Aboriginal people in the East Kimberley region suffer the worst health status in Western Australia as measured by standard indicators of morbidity and mortality. This is true whether comparison is made with Aboriginal people in other parts of the State, or with non-Aboriginal people locally, although differentials are obviously greater when compared with the latter. Given the links that exist between employment status and ill health (Bartley 1994), it is to be expected that the poor employment outcomes observed for East Kimberley Aboriginal people are in no small measure related to their high rates of morbidity and mortality.

With reference to just one statistic—mean age at death (which currently stands at 47 years for Aboriginal people in the East Kimberley)—the physical limitations on prolonged and full participation in the workforce become all too apparent. If we add to this the fact of relatively high Aboriginal morbidity rates commencing in young adulthood and rising throughout the prime working ages, then a pattern emerges of severe physical constraints on the ability of many in the community to engage in meaningful and sustained economic activity. From a labour market perspective, it is likely that these negative effects of poor health status commence long before individuals are eligible to join the workforce as suggested by relationships, long-established, between the poor health status of Aboriginal people and below average school performance. There is also the likelihood of less direct impacts on workforce participation such as the prospect that many individuals do not seek work due to responsibilities in caring for sick relatives.

The barriers and potential solutions to improved health status for East Kimberley residents are spelt out in the Kimberley Regional Aboriginal Health Plan (Atkinson, Bridge and Gray 1999). Among the issues underlying health status, this report emphasises the significance of on-going backlogs in achieving adequate environmental health infrastructure, of the need for improved outcomes from education and training, of the difficulties of achieving better nutritional status in the population as a result of the high cost of food and low incomes, and finally the on-going debilitating effects and social disruption caused by excessive alcohol consumption. All of these issues reflect on social and economic conditions in the region that are the focus of policy intervention. Notwithstanding this, Aboriginal health outcomes in the East Kimberley remain notably behind the rest of the State and undermine the capacity for participation in regional economic development.