Spin, waste, rent seeking, and lack of progress have become defining characteristics of Aboriginal Affairs

An example of reaction to crime is the Don Dale Prison riots of 2014, where inmate Dylan Voller (then 17) was infamously pictured restrained and wearing a spit-hood, consequent to his role in the riots.

In response, the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory was established in 2016 by the Turnbull government. The findings of the $54 million inquiry, which focussed more on the human rights of inmates rather than on the riots themselves, recommendedclosing the Don Dale centre, raising the age of criminal responsibility, and significant restrictions on the use of force, strip-searching and isolation, and banning the use of tear gas, spit hoods, and restraint chairs. Commissioners Margaret White and Mick Gooda said their recommendations would save nearly $336 million over the next decade, if implemented.

In 2017, following the Royal Commission, Dylan Voller receivedbetween $50,000 and $60,000 in compensation for treatment he received behind bars, and subsequently continued his life of crime. In 2019, the then 21-year-old Voller plead guilty to staging a bomb hoax at the Commonwealth Games. On 1 February 2020 Voller was sentenced to 10-months prison for an incident in Western Australia, in which he jumped on railway tracks, exposed his penis and assaulted a transit guard. In 2020 Voller also had a warrant issued for his arrest by the Deniliquin Local Court in NSW in relation to an armed robbery that occurred at Moama, NSW in May 2019.

The police shooting ofKumanjayi Walker in 2019 also underlines deep divisions between conservatives and "progressives" on law enforcement in Northern Australia. During the investigation there were questions about the strength of the case against Constable Rolfe and allegationsthat senior police withheld evidence favourable to Rolfe. Rank and file police appeared to back Rolfe, while officialdom at the time alleged that the case had racist overtones and sought to respond to concerns from Aboriginal groups. Following a not-guilty verdict in the murder trial, a coroner's inquest controversially went ahead at a cost of almost $8 million. Rolfe made a formal complaint to the NT Judicial Commission accusing the coroner of bias. Part of his complaint relates to the coroner delivering her findings in Yuendumu in front of a banner belonging to an activist group that had previously called for Mr Rolfe to be speared.

Except for the odd mine, cattle stations, and the occasional tourist lodge, remote communities generally have no viable economy apart from Indigenous affairs. In 2021 the Productivity Commission noted for example: "The Torres Strait economy is overwhelmingly reliant on public sector employment and transfer payments." The Torres Strait and remote national parks are also said to be home to large Indigenous ranger programmes, which function more as job creation schemes than for the environment.

At the other end geographically and socially are the urban areas of South-Eastern Australia, where the Aboriginal population is rapidly integrating into the general community and economy, and (despite being overly concentrated in lower income groups) social progress has been much better. In these areas the issues are quite different. A high proportion of those recorded as Aboriginal may have only a trace of Indigenous ancestry, while according to one high profile Aboriginal spokesman there are tens of thousands of "white imposters".

The issue of inter-marriage and assimilation into the general community is a matter that Aboriginal activists and the Aboriginal Industry are loath to discuss. The issue comes into greatest prominence when one looks at rates of out-marriage in states/territories like Tasmania, Victoria, the ACT, and all major urban areas excepting Darwin. According to the 2021 Census the proportion of couple families with one or more Indigenous partners where only one partner was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, was 89.3 per cent for Tasmania, 93.8 per cent for Victoria and 94.3 per cent for the ACT. Such high out-marriage rates mean that those of Indigenous descent in such areas are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from other Australians. Despite this, their children continue to overwhelmingly identify as Aboriginal.

The Indigenous community is heavily dependent on government payments and transfers. In the annual GST distribution, the NT, for example, receives the highest per capita share of any state or territory – $5.15 back for every dollar raised – in recognition of its vast area and the poor health of many Indigenous residents. In this context, Indigenous opposition to mines or oil/gas developments (sometimes manipulated by green groups) comes across as disingenuous or mere rent seeking. Similar suspicions relate to calls for Treaty or retributions.

Overall, there is a lot of misinformation about Aboriginal disadvantage. Out of a total recorded Indigenous population of 981,000 in the 2021 Census, the real chronic disadvantage is concentrated among fewer than 150,000, overwhelmingly in remote areas. In remote areas, a solution must involve preventing the neglect of the younger generation. This may not be easy as past "interventions" proved unpopular amongst affected communities. Another issue is that many remote areas may be unable to support much economic activity due to their very remoteness.

In non-remote areas little government intervention may be needed in the long term, as those of Indigenous descent seem to be rapidly integrating into the general community and economy. That said, anything close to economic equality in non-remote areas will not occur for generations.