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
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