Death of Aborigine every 38 hours because of alcohol

Alcohol causes the death of an Aborigine every 38 hours in Australia. Between 2000 and 2004 1,145  Aborigine deaths were caused by alcohol, double the amount of alcohol related deaths in the non-indigenous community. These figures are contained in research from Australia's National Drug Research Institute (NDRI).

The cause of death for more than half was alcoholic liver cirrhosis or suicide, and the average age of death from an alcohol-attributable cause was about 35. The most common alcohol related death amongst Aborigines was suicide.

Deputy Director of NDRI said: "If we are serious about addressing this disparity and reducing death rates among Indigenous Australians, we need to focus on the underlying social causes of that ill health.”

There was a huge disparity in the figures for different areas in Australia. About one fifth (19 per cent) of all deaths occurred in Western Australia, but the highest number was in Queensland, with  a one in four (25 per cent) of all deaths occurring there.

The indigenous population of Australia was estimated to be 458,500, in 2001 representing 2.4 per cent of the total population. That figure was estimated to be 474,310 at the end of 2004.

In 2001, most indigenous Australians lived in New South Wales (134,900 people or 29 per cent of the total Indigenous population), Queensland (125,900 people or 27 per cent) or Western Australia (65,900 people or 14%).