Australia struggling to improve Indigenous livelihoods, government report shows

By Renju Jose

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia is struggling to improve the lives of the country's Indigenous population, with only five of 19 measures on course to meet targets, showed a government report released on Wednesday.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 3.6% of Australia's population of about 27 million but they track near the bottom in almost every economic and social indicator, and have disproportionately high rates of suicide and incarceration.

The government's annual "Closing the Gap" report - the first since Australians last year rejected a motion to recognise the Indigenous population in the constitution - showed a rise in imprisonment and suicide and the number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said governments at all levels had not "done good enough in the past" to improve the lives of the Indigenous people.

"We're committed to making a difference. The challenges are there. You can't resolve intergenerational inequity overnight but what you can do is be committed to making a difference," Albanese said during a media briefing on Thursday.

Australia has struggled for decades to reconcile with its Indigenous population. Their ancestors arrived on the continent some 50,000 years before British colonists yet were marginalised during colonial rule and are not mentioned in Australia's 123-year-old constitution.

A referendum in 2023 to alter the constitution to create an Indigenous advisory body in Parliament was rejected by 60% of voters who disagreed the advisory body was the right solution.

The report by the Productivity Commission said the Indigenous population's life expectancy had improved but may not close the gap with the non-Indigenous group by 2031 as targeted.

Babies born with a healthy weight, children enrolled in preschool, employment and land and sea rights are improving at rates required to meet targets.

The report highlighted the lack of data to check some metrics and said those gaps affected its assessment.

"There is still much we do not know. For example, we still do not have a reliable source of data to assess whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have access to clean drinking water, sewerage treatment and electricity," Commissioner Selwyn Button said.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing)