First Nations Consultations For the Australian Human Rights Commission Table 3: Living Area Distribution Prefer not to say Metropolitan area Regional area Rural area 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% Living Area 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Percentage Count Metropolitan area 44.64% 50 Regional area 34.82% 39 Rural area 16.96% 19 Prefer not to say 3.57% 4 The age distribution of the respondents spanned a wide range, with the majority falling within the 46-55 age group. Specifically, 12 respondents, or 10.71 per cent, were aged 18-25. The 26-35 age group comprised 15 respondents, accounting for 13.39 per cent of the total. There were 21 respondents, or 18.75 per cent, in the 36-45 age group. The largest group was those aged 46-55, with 36 respondents, representing 32.14 per cent of the total. Similarly, the 56-65 age group also had 21 respondents, making up 18.75 per cent. The 65+ age group included 6 respondents, or 5.36 per cent, and 1 respondent, or 0.89 per cent, preferred not to disclose their age. This diverse age distribution provides a broad perspective on the experiences of racism across different age groups, with a notable concentration in the 46-55 age bracket. Age is an important factor to consider in the experience and context of racism. It was discussed throughout the consultations that experiences of racism are viewed differently by certain age groups based on varying factors. It was stated by an Elder in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) that ‘It is much harder for the young people of today. We might have been subjected to segregation and racist policies, but we had each other, we lived together in our communities, young people don’t have that today’. This insight speaks indirectly to the impacts of child removal, family separation and the broader societal shift to westernised, individualistic ways of living opposed to the collective ways of First Nations culture. Many of the respondents in the 56-65 and 65+ years age bracket had a lived experience of the 1967 referendum as well as other government policies that perpetuated racism and denied the human rights of First Nations people. This lived experience shapes the way in which some Elders view current political agendas and unintentionally facilitate a generational continuation of mistrust among communities. An Anti-Racism Framework: Voices of First Nations Peoples Page 30