Fed: Lawrence urges support for Aboriginal Children's Day
CANBERRA, Aug 3 AAP - Opposition indigenous affairs spokeswoman Carmen Lawrence todayencouraged people to join celebrations around the country for tomorrow's National Aboriginaland Islander Children's Day.
"The occasion allows us to celebrate the achievements of young Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islanders and to inform the wider community about their culture, language and heritage,"
Dr Lawrence said in a statement.
"It is also an important opportunity to examine and tackle some of the challenges they face."
She said young indigenous people were more likely to leave school early, have lessaccess to pre-school education, and had a significantly lower life expectancy than theirnon-indigenous counterparts.
Indigenous children were six times more likely to be removed from their families dueto higher rates of poverty, intergenerational effects of previous separation from familyand culture, and lack of access for families to support services.
Violence and exposure to substance abuse were also contributors.
"It is time the Howard government acted with a greater sense of purpose and urgencyto address these issues and provided the same opportunities and access to services forindigenous youth as for other young Australians," Dr Lawrence said.
AAP fh/ph/sb
KEYWORD: ABORIGINAL
No comments:
Post a Comment