Australia's treatment of Aborigines 'appalling'

Aborigine boy, Australia © Helen Ross/Survival

UN issues unprecedented criticism; government's stance '30 years out of
date'

As athletes and spectators arrive in Sydney from all over
the world, Survival today condemned Australia's treatment of Aborigines as
'appalling'. Survival's Director General Stephen Corry said, 'The
Australian government seems hell-bent on doing everything it can to deny
Aborigines their internationally-recognised rights, especially their land
rights. Its stance can only be described as racist, and seems like a throwback
to attitudes 30 years ago. Recent government legislation will make it very
difficult for many Aborigines to reclaim land now occupied by huge
ranches.'

Two UN Committees have recently condemned the
Australian government's treatment of its Aboriginal population. Anger amongst
Aborigines has never been as high. Typical of the government's contempt towards
them is its refusal to apologise for previous policies under which tens of
thousands of Aboriginal children were removed from their parents. In contrast,
many other countries such as Canada and Japan have issued apologies for
historical policies that would be unacceptable today. Australia recently became
the first affluent industrialised country to be subject to the UN Committee for
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's early warning procedure.

The
Foreign Minister Mr Alexander Downer's response to UN criticism of mandatory
sentencing laws (which disproportionately affect Aborigines) was that the UN
would 'end up with its nose bloodied' if it continued to
scrutinise Australia's affairs.

The facts are:

• Aboriginal life expectancy is 17 – 20 years less than other Australians.
  
• Aboriginal babies are four times as likely to die at birth as
  non-Aborigines.
  
• Aboriginal people are 17 times more likely to be arrested, 14 times more
  likely to be imprisoned and 16 times more likely to die in custody than
  non-Aborigines.
  
• In Western Australia, Aboriginal women are 41 times more likely to be in
  jail than other women.
  
• There has been a 70% rise in Aboriginal incarceration since 1989.
  
• The suicide rate is 6 times higher for Aborigines than the national average.

• The infant mortality rate for Aborigines is over three times the national
  average.
  
• Unemployment amongst Aborigines is four times the national average.
  

Photos available to the press: for more information contact Miriam
Ross (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or email mr@survival-international.org