Social Justice In Australia

3139 Words13 Pages
What are the key issues in achieving social justice for Aboriginal people in Australia? “There is a strong and inescapable link between social justice for Indigenous peoples and the goal of reconciliation between indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians” [1] Indigenous people struggle to achieve access and equity in Australian society and they lack both ideological and economic bases of power. This essay outlines the concept of social justice and explores the key issues and problems in achieving social justice for Aboriginal people in Australia. Through statistics it becomes clear the lack of social justice for the Indigenous people and the plight that they are suffering in contemporary society. These problems are then addressed through…show more content…
The 2001 Census statistics revealed that for people eighteen years or over “49.9 per cent of non-Indigenous Australians had no non-school qualification compared with 71 per cent of Indigenous Australians.” [7] This depicts the situation of Indigenous persons and the difficulties for this group to have successful results in society due to difficulties of income, access and equity within Australia. 2.7 Housing and Homelessness The type of lifestyle that the Indigenous people are able to afford differs dramatically from the non-Indigenous people, and impacts extensively on the type of lifestyle that this group is able to lead. The Census 2001 statistics showed that “the residents of households with Indigenous person(s) were much more likely to be renting than purchasing a home than owning a home outright.” [8] Furthermore the houses were much more likely to be overcrowded with “an average of 3.5 persons in households with Indigenous people, compared with 2.6 persons in other households.” [9] These statistics show the inequality in yet another element of Australia society, which is related to…show more content…
Indigenous peoples need the opportunity to be included in the political process. This includes establishing a “genuine and productive partnership with indigenous peoples through representative bodies at local, regional, state and national levels.” [13] This will give Indigenous people power in the decision making process and the planning process within the community, and creates the need for government at all levels to cooperate and negotiate with Indigenous peoples. Furthermore it will allow the “policies and programs implemented in Australia to have the flexibility to enable them to be tailored to address more effectively the varying local circumstances and priorities of indigenous communities and groups.”
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