Indigenous deaths in custody on the rise

ABORIGINAL deaths in custody are on the rise again, 20 years after a royal commission into the issue.

The Australian Institute of Criminology released a report yesterday (Friday,

May 24) which says the number of indigenous deaths has increased over the past five years.

In 2011, indigenous people represented just over one in four people in prison and one in five deaths.

“At the heart of the problem is the over-representation of indigenous people at every stage of the criminal justice system,” the report says.

The report says efforts to reduce indigenous deaths in custody must focus on reducing the number of indigenous people in prison.

While the number of indigenous deaths in recent years is high, the total is lower than would be expected based on the proportion of the prison population.

There has been an increasing number of deaths from natural causes such as heart attack, terminal cancer and cirrhosis of the liver.

Those findings are likely to result from poorer health and lower life expectancy among indigenous Australians, the report says.

In the past decade, self-inflicted deaths in custody such as hangings have reduced.

Police and corrective services have redesigned cells, removing hanging points and improved screening for signs of self-harm.

Since 1989-90, indigenous people have been more likely to die in a custody-related operation, such as a car chase or siege, rather than a police cell or watchhouse.

Cost of raising children jumps 50pc – report

THE cost of raising children in Australia has jumped by some 50 per cent over six years.

The news comes from an Income and Wealth Report, to be released today (Thursday, May 23), showing an average middle-income Australian family is spending about $812,000 to raise two children to the age of 24.

The figure is an increase of $275,000 on 2007 calculations.

“The cost of kids for a typical middle-income family has risen by around 50 per cent since 2007,” AMP financial services spokesman Craig Meller says of the report, compiled jointly with the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM).

“It highlights the importance of having a sensible budget and savings plan in place to ensure the best for both you and your children.”

The report is the latest in a series, which use a combination of surveys and household expenditure data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

It lists food, transport and recreation as the greatest cost impost on families with children.

Middle-income couples add an additional $143,000 to their grocery bill and spend an extra $159,000 on transport as they raise two children, the report found.

Education is also a major outlay for parents, but its portion is determined by the choice of public or private schooling.

The cost of child care also recorded a sharp rise since 2007.

A breakdown of the data shows older children, aged 18 to 24, cost more per week, and additional children cost less than the first child.

Bosses urged to employ older women

AUSTRALIA’S bosses are being encouraged to employ older women in their businesses, with research showing the 45 years and over group can bring qualities such as motivation, sustained job performance and reliability.

The Diversity Council of Australia (DCA), with the Australian Human Rights Commission, has produced a report that shows Australia lags behind comparable countries in giving older women a chance in the workforce.

The research shows that while older women in the labour force represent a sizeable and growing segment, employers are failing to harness their skills and talents.

DCA chief executive Nareen Young says Australia’s future workforce will heavily depend upon the employment of older women.

“Organisations focusing on older women’s employment are future-proofing their workforce and positioning the organisation for success,” she says.

The research shows working women aged 45 and older represent 17 per cent of the Australia’s workforce.

But Australia lags behind other comparable countries in employing older women.

The most recent data shows participation rates in the labour force for Australian women aged between 55 and 64 is 54.9 per cent compared to such countries as Sweden with 72 per cent, New Zealand with 69.8 per cent and Canada with 57.4 per cent.

DCA research shows older women are less likely to change jobs compared with their younger colleagues and bring with them accumulated work experience, sustained job performance and reliability.

The report – Older Women Matter: Harnessing the Talents of Australia's Older Female Workforce – will be released in Melbourne today, Thursday May 23.

Urgent action needed on ageism – Ryan

A CRACKDOWN on “ageism” could inject $33 billion into the Australian economy by getting more seniors into work, the nation’s Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan.

Ms Ryan says age-based discrimination is the biggest obstacle facing seniors who want to work into their 60s and beyond.

Ageism is the “most significant barrier to individuals continuing productive lives beyond their 50s”, she told a conference on ageing at New South Wales Parliament House today (Friday, May 17).

She says discrimination against older people is widespread “in the community and certainly in workplaces”.

“We need urgent action on various fronts,” she says.

Ms Ryan says a lift in the number of older workers across the country will help address skill shortages in many industries and boost the economy.

Adding 750,000 workers to the workforce would equate to a $33 billion injection into the economy, she says.

“It’s the solution to many of the problems we hear about nightly about the national economy,” says Ms Ryan.

She says tackling the problem means a cultural shift in the way businesses regards older workers.

Human resources professionals need to “incorporate these potential contributions into their business plans”.

“To get the cultural change . . . we need the decision makers to change their view,” Ms Ryan says.

Community lawyers call for $48m in funding

COMMUNITY legal centres want almost $50 million extra funding to help people with issues such as problem debt, workplace bullying, family violence and tenancy disputes.

Community Law Australia says about $48 million is needed from state and federal governments to address an “access to justice crisis”, especially for people living outside or on the fringes of main cities.

It says more than half a million Aussies are missing out on legal help each year.

“To fix the resourcing crisis, $48 million is needed for current community law centres to meet demand,” says Community Law Australia spokesperson Carolyn Bond.

“We are asking for funding to the whole legal assistance sector to be doubled.”

“Unless we act to close the gaps in areas where access to legal help is poor, ordinary Australians will continue to miss out,” says Ms Bond.

There are around 200 community legal centres nationwide that provide around half a million free legal services each year.