Anthony Albanese says a young Indigenous man is more likely to go to jail than university. Is that c
- 7 months ago
#voicetoparliament #referendum #indigenous #aboriginal
Allegation As Voice of Parliament referendum approaches, people on both sides of the debate have used opportunity to shine a light on Indigenous disadvantages. Speaking on ABC Radio earlier this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese argued that a No vote would lead to "more of the same results" for Indigenous Australians. “We know that a young Indigenous man is more likely to end up in prison than go to university,” he said. This is a claim that the prime minister has repeated nearly 40 times since May. RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates. Decision Mr Albanese's claim is a fair decision. Although there is no single data set that allows for a precise comparison, available data shows that young Indigenous men overall are more likely to end up in prison than go to university. The latest census found that 4.9 per cent of Indigenous men aged 18-34 were enrolled university in 2021, while 6.3 per cent were prison on census night. The census did not collect data on whether Indigenous men were incarcerated, but found that 4.8 percent of those ages 20 to 34 had a college degree. Experts on life imprisonment rates pointed to a survey last conducted in 2014-15 that showed 8.2 per cent of Indigenous men aged 15-34 had been imprisoned. This survey did not provide the age distribution of those attending or attending college. However, it was revealed that 3.5 of all Indigenous men aged 15 and over studying at university, 3.8 percent were graduates, and 14.6 in prison. As one expert told Fact Check, despite some improvements recent years, "you're still much more likely to find First Nations man in a prison cell than university lecture hall." Based on available data, it's a fair call to say that a young Indigenous man is more likely to end up in prison than university. Ichigo121212, Pixabay License Fact Check previous findings This is not the first time a Labor leader has compared prison incarceration and university attendance rates among young Indigenous men. In 2015, then opposition leader Bill Shorten claimed “A young 18-year-old Aboriginal male in Australia is more likely to end up in prison than university.” It was difficult to precisely assess the "lifetime probability" of either outcome because it involved predicting the future based on past patterns, experts say. However, they agreed that Mr Shorten's claim could be broadly assessed by comparing the proportion of Indigenous men who are or have been in prison with the proportion of those who have attended university or completed a degree. Using range of official data sources collected by different organizations at different times, Fact Check found that a higher proportion of young Indigenous men were incarcerated in the five years to 2008 than those with bachelor's degree or higher in 2011. Meanwhile, 2014 data showed a larger share of young Indigenous men were in prison than in college. Experts contacted by Fact Check about Mr Albanese's claim s
Allegation As Voice of Parliament referendum approaches, people on both sides of the debate have used opportunity to shine a light on Indigenous disadvantages. Speaking on ABC Radio earlier this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese argued that a No vote would lead to "more of the same results" for Indigenous Australians. “We know that a young Indigenous man is more likely to end up in prison than go to university,” he said. This is a claim that the prime minister has repeated nearly 40 times since May. RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates. Decision Mr Albanese's claim is a fair decision. Although there is no single data set that allows for a precise comparison, available data shows that young Indigenous men overall are more likely to end up in prison than go to university. The latest census found that 4.9 per cent of Indigenous men aged 18-34 were enrolled university in 2021, while 6.3 per cent were prison on census night. The census did not collect data on whether Indigenous men were incarcerated, but found that 4.8 percent of those ages 20 to 34 had a college degree. Experts on life imprisonment rates pointed to a survey last conducted in 2014-15 that showed 8.2 per cent of Indigenous men aged 15-34 had been imprisoned. This survey did not provide the age distribution of those attending or attending college. However, it was revealed that 3.5 of all Indigenous men aged 15 and over studying at university, 3.8 percent were graduates, and 14.6 in prison. As one expert told Fact Check, despite some improvements recent years, "you're still much more likely to find First Nations man in a prison cell than university lecture hall." Based on available data, it's a fair call to say that a young Indigenous man is more likely to end up in prison than university. Ichigo121212, Pixabay License Fact Check previous findings This is not the first time a Labor leader has compared prison incarceration and university attendance rates among young Indigenous men. In 2015, then opposition leader Bill Shorten claimed “A young 18-year-old Aboriginal male in Australia is more likely to end up in prison than university.” It was difficult to precisely assess the "lifetime probability" of either outcome because it involved predicting the future based on past patterns, experts say. However, they agreed that Mr Shorten's claim could be broadly assessed by comparing the proportion of Indigenous men who are or have been in prison with the proportion of those who have attended university or completed a degree. Using range of official data sources collected by different organizations at different times, Fact Check found that a higher proportion of young Indigenous men were incarcerated in the five years to 2008 than those with bachelor's degree or higher in 2011. Meanwhile, 2014 data showed a larger share of young Indigenous men were in prison than in college. Experts contacted by Fact Check about Mr Albanese's claim s