Contemporary Issues
The Indigenous Australian population is a mostly urbanised demographic, but a substantial number (27% as of 2002) live in remote settlements often located on the site of former church missions. The health and economic difficulties facing both groups are substantial. Both the remote and urban populations have adverse ratings on a number of social indicators, including health, education, unemployment, poverty and crime.
In 2004, Prime Minister John Howard initiated contracts with Aboriginal communities, where substantial financial benefits are available in return for commitments such as ensuring children attend school. These contracts are known as Shared Responsibility Agreements. This saw a political shift from 'self determination' for Aboriginal communities to 'mutual obligation', which has been criticised as a "paternalistic and dictatorial arrangement".
Read more about this topic: Indigenous Australians
Famous quotes containing the words contemporary and/or issues:
“The contemporary thing in art and literature is the thing which doesn’t make enough difference to the people of that generation so that they can accept it or reject it.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“Cynicism formulates issues clearly, but only to dismiss them.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)