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EVERY two years, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare plan to bring out a report on the health of
indigenous Australians. The first report, The Health and Welfare of
Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, was released
last week. It paints a grim picture. For example, the life expectancy for
indigenous people is 15 to 20 years less than that of other Australians, and
babies born to aboriginal women are 2 to 4 times more likely to die at birth
than the babies of non-indigenous women. The report is available for $31
from the ABS Mail Order Service on 06 252 5249 or from government bookshops in
capital cities.