The Australian Reconciliation Barometer is a landmark study which provides a detailed snapshot of the views of Australians about reconciliation and what barriers affect people from taking action.The Barometer measures four core areas that are considered essential to progressing reconciliation - awareness, attitudes, perceptions and action - and is designed to be repeated every two years.
The research tells us that attitudes are improving, that we value the relationship and that we all have part to play in reconciling. Here are some of the key findings.
We agree the relationship is important (Indigenous 99%, Other 87%)
All Australians see the relationship between Indigenous people and other Australians as important and are optimistic for the future of the relationship. There was a 99% agreement with this statement from Indigenous respondents and 87% other Australians.
We agree the relationship is improving (Indigenous 52%, Other 48%)
Both groups are most likely to agree that the relationship between Indigenous people and other Australians is improving according to 49% of general community respondents and 52% of Indigenous respondents. Though contact with Indigenous people is limited results show we want to interact more.
The Apology has improved the relationship (Indigenous 58%, Other 42%)
The survey demonstrated that the Apology was important for Indigenous people and the relationship between us. Around 3 in 5 Indigenous respondents and 2 in 5 Australians believe this statement. The survey also identified that Australians believe that there should be government specific measures to address Indigenous disadvantage, though most thought that government programs to address disadvantage have been unsuccessful.
We know a lot about Indigenous cultures (Indigenous 89%, Other 39%)
The general community’s knowledge of Indigenous history and culture is fairly low. However, the research showed that around 4 out of 5 Australians believe it is important to know about Indigenous history and culture and are therefore open to learning more.
We believe past policies still affect Indigenous people (Indigenous 91%, Other 64%)
Both groups agree that previous race-based policies continue to affect some Indigenous people today. However, both groups ranked different perceived reasons for Indigenous disadvantage. Indigenous people identified external factors such as poor access to health care and education services, while other Australians identified Indigenous people as being responsible for their own disadvantage.
We believe in the special place of Indigenous people and their connection to the land (Indigenous 96%: Other 59%)
Australians believe Indigenous culture is important to Australian and Indigenous heritage. Many agreed that Indigenous history should be a compulsory part of the history curriculum in schools. However only 44% of all Australians identified that they believe Indigenous people are open to sharing their culture.We don’t think the media presents a balanced view of Indigenous Australians (Those who think it does present a balanced view, Indigenous 9%, Other 16%)
Only 9% of Indigenous respondents agreed that the media provides a balanced view of Indigenous Australia. The survey also identified that the general community’s attitudes to Indigenous people comes from secondary sources like the media, rather than from personal experience. However, the survey found that many wanted to interact more.
We agree we are prejudiced against each other (Indigenous 93%, Other 71%)
There was strong acknowledgement, particularly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents (93% agreed), that there are high levels of prejudice between the two groups. From the other respondents 71% agreed with this statement.
We trust each other (Indigenous 12%, Other 9%)
The study revealed that levels of trust between the two groups are very low. This shows that while Australians see the relationship as important there is general acknowledgement that there is a lot of work to be done to build the quality of the relationship and how the two groups see each other.
