Wunan has recently completed an analysis of the 2011 Census to ascertain the state of Aboriginal wellbeing in the East Kimberley

4 April 2013

Wunan has recently completed an analysis of the 2011 Census to ascertain the state of Aboriginal wellbeing in the East Kimberley.

After the 2006 Census, Wunan set a goal of reducing welfare dependency in the region’s Aboriginal population from 80% to 20% over 20 years. Over the past five years, this headline figure has improved from 80% to 75%; slow progress given there has been significant new economic activity in the region.

The East Kimberley Aboriginal population has also recorded slow progress in other key areas since 2006:

  • 20 to 24 year olds with a year 12 or equivalent qualification has improved from 22% to 31%
  • 15 to 64 year olds who are employed in a real job has improved from 21% to 26%
  • households with more than two people per bedroom has decreased from 25% to 20%
  • private housing market participation has increased from 14% to 21%.

While these figures provide some comfort, Wunan believes that the pace of improvement is too slow. At these rates, “Closing the Gap” targets for the region would not be met for two decades or more—an unacceptable outcome. This highlights the need to continue, enhance and expand Wunan initiatives such as the Dural education excellence program, Dawn til Dusk employment program, transitional housing and Living Change.

More details on the Census analysis can be found on the Wunan website at https://wunan.org.au/disadvantage.

Topic: Living Change, Wunan