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Perceptions of change in the standard of living for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

19 Jan 2021

Q. In your opinion, over the past 10 years, have things got better or worse for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, or have things stayed much the same?

  Jan’21 Jun’19
A lot better 18% 18%
A little better 30% 28%
Stayed much the same 32% 36%
A little worse 7% 5%
A lot worse 3% 3%
Don’t know 11% 10%
TOTAL: Better 48% 46%
TOTAL: Worse 10% 8%
Base (n) 1,084 1,097
  • Nearly half (48%) believe things have got better for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over the last 10 years, unchanged since June 2019 (46%).
  • About a third (32%) state that in their opinion, conditions have stayed much the same for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over the past 10 years, while 10% believe things have got worse. Both figures were also at a similar level in June 2019.
  Total Labor Coalition Greens NET: Other
A lot better 18% 15% 23% 9% 20%
A little better 30% 32% 33% 22% 27%
Stayed much the same 32% 34% 31% 45% 26%
A little worse 7% 8% 3% 14% 10%
A lot worse 3% 3% 2% 7% 7%
Don’t know 11% 8% 8% 4% 9%
TOTAL: Better 48% 47% 57% 30% 47%
TOTAL: Worse 10% 11% 4% 21% 17%
Base (n) 1,084 334 431 118 106
  • Coalition voters are the most likely to think things have got better for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the last decade (57% compared to 47% Labor voters, 30% Greens voters and 47% other voters).
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