ABSTRACT
Indigenous people remain however the most marginalized community in Tasmania, where over the past fifteen years national economic reform has in general impacted adversely. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre commented that the decision would increase the number of people claiming Aboriginality, thereby imposing additional demands on the scarce resources and limited services set aside for Aborigines. In 1996 the distribution of indigenous people in Tasmania broadly corresponded with that of the State population but there were some striking differences. Demographically the indigenous and non-indigenous populations present a sharp contrast. Aboriginal people have a much higher fertility and a far shorter life expectancy than other Tasmanians. Traditionally indigenous people have enjoyed strong family relationships within closely-knit communities but increasingly family life, as among the non-indigenous, is becoming more fragmented and complex. From 1966 to 1996, however, the number of Tasmanians recorded in the census as having indigenous origins increased rapidly.
