In delivering an apology to the Stolen Generations the Prime Minister set a concrete target to halve the gap in infant mortality rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children within a decade. Related to this is a subsequent declared need to improve housing conditions for Indigenous Australians with the establishment of a housing policy commission as the first step. In this forum, leading academics will discuss the scale and nature of the issues facing the new government as it attempts to achieve these aims.

PART ONE 1-2.30pm
THE INFANT MORTALITY CHALLENGE

Indigenous Infant Mortality: what is known from available data
Dr Elizabeth Sullivan, Director of the National Perinatal Statistics Unit, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, University of New South Wales.

The Indigenous Infant Mortality Target: what needs to be achieved
Associate Professor Heather Booth, Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute, ANU

Culture as Cause: the debates on improving aboriginal health
Professor Francesca Merlan, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, ANU

PART TWO 3-4.30pm
THE INDIGENOUS HOUSING CHALLENGE

The Scale and Composition of Housing Needs
Dr Nicholas Biddle, Research Fellow, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, ANU

Housing Tenure in Remote Areas: directions and dilemmas
Dr Will Sanders, Senior Fellow, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, ANU

The Delivery and Performance of Indigenous Housing and the Persistent Relevance of Culturally Specific Factors
Professor Paul Memmott, Director, Aboriginal Environments Research Centre, University of Queensland

This forum is part of the TOYOTA-ANU Public Lecture Series 2008