Indigenous Australians and the socioeconomic status of urban neighbourhoods

Abstract

This discussion paper presents an analysis of where Indigenous people live in Australian cities. The paper is motivated by the possible impact of the recent increases in the number of distressed urban areas on the Indigenous population. The urban Indigenous population are found to be concentrated in the low socioeconomic urban neighbourhoods which have borne the brunt of economic structural change in the past 20 years. Furthermore, the Indigenous population are residentally segregated from other Australians throughout major Australian cities. The generally low level of employment demand in locationally disadvantaged low socioeconomic status areas combine with poor access to public transport to reinforce the poor employment outcomes of the urban Indigenous population. The paper concludes that, in order to improve the lot of Indigenous Australians resident in low socioeconomic status areas, the appropriate mix of policies should address area-specific problems endemic in such areas as well as attempt to improve the macroeconomic employment performance of the Australian economy as a whole.