lifeasdaddy - Ken Henry suggests helping set things right.

Dr. Ken Henry, the Secretary to the Treasury gave an important speech last week to the 2006 Economic and Social Outlook Conference. 

As Secretary to the Treasury, he's one of the most influential economists in Australia.

His speech was entitled Managing Prosperity.

On page 5 of the speech he suggests that we use this unprecedented period of economic prosperity to redress Indigenous disadvantage.

"Indigenous Australians have a dramatically lower life expectancy - 17 years lower than the Australian average, dramatically lower rates of year 12 completion, substantially higher unemployment rates and substantially higher rates of imprisonment."

Dr. Henry has some other themes to his speech too, but this one reminded me of Linda Burney's lament about the state of our Indigenous brothers and sisters.