WHILE new statistics show that Indigenous income equality in the municipality fares better than much of the nation, local experts say there is still plenty of room for improvement.
According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics census data, there is a 26 per cent discrepancy in the median weekly income between Indigenous and non-Indigenous members of the Swan Hill municipality.
The median personal income of Indigenous persons currently sits at $359 per week, compared with $486 for non-Indigenous persons.
In spite of this significant divide, a slight closing of the gap has occurred over the past five years, with the income disparity dropping from 27 per cent in 2006.
Swan Hill currently also has less of an income discrepancy when compared with the Australia-wide median, where the disparity sits at about 37 per cent.
Sunraysia Regional Consulting’s Indigenous employment facilitator Billy Carroll said the gap in Swan Hill’s median income was likely due to Indigenous employees being less likely to have formal qualifications and therefore working in lower-paid positions.
Despite this, Mr Carroll said he had seen an increase in the number of Indigenous locals remaining in secondary and further education, which could lead to higher-paid positions in the future.
“I think that in the past many Aboriginal people didn’t see the value in education,” he said.
“That is very much changing.”
Over the past eight years, Mr Carroll has helped transition more than 600 Indigenous residents into employment across north west Victoria and said employment was a solution for many problems facing Indigenous communities.
“Employment has the potential for Aboriginal people to be really equal in today’s society,” he said.
“Someone who is working has higher self-esteem, their status in the non-Aboriginal community is higher and an Aboriginal parent who is working has a better opportunity to educate his children.”
Murray Mallee Training chief executive officer Geoff Carson said a greater focus on career pathways and education at a primary school level could prevent youth disengagement in later years.
“It is a space that certainly deserves the attention of all those that can help in the community and provide opportunities that haven’t been there in past,” he said.
“There have been a lot of really good success stories in the past, but I’d be hard pressed to say there have been significant improvements.
“It is a very difficult space to work in as there are a lack of employment opportunities in Swan Hill for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.”
Mr Carson asserted that a greater consistency and stability in assistance programs would be of benefit.
