Australia's Aboriginal children still at risk says PM

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Australian indigenous children under five are still twice as likely to die as non-indigenous children, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said.

In his annual report on the state of indigenous Australians, Mr Rudd said there were signs of slow progress.

He said the gap in life expectancy had shown a sharp drop, but this was due to more reliable data rather than any real improvement on the ground.

Mr Rudd pledged more money for mothers and babies to address infant mortality.

When he delivered his national apology to indigenous Australians for past injustices two years ago, Mr Rudd promised to deliver an annual report on how his government was closing the disadvantage gap between black and white Australia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8509882.stm