
- Parents had to book in to obtain paperwork from the school which created yet another access barrier

Real-time pandemic response communications via the Australian government WhatsApp channel, the Coronavirus Australia app and the COVIDSafe app.

Question 17

Technology + Housing Exclusion: COVID-19
- Example of ATSI response
- Limited access to online service –> essentials

Answer 17

Without access to real-time infection data, communities headed to bush to isolate

No access to essential goods and services online, some remote communities, difficult in COVID restrictions.
- Community in Queensland prevented from fishing for food and leaving to buy essential items under coronavirus restrictions that it later protested as ‘discriminatory’.

Question 18

Technology Exclusion: Social Media and Identity
- Selective post
- Individual experience

Answer 18

52% of survey respondents indicated they had been intentionally selective with what they post on social network sites regarding their identity. Reasons for this:
- Negative reactions that Indigeneity
- Experienced of abuse or discrimination online.
- Stereotypical ideas of Indigeneity, particularly around skin colour

‘Apparently, I’m not black enough for some.’ (female, 45–54, Awabakal, survey)

Question 19

Technology Inclusion: Culture and Social Media
- Good platform to learn
- Kindship

Answer 19

71% survey respondents agreed that social media offered a good platform for learning about and engaging in cultural practices

Sharing photos and stories and messages, deceased kin were ‘kept alive’, as one explained: “we upload photos of them on their [Facebook] pages, if we can’t be there, we’ll write on their pages. That’s a good thing” (male, 20).

Question 20

Technology exclusion: Cyber safety
- Discovery regarding changing technology
- Statistics of ATSI people

Answer 20

The Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety found rapidly changing technology and lower levels of digital literacy amongst older Indigenous Australians makes it harder for Elders and community leaders to respond to cyber-safety issues and to develop and implement culturally appropriate strategies.

ATSI people
* are 2x as likely to experience image-based abuse as non-Indigenous Australians

Question 21

Technology + Education exclusion: Telstra case
- Stats of the range of debts = customers

Answer 21

Telstra fined $50 million

Sales staff at the 5 stores engaged in “exploitative” practices between January 2016 and August 2018

The sales conduct included:
- Signing up single customers to multiple plans in one day
- Creating a false impression that customers would get devices for “free”
- The customers then racked up huge debts, ranging from $1,600 to $19,524

Question 22

Technology inclusion: Social Media and Community
- Social network sites to connect with family and/or friends
- Quote: Negative

Answer 22

94% had used social network sites to connect:

‘Being indigenous is about community contact face-to-face’ (45–54, Sydney, survey).

Question 23

Technology inclusion:
- About the project
- Stats on enrolment
- Improvement of educational outcome

Answer 23

Indigenous STEM Education Project

6-year project funded by BHP Foundation

2015, 22, 000 ATSI students, 2,000 teachers and 200 schools across remote, rural and urban.

66% of ATSI students achieved an A, B or C grade after participating in the inquiry provided by the Inquiry for Indigenous Science Students program.

Question 24

Technology inclusion: (ASSETS)
- Stats on how many intend to study a STEM in uni
- Good understanding of STEM careers

Answer 24

Aboriginal Summer School for Excellence in Technology and Science

79% intend to study a STEM field at university (up from 58% before the summer school)

100% have a good understanding of STEM careers (up from 64% before the summer school)

Question 25

Justice system overview
- Cause of ATSI custody

Answer 25

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody 1991 report found that disadvantage in areas such as health, housing, education, employment and income were closely linked to the disproportionate number of ATSI peoples in custody.

Question 26

Justice System Exclusion
- Men, women, youth
- Causes of arrests

Answer 26

Men 11x more likely
Women 15x more likely
Youth 25x more likely

Public drunkenness

Historical injustice

Racial profiling

Question 27

Justice System exclusion: Reoffending

Answer 27

In Western Australia, 70% of adult Aboriginal males reoffend.

Question 28

Justice System Inclusion:
- About the program
- Funding

Answer 28

Custody Notification Service
CNS

An initiative run by the Aboriginal Legal Service provides 24-hour legal advice and an R U OK phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people taken into police custody.

Investing $1 million to support the delivery of the CNS in 2019-20

Question 29

Justice System Inclusion: Circle sentencing
- Number operating
- Stats regarding the rate of reoffending

Answer 29

Bureau of criminal statistics

Operates in 12 courts in New South Wales

4% less likely to re-offend within 12 months, and in cases in which they did re-offend, it took an average of 55 days longer to do so.

Question 30

Life chances theorist + vital social resources

Answer 30

Max Weber

Weber identified that one’s opportunities in life are shaped by social class and status.

Social class and status position strongly affect one’s ability to access vital social resources, such as:
health care, food, clothing, housing

Question 31

The Long History of Racism in Media
- How they have been portrayed in the media

Answer 31

Negatively portrayed in films since the silent era
- Fictional film, dramas, and feature films portrayed ATSI as threatening, primitive and inferior to the white settlers.

Question 32

Stereotyping Indigenous in Media
- Racist computer games examples + STATS

Answer 32

Racist computer games with titles such as N**r Hunt, and Shoot the Blacks.
- Approximately 20 racist computer games advertised or distributed via the Internet, most of which are marketed by American racist sites.

Question 33

Adam Goodes
- War dance perception
- Documentary Utopia

Answer 33

Dermott Brereton disapproved. “it actually signifies ‘I want to be violent against you’”

Goodes used his platform as Australian of the Year in 2014 to declare John Pilger’s harrowing documentary Utopia had made him “ashamed to be Australian”.

Question 34

AFL Aboriginal people statistics
- Perceptions

Answer 34

ATSI communities make up (10% of players are Indigenous, compared to 2% of the population).

Indigenous Australian footballers have been portrayed as possessing “innate” ability or being “born to play” sport.

Question 35

Uluru Statement from the Heart AIM

Answer 35

Aims to achieve constitutional recognition for ATSI

Have a voice to parliament and a representative body that informs the laws and policies affecting them.

3 key aims; constitutional change, legislative change and the makarrata (truth telling) commission.

Voice, Treaty, Truth.

Question 36

Uluru Statement from the Heart STRENGTH

Answer 36

Promotes access to all socially valued resources and is an opportunity to dramatically increase the life chances of Aboriginal persons.

Question 37

Uluru Statement from the Heart WEAKNESS

Answer 37

Uluru Statement from the Heart has been significantly delayed in its endeavours.

Due to consecutive governments dismissing its value or being uncertain about the consequences of its implementation.

Supported by the community and is funded through donations.

Question 38

… AIM AND NUMBER OF SCHOOL
- SPORTS

Answer 38

National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy

Improve school attendance and performance
Develop specific career pathways and work-ready skills
Strengthen cultural pride and Identity
Build life skills, personal development and long-term resilience.

Work in 29 schools across NSW, and the NT.

Question 39

National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy STRENGTHS
- Student morale
- Health
- Education

Answer 39

100% of remote students are more likely to attend school

Regular physical activity directly prevents issues such as obesity and depression as well as many others.

Promotes:
- Preventing future incarceration,
- Opening doors to meaningful employment or further education,
- Creating environments that encourage a healthy wellbeing and cultural esteem.