Assessing the Evidence on Indigenous Socioeconomic Outcomes

Foreword......Page 11
Preface......Page 13
Acknowledgements......Page 19
Abbreviations and acronyms......Page 21
The watershed years......Page 25
Statistics for protection and assimilation......Page 27
The crisis of the protection/assimilation model......Page 28
Some features in the new archive......Page 32
2. Statistical needs in Indigenous affairs: the role of the 2002 NATSISS......Page 35
A brief history of the 1994 NATSIS and the 2002 NATSISS......Page 36
The 2002 NATSISS in the overall statistical framework......Page 40
NATSISS and Indigenous policy and practice......Page 42
Conclusion......Page 44
ABS statistical activity......Page 47
The 2002 NATSISS......Page 48
Sample design......Page 49
Scope......Page 51
Content......Page 52
Statistics for policy......Page 53
4. Selected methodological issues for analysis of the 2002 NATSISS......Page 55
Scope of the survey......Page 56
Sample selection and survey design......Page 57
Questionnaire design and output......Page 59
Interviewing techniques......Page 62
Sampling and non-sampling issues......Page 63
Sampling error......Page 64
Benchmarking 2002 NATSISS data against population estimates in the 2001 Census......Page 65
Non-sampling errors......Page 69
Possible non-sampling issues for selected variables in 2002 NATSISS......Page 72
ABS publications using the 2002 NATSISS......Page 75
The 2002 NATSISS CURF......Page 77
Concluding remarks......Page 80
5. Differentials and determinants of Indigenous population mobility......Page 81
Background: survey development and questions......Page 82
The scale and age pattern of mobility......Page 83
Differentials and determinants of mobility......Page 84
Reasons for movement......Page 89
Conclusion......Page 90
6. Aboriginalchild mortality in Australia: Recent levels and covariates......Page 93
Data quality issues......Page 94
Mortality estimates......Page 96
Covariates of child mortality......Page 98
Concluding remarks......Page 101
7. Understanding housing outcomes for Indigenous Australians: what can the 2002 NATSISS add?......Page 103
Housing tenure profiles and household size by remoteness......Page 104
Affordability and adequacy issues by tenure and remoteness......Page 107
Comparisons with non-Indigenous Australians and over time......Page 112
Conclusion......Page 113
8. Revisiting the poverty war: income status and financial stress among Indigenous Australians......Page 115
Poverty wars and the ABS low income category......Page 117
Revisiting Indigenous income status and poverty......Page 118
Income status and financial stress......Page 119
A brief digression on validating the top-coding assumptions when using grouped income data for Indigenous people......Page 123
Indigenous and other Australian poverty in 2002......Page 124
Concluding remarks......Page 126
9. Family and community life......Page 127
Why study family and community?......Page 128
Household and family type......Page 129
Removal from natural family......Page 130
Stressors experienced......Page 132
Two illustrations of the value of the 2002 NATSISS data......Page 134
Child care......Page 135
Removal from natural family......Page 137
Concluding comments......Page 138
10. Labour market issues......Page 139
Strengths of the 2002 NATSISS......Page 140
An illustration of new information available from the 2002 NATSISS......Page 143
A limitation of the survey......Page 145
Concluding comments......Page 148
Employment and the hard policy choices......Page 151
Employment......Page 152
Demand and supply......Page 154
Welfare reforms (the supply side of the labour market)......Page 155
CDEP......Page 157
Program evaluation......Page 158
Concluding comments......Page 161
12. The real ‘real’ economy in remote Australia......Page 163
A brief overview of the customary sector and the hybrid economy model......Page 165
Fishing or hunting in a group......Page 167
Participation in, and payment for, cultural activities......Page 169
Ability to meet cultural responsibilities while in employment......Page 170
Coverage of Indigenous population and key customary sector activities......Page 172
Seasonality......Page 173
Recommendations for NATSISS 2008......Page 174
Conclusion......Page 176
Larissa Behrendt......Page 177
Geoff Scott......Page 181
Tom Calma......Page 185
Jon Altman......Page 190
Paul Howarth......Page 191
Peter Radoll......Page 192
Larissa Behrendt......Page 193
1994 NATSIS and 2002 NATSISS: what has been lost and gained?......Page 195
2002 NATSISS: an overview of findings about education and training......Page 197
NATSISS, education and training beyond 2002: is it worth the trouble?......Page 203
15. Indigenous Australians and transport—what can the NATSISS tell us?......Page 207
Remote area ethnography of transport......Page 209
Does having access to a vehicle mean being able to drive it, if you want to?......Page 212
Equity and access to vehicles......Page 213
Forms of transport and questions of availability......Page 215
Diversity of transport......Page 216
Perceived level of difficulty with transport......Page 217
Suggestions for re-phrasing and re-sequencing the questions......Page 218
Conclusion......Page 219
Usefulness of the data......Page 221
Australia’s digital divide......Page 222
Income......Page 223
Education......Page 224
Location......Page 226
Purpose......Page 227
Other inhibitors of ICT use......Page 228
Employment......Page 229
Age......Page 230
Health status......Page 231
Justice system......Page 232
Telephone status......Page 233
Accessing money......Page 234
Conclusion......Page 235
17. Health......Page 237
What information was asked?......Page 238
What information should have been asked......Page 239
Issues with the way the information was collected......Page 240
Analysis of the 2002 NATSISS data......Page 241
Summary health indicators, Indigenous Australia, 2002......Page 242
Selected disability characteristics by remoteness, Indigenous Australia, 2002......Page 243
Health variables by quintile of weekly equivalised gross household income, Indigenous Australia, 2002......Page 244
Health indicators by age and gender, Indigenous Australia, 2002......Page 245
Comparing health indicators, Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia, 2002......Page 246
Indigenous health, Australia, 1994 and 2002......Page 247
Health characteristics by non-school qualification and highest year of school completed, Indigenous Australia, 2002......Page 249
Health characteristics by labour force status, Indigenous Australia, 2002......Page 250
Disability status and self-assessed health status by age......Page 251
Concluding remarks......Page 252
18. Substance use in the 2002 NATSISS......Page 255
Selecting a representative sample......Page 256
Illicit drug use......Page 257
Estimates of Indigenous drug use from the 2002 NATSISS......Page 258
1994 NATSIS......Page 262
The 2001 NHS......Page 263
1994 NDSHS Urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Supplement......Page 264
What can be said about the results of the 2002 NATSISS?......Page 266
Insufficient data on drinking patterns......Page 267
Insensitivity to geographical and cultural diversity......Page 268
Limited corroboration with other sources of information......Page 269
Conclusions......Page 270
19. Crime and justice issues......Page 273
Diversity in existing crime data collections......Page 275
Crime, safety, and ‘justice’ questions in omnibus Australian surveys......Page 278
Socioeconomic factors underlying Indigenous arrest......Page 281
Broad trends in crime and justice between 1994 and 2002......Page 282
Describing selected crime and justice issues in 2002......Page 283
Concluding remarks......Page 289
20. Culture......Page 293
Changes to survey questions......Page 295
Findings on cultural participation/involvement in social activities......Page 296
Cultural identification......Page 298
Cultural and family responsibilities......Page 299
Conclusion......Page 300
The language questions in 2002 NATSISS......Page 303
Is there a future for Indigenous languages?......Page 306
Level of schooling......Page 310
Labour force status......Page 311
Conclusion......Page 313
22. Torres Strait Islanders and the national survey model......Page 315
The 1996 post-NATSIS workshop and publication......Page 318
Some results from 2002 NATSISS......Page 319
Conclusion......Page 321
23. Social justice and human rights: using Indigenous socioeconomic data in policy development......Page 323
Recent international developments—the human rights context......Page 324
A human rights approach to assessing Indigenous socioeconomic outcomes......Page 326
Recent developments in Indigenous policy in Australia......Page 329
Implications for data collection and research......Page 330
So the 3.1 billion dollar question is: how will we know whether the new arrangements are delivering improved outcomes or not?......Page 331
Conclusion......Page 334
24. Influencing Indigenous policy making with statistics......Page 335
References......Page 345
Notes on Contributors......Page 0