Child abuse rampant among Aborigines, report finds

Jul 2, 2009, 7:54 GMT

   Sydney - Aboriginal children are almost six times more likely to be abused as other young Australians, a government report said Thursday.

   Worse still, child abuse is more prevalent now than in 2003 when the equivalent rate was four times.

   The Productivity Commission report, which is compiled every two years, showed no change in 40 of the 50 indicators of disadvantage.

   'This report on indigenous disadvantage is a devastating report,' Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said.

   The 500,000 people in Australia's population of 21 million who describe themselves as Aboriginal are hospitalized as a result of domestic violence at a rate 34 times higher than other Australians, the report said.

   The murder rate is seven times higher and the incarceration rate 13 times higher. In fact, the rate of imprisonment has increased since 2000 by 46 per cent for indigenous men and 27 per cent for indigenous women.

   No improvement was recorded in reading and writing with two-thirds of indigenous children failing to finish high school.

   'The fact that despite all the efforts in the past, when it comes to such basic things as literacy and numeracy standards, that we have achieved no effective progress, means that we have to redouble and treble our efforts to make an impact,' Rudd said when releasing the report in the Northern Territory city of Darwin.

   Opposition Liberal Party spokesman on indigenous affairs Tony Abbott said the report reflected badly on both state and federal governments and across the political spectrum.

   'But the essential problem here is the doctrine of exceptionalism, which has been far too prevalent for far too long,' Abbott said. 'I think what we really need to do is to try and ensure that the same reasonable expectations are adhered to in respect of Aboriginal communities as applied to the general Australian population - and we could start by trying to ensure that 100 per cent of Aboriginal kids are enrolled at school.'