Policy Challenges of the Contemporary Socio‐economic Status of Indigenous Australian Families

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis o/the economic status 0/indigenous families relati\'e to other Australian/am flies. An innovative combination ofeconomic ana1.l'Sis ofcurrent census data and ethnographic research is used in the papel: and reveals that indigenous/amities are experiencing substantial and multipleforms ofeconomic burden in comparison to other Australian families. and display sign!ficantly different characteristics, They are more likely to be sole po rent/am ilies and have on average, a larger numbCl' of children and larger households. The adults are .voungeJ~have lower levels of educatiOIl and are less likely to be in employment than other Austra fians , The poor economic position ofindigenous sole parents is highlighted, and the economic role o/the aged, mam/ocalfamilies, young adults and children are cOl1Slsdered. The paper concludes h.)' examining the important poliC\' and program implications raised h.)' the research, and argues the need/or an increased/ocus 011 the particular socio-economic and locational circumstances ofindigenous families. 356 Aus!ralwn Journal 01 Sucial JSSW:.I II)!. 31 :Vo, 4 -,V(il'en/her J')')6 behaviours and values. A major limitation is that the research is invariably focused at the local level, making comparison across communities, regions or States difficult, if not impossible. Ethnographic research reveals significant cultural diversity within the Aboriginal population in tenns of their kinship structures, key aspects of social and economic organisation; with distinctive local identities and cultural priorities being emphasised. In 1991, Aboriginal Australians numbered 238,576, constituting 1.6 per cent of the total Australian population The Aboriginal population is relatively remote in geographic terms -close to one-third live in rural localities of less than 1,000 persons. But it is also extremely dispersed: Aboriginal families reside at a wide variety of localities, from remote settlements, outstations and pastoral excisions, to rural towns, old mission stations and city suburbs. Not surprisingly, family circumstances and types vary significantly across these locations. At the same time, there are important continuities that create an Aboriginal commonality across Australia (Sansom 1982). This sharedAboriginal identity is based, amongst other things, on the continuing significance of kinship ties and the prominent ethic of demand sharing, common socialisation practices, the continuing use by some ofAboriginal languages and by others of distinctive fonns ofAboriginal English, and by patterns of mobility within extended social nehvorks. Also common is the focus on a land-based identity grounded within a religious framework and Common residential histories (see Becket! 1988; Keen 1988;Langton 1982).Family -that is, the elementary structure of mother, father and their children -is a central ordering principle within Aboriginal society. It lies at the heart of Aboriginal social and economic organisation and of ceremonial life. But the nuclear family is not necessarily th...

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