Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
Using critical discourse analysis, this study examined the portrayal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian Government policies regarding alcohol and other drug (AOD) use.
Findings/Key points
There is an urgent need to move from policy relating to Aboriginal affairs that relies on a deficit discourse, to more effective AOD policy that improves power balance in policy development, is written with or by Aboriginal people, is inclusive of Aboriginal epistemologies and ontologies, and represents a paradigm-shift to a strength-based approach.
Design/methods
We used critical discourse analysis, informed by an Indigenous Research Paradigm, to analyse texts and contexts of six key Australian Government AOD drug policies; two Aboriginal AOD data documents, two reporting documents and two AOD strategy documents.