Ideas@TheCentre
Aboriginal men need jobs, not more programs
A new Australian Medical Association (AMA) report says a lack of purpose in Aboriginal men’s lives has had a profound impact on their health and well-being—not to mention the lives of their women and children. This finding is far from surprising. You don’t need to be a brain surgeon to work out that sitting around doing nothing leads to despondency and despair.
The statistics paint a bleak picture. Aboriginal men are twice as likely to be hospitalised for mental health and three times more likely to commit suicide than other Australian males.
Somewhat predictably, AMA wants more money for programs that address violent behaviour and self harm. But such programs are only band-aid solutions and do not go to the heart of the issue.
The unspoken word behind AMA’s ‘sense of purpose’ is employment.
In 80% of all Indigenous homicides, neither the victim nor the perpetrator was employed, and alcohol was involved in nearly half of these cases.
A recent study found that 70% of residents in remote communities in East Arnhem Land use cannabis, with almost 90% of users claiming to be addicted and smoking more than six cones a day. Senior Arnhem Land elder Bakamumu Marika says the high rate of cannabis use is because people are bored stiff: ‘They've got no work to do, no training, no jobs.’
Although it may be easy to identify the causes and consequences of Aboriginal men’s problems, solving them is more complicated. Many men are too dependent on alcohol and drugs to be employable, whilst separatist schooling has left many lacking the basic literacy and numeracy needed for employment.
Before we throw up our hands in despair, it is worth reflecting on Noel Pearson’s words of hope in the latest Quarterly Essay titled ‘Radical Hope’: ‘The truth is that I am prone to bouts of doubt and sadness ... But I have hope. Our hope is dependent upon education. Our hope depends on how serious we become about the education of our people.’
Sara Hudson is a Policy Analyst with the Indigenous Affairs Research Program at The Centre for Independent Studies.
