The founding director of Australia's leading centre for Aboriginal economic policy research is stepping aside, 20 years after the centre was created.

Professor Jon Altman is moving on from his role as Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) at The Australian National University tomorrow. Current Deputy Director of CAEPR, Professor John Taylor, will be the new head.

A prominent commentator on Indigenous policy in Australia, Professor Altman said he was looking forward to spending more time focusing on his research at ANU on remote development and natural resource management as part of an ARC Discovery project on the 'hybrid' economy and a Sidney Myer Fund project called People on Country.

"It's been wonderful working with the researchers here at CAEPR for the last 20 years," said Professor Altman, who founded the centre in 1990 with funding from the Federal Government.

"Over the last two decades CAEPR has led change in the way we talk about Indigenous affairs in this country, bringing far more statistical rigour to measuring and monitoring wellbeing, disadvantage and marginality, explaining their causes and making policy proposals for beneficial change."

Professor Altman said he was proud of the work that CAEPR has done to date, which includes working closely with Indigenous communities and organisations, boosting the demographic study of Indigenous Australia, raising awareness about the environmental and cultural values of the Indigenous estate for the nation, as well as exploring issues like Indigenous governance and lifelong learning.

He said one of the greatest achievements of CAEPR has been its role in providing rich information about Indigenous development to all Australians, including approximately 1,000 publications available online, with over one million document downloads recently recorded annually from the Centre's website.

The incoming CAEPR Director, Professor John Taylor, said he was looking forward to leading the centre in the next phase of its history. Professor Taylor has been working at CAEPR since 1991, where his work has focussed on the measurement of demographic change among Indigenous peoples and assessment of their economic status.

Professor Altman will continue as an ARC Australian Professorial Fellow at ANU.

A media release from The Australian National University, 1 April 2010. 

Media assistance: Simon Couper 02 6125 4171, 0416 249 241