E/CN.4/2002/24/Add.1 page 25 II. FORMS AND MANIFESTATIONS OF RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND XENOPHOBIA: LIMITS OF LEGISLATIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES A. The consequences of the destruction of Aboriginal societies and difficulties of reconciliation 1. Economic and social situation of the Aboriginals 53. Many interlocutors stress that, despite the measures taken by the Australian Government to combat racism and racial discrimination, these phenomena continue to affect Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. This is particularly reflected in the restriction of land rights, level of education, access to employment, and health and housing conditions. The Race Discrimination and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner considers that the programmes set up by the Government to achieve equality between these peoples and the rest of the Australian population and the resources allocated to these programmes are insufficient. On the basis of data evinced by a recent study on public investments in the four priority areas designated by the federal Government (education, employment, health and housing),2 the Commissioner observes that these investments do not enable Indigenous people to become integrated in an egalitarian manner within Australian society. 54. The study seeks to determine whether enough attention is given to Indigenous needs in these areas. The concept of need used in the study is “the additional effort (if any) required to bring outcomes for Indigenous people to comparable overall levels with the Australian population as a whole, or put differently, the effort to ensure that Indigenous Australians are treated equally”. One of the general conclusions of the study is that “Indigenous people are more likely to access specific programmes designed to address their needs, rather than general programmes that are available, subject to eligibility criteria, to all Australians.” This focus on specific programmes has developed due to the “unsuitability, or inaccessibility to Indigenous people, of general programmes”. Reasons why general services may be inaccessible or unsuitable include the geographical location of Indigenous people, cultural reasons, and a preference for services delivered through organizations under Indigenous control. Accordingly, “A focus on special programmes for Indigenous people alone will provide a misleading picture of the distribution of public expenditure between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. While Indigenous people benefit substantially more than other Australians from specific programmes, they benefit substantially less from many, much bigger, general programmes.”3