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Plight of Australia's natives 'worsening' despite govt. pledges

Thursday, 17 November 2016 6:55 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 17 November 2016 6:57 PM ]

The file photo shows an anti-government protest by a group of Australian aboriginals.

Australian government measures have led to a soar in suicide and incarceration rates among the aboriginals despite Canberra's pledges to address the sufferings of the native population.

An official report by the parliament’s Education and Health Standing Committee published on Thursday slammed a lack of research into whether government policies were effectively addressing the issues facing the aboriginal community.

The government-backed Productivity Commission report said that violence among aboriginal families and hospitalizations for self-harm “have stagnated or worsened” in recent years.

Aboriginal children and young people represent 28 percent of all recorded suicides of this age group, according to the report.

"Alarmingly the national imprisonment rate has increased 77 percent over the last 15 years, and hospitalization rates for self-harm have increased by 56 percent over the last decade,” the commission’s head, Peter Harris, said in a statement.

The aborigines lived in Australia prior to European colonization and currently make up about 3 percent of the country’s population. They are the most downtrodden people in society.

They suffer from poor health, illiteracy, unemployment and subsequently lower life expectancy.

Deputy chief Karen Chester said the report should serve as a wake-up call for Canberra to make sure indigenous Australians are not being denied their rights.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (Photo by AFP)

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull admitted earlier this year that Australia’s native people have “suffered so much over so long.”

“Reconciling the nation with that history and righting those wrongs and settling that injustice is an objective and obligation of every Australian but especially of every prime minister,” he said.

Rights group Amnesty International has criticized the Australian government for what it describes as racially discriminatory policies toward the aboriginals that cause disadvantage for the group.

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