Indigenous Socioeconomic Outcomes: Assessing Recent Evidence

A CAEPR Conference, The Australian National University, Canberra, August 11-12, 2005

Note: The outcomes of this conference were published as CAEPR Research Monograph 26, Assessing the evidence on Indigenous socioeconomic outcomes: A focus on the 2002 NATSISS, edited by Boyd Hunter.

The Conference

The Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research is pleased to announce Indigenous Socioeconomic Outcomes: Assessing Recent Evidence, a multidisciplinary conference to be held at The Australian National University in Canberra over two days—Thursday 11 and Friday 12 August 2005.

The aim of the conference is to present the latest evidence on Indigenous economic status, social status, and family and community life in Australia and to discuss the implications of such data for government policy. The conference will provide information which will be of great value to policy makers and researchers, and will assist them in making the best use of the results of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics Census and social surveys, in particular the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS).

The latest NATSISS figures provide a valuable new source of data on these issues. The conference will provide an analysis of the NATSISS methodology and outputs, an assessment of changes in Indigenous social conditions over time and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, an assessment of how NATSISS might be improved for the next scheduled data collection in 2008, and an evaluation of the implications of the NATSISS findings for policy makers.

Over the two days of the conference, papers will be presented by leading researchers covering a wide range of topics including employment, education and training, health, housing, family and community life, population issues, geographic mobility, fertility and child survival, income and financial stress, social exclusion, transport and technology, crime and justice, substance abuse, and language and culture.

Conference program

Thursday 11th August 2005
8.30am	Conference Registration and coffee
8.45am	Welcome to Country
	Early Morning Session Chair: Boyd Hunter (CAEPR)
8.50am	Conference Preliminaries Boyd Hunter (CAEPR)
9.00am	The Political Economy of Indigenous Statistics Jon Altman (CAEPR) and John Taylor (CAEPR)
9.30am	NATSISS 2002 Survey Design and Output Andrew Webster (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
10.00am	NATSISS 2002: General Methodological Issues Nicholas Biddle (CAEPR) and Boyd Hunter (CAEPR)
10.30am	Morning Tea
	Late Morning Session Chair: Peter McDonald (Research School of Social Sciences, ANU)
11.00am	Mobility Issues John Taylor (CAEPR) and Yohannes Kinfu (CAEPR)
11.30am	Fertility, and Child Survival Issues Yohannes Kinfu (CAEPR)
12.00 noon	Housing Will Sanders (CAEPR)
12.30pm–1.30pm	Lunch
	Post-Lunch Session Chair: John Taylor (CAEPR)
1.30pm	Income, Financial Stress, Social Exclusion Issues Boyd Hunter (CAEPR)
2.00pm	Family and Community Life Matthew Gray (Australian Institute of Family Studies), Ruth Weston (Australian Institute of Family Studies)
2.30pm	Labour Force Issues Bruce Chapman ((Research School of Social Sciences, ANU) and Matthew Gray (Australian Institute of Family Studies)
3.00pm	Afternoon Tea
	Afternoon Session Chair: Ben Smith (CAEPR)
3.30pm	Customary Economy Jon Altman (CAEPR), Geoff Buchanan (CAEPR), and Nicholas Biddle (CAEPR)
4.00pm–5.00pm	Panel Discussion Larissa Berhendt (Jumbunna, University of Technology Sydney), Tom Calma (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission), and Jon Altman (CAEPR, chair)
6.30pm for 7.00pm	Conference Dinner in the Great Hall, University House, Balmain Crescent, Acton (ANU)

Friday 12th August 2005
	Early Morning Session Chair: Sandra Pattison (National Centre for Vocational Education Research)
9.00am	Asking the Right Questions in Indigenous Policy Bob Gregory (Research School of Social Sciences, ANU)
9.30am	Education and Training Jerry Schwab (CAEPR)
10.00am	Transport and Information Technology Sarah Holcombe (CAEPR) and Peter Radoll (School of Business and Information Management, ANU)
10.30am	Morning Tea
	Late Morning Session Chair: Craig Linkhorn (Visiting Fellow, CAEPR)
11.00am	Health Russell Ross (University of Sydney)
11.30am	Substance Abuse and Tobacco Maggie Brady (CAEPR) and Tanya Chikritzhs (Curtin University)
12.00 noon	Crime and Justice Mick Dodson (National Centre for Indigenous Studies, ANU) and Boyd Hunter (CAEPR)
12.30pm–1.30pm	Lunch
	Concurrent with lunch break (between 1.00pm–1.30pm) Nicholas Biddle and Boyd Hunter will describe a CAEPR DIY spreadsheet for customised hypothesis tests on NATSISS data. (The spreadsheet is available to all conference participants.)
	Post-Lunch Session Chair: Jerry Schwab (CAEPR)
1.30pm	Language and Culture Nicolas Peterson (School of Archaeology and Anthropology, ANU), Inge Kral (CAEPR), and Frances Morphy (CAEPR)
2.00pm	Torres Strait Bill Arthur (CAEPR)
2.30pm	Social Justice Issues Tom Calma (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission)
3.00pm	Towards a History of the Formation of an Indigenous Statistical Archive? Tim Rowse (Research School of Social Sciences, ANU)
3.30pm	Concluding Remarks and Wrap-Up Jon Altman (CAEPR)
3.45pm	Afternoon Tea
4.15pm	Conference Close