The new Federal Government has identified as one of its priorities a 'closing of the gaps' in social and economic outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians with specific reference made to health/life expectancy, education participation and attainment, housing and employment. Previous CAEPR research has shown that the structural circumstances facing Indigenous populations are increasingly diverse and locationally dispersed and that this leads to variable constraints and opportunities for social and economic participation. In light of the renewed emphasis on targets in Indigenous public policy there is a need to update this spatial analysis and explore the extent to which prospects for the achievement of parity continue to be influenced by location.

As part of a new research project at CAEPR sponsored by the Ministerial Council on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (MCATSIA) and aimed at maximising the use of recently-available 2006 Census data, this paper presents the preliminary findings of a regional analysis of recent change in Indigenous population and social indicators between 2001 and 2006. In doing so, three interrelated questions are addressed. First, how does the scale and nature of gaps in key social indicators vary spatially? Second, how do trends in these vary in an absolute and relative sense? Finally, given the methodological issues involved, how meaningful are measures of relative outcomes at a regional or national level and is it possible to accurately assess changes through time in these outcomes?

Go to CAEPR Indigenous Population project page

Please note: This seminar is available in both Streaming Audio and MP3 formats.