A NEW report shows taxpayers spent more than $40,000 on every indigenous Australian in a year - more than twice that paid for every non-indigenous person.
The 2010 indigenous expenditure report released today shows that for the year 2008-2009 expenditure “related to” indigenous Australians totalled $21.9 billion, or 5.3 per cent of total general government expenditure.
While expenditure on non-indigenous Australians is estimated at $18,351 per person, expenditure on indigenous Australians per head of population is estimated at $40,228.
The report comes on the back of increasing violence and dysfunction in Alice Springs, with the former indigenous affairs minister in the Howard government, Mal Brough, telling The Weekend Australian the Northern Territory intervention wasn't working or creating lasting social change.
The new report reveals disproportionate funding for indigenous Australians as compared with non-indigenous Australians across a range of categories, and is likely to raise questions about the outcomes that are being achieved for indigenous peoples.
In terms of educational expenditure, $3.3 billion or 5.8 per cent of spending goes towards services related to indigenous Australians. This means, in terms of educational spending, an estimated $2.40 is spent per indigenous person for every one dollar spent per non-indigenous person.
Expenditure on indigenous health services was also estimated at $3.8 billion, or 4.8 per cent of government expenditure in that area. The per capita breakdown again reveals that for every dollar spent on health services for non-indigenous Australians, $1.95 is spent on indigenous Australians.
The cost of employment services for indigenous Australians was estimated to be $4.4 billion, representing about 4.3 per cent of government expenditure in that area.
In this category, the report estimates that for each indigenous person $8062 is spent on economic participation services as compared to $4578 per non-indigenous person.
And the discrepancy is replicated in expenditure on housing services, with the report finding that $4246 is spent for each indigenous Australian as compared to $1781 for non-indigenous Australians.
The report is the first of its kind and was agreed to by the Council of Australian Governments to assist policy makers in reducing disadvantage for indigenous Australians.
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