Failed Education Policies Increase Indigenous Imprisonment Rates
22 June 2001
The failure of the Howard Government to provide adequate education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders has contributed to an increase in imprisonment and deaths in custody, a Senate Inquiry has been told today.
The National Tertiary Education Union\'s (NTEU) submission on Indigenous Education was presented to the Senate Inquiry into Higher Education today, amid heavy criticism of cuts to Indigenous Education programs.
Associate Professor Tracey Bunda, on behalf of the NTEU Indigenous Tertiary Education Policy Committee, said that the Commonwealth Government had ignored warnings that cuts to programs like ABSTUDY would have a disastrous effect on participation, and that participation is now in decline.
\"Research undertaken by Deakin University concluded that the changes to ABSTUDY, introduced in January 2000, would significantly disadvantage the vast majority of Indigenous students. We now know that in the year 2000, enrolment of Indigenous students dropped by a staggering 15.2%. This Government doesn\'t seem to care about educating the next generation of Indigenous leaders, and we are in danger of seeing Indigenous Education fall into an abyss.\" Associate Professor Bunda claimed.
Mr Joel Wright, NTEU Indigenous Officer, said that since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody ten years ago, the Indigenous prison population had doubled to 19,096; more than double the number of Indigenous students in higher education.
\"By substantially decreasing Indigenous access to higher education, the Government\'s policies have in my view contributed to the increase in Indigenous imprisonment and deaths. And I raise the question, \'How much of this increase is attributable to Indigenous people falling through the gaps within the Government\'s education and employment programs?\'\" Mr Wright said.
The NTEU has called on a restoration of ABSTUDY benefits, and the creation of an additional 2,559 places for Indigenous students in universities, to increase participation to reflect population share.
Note - NTEU\'s submission to the Inquiry can be downloaded from the web at: http://www.nteu.org.au/debates/senateindig01.pdf.