Economic issues facing Aboriginal communities and possible economic systems

Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples now constitute around 2.5 per cent of the national population (ABS 2006). On average, they fare worse than their non-Indigenous counterparts on a range of economic measures including income, employment and education. These are some of the reasons for targeted policy campaigns such as the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) efforts to 'Close the Gap'. However, average statistics can disguise a great diversity in living circumstances and economic aspirations among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. For example, some Indigenous Australians have very high incomes. Others may have low incomes but be satisfied because they prefer lifestyles that include customary economic activities (like hunting, fishing and collecting bush foods) and reliance on communal, rather than private, economic resources. This article briefly discusses the implications of this diversity for economic analysis. It also summarises how Indigenous Australians fare on some standard measures of economic status.