A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has found that an eye disease, Trachoma, that causes blindness, continues to be a big problem in aboriginal communities. The study looked at rates of trachoma in 30 communities across the country.

Professor Hugh Taylor, one of the authors, says thousands of Indigenous people are at risk of going blind.

"I think it's of tremendous concern", he said.

"However, the Rudd Government last year had made a commitment to eliminate trachoma and so these data will provide very important baseline data for that attempt to close the gap as far as vision and trachoma is concerned", he added.

Two years ago, Australia's new Labor Party Prime Minister had apologized to Australia's Aboriginal people. His apology was particularly for the removal of Aboriginal children from their families, which was Government's policy for many years during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Indigenous people stay hugely disadvantaged. They are much more likely to suffer preventable illnesses, die young, be in jail, be illiterate and live in bad conditions.

Meanwhile, Australia's richest literary prize was recently won by Alexis Wright for a novel, Carpentaria that fuses Indigenous and European storytelling. Samson and Delilah, by indigenous Director, Warwick Thornton, swept eight Australian Film Institute awards and the Camera d'Or prize at Cannes.