How the major parties’ Indigenous health commitments stack up
A look at their promises reveals some signs of hope, but also plenty of room for improvement
Eleven years after Australia adopted the Closing the Gap strategy, many pressing First Nations health issues remain unresolved.
The gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous life expectancy, currently 10.8 years for men and 10.6 years for women, is actually widening.
Similarly, the target to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous child mortality has not been met. The Indigenous rate of 164 deaths per 100,000 children aged 0-4 years is still 2.4 times the non-Indigenous rate of 68 deaths per 100,000 in this age group.
Read more: Indigenous health programs require more than just good ideas
