Australia’s poor performance
March 14, 2013
AUSTRALIA sits in ‘the middle of
the road’ when it comes to the
wellbeing of young Aussies,
according to a new report card by
the Australian Research Alliance for
Children and Youth (ARACY).
The Wellbeing of Young
Australians report found that as a
nation Australia is trending poorly
against several important indicators
when it comes to the country’s
youth.
According to the report, Australia
is ranked in the top third of OECD
countries for only 11 out of 46
indicators, with the nation
performing poorly when it comes
to keeping kids safe and preventing
deaths from injuries (with Australia
sitting at number 22 out of 34
OECD countries for this).
In addition Australia ranks 22nd
on infant mortality and 29th for
rates of some infant vaccinations to
prevent disease, whilst teenage
pregnancy rates are higher than the
OECD average, with Australia
ranked 22nd out of 34 OECD
countries.
Meanwhile nearly one in three
(30%) young people aged 15-24
years are overweight or obese and
more than half (57%) lead
sedentary lifestyles, whilst most
children don't eat the
recommended levels of fruit and
vegetables.
On a positive note the report
found that the rates of teen suicide
have fallen, although for this
Australia is still ranked 20th out of
34 OECD countries.
The ‘middle of the road’ result is
being attributed by the ARACY to
budgetory issues, with many areas
having not received enough
funding, coupled with an underinvestment
in “the early years”.
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