"I suspect that about 350-400,000 of those are already integrated satisfactorily into the country," Major General Jeffery said in a farewell interview on Sky News.
"Integrated to such an extent that you don't hear about them, they're doing what we would look upon as normal jobs, living normal Australian lives."
About 100,000 Aborigines mostly living in the remote north have been "doing it hard for many years", he said.
Mr Dodson, a fierce critic of the Howard Government, which appointed Maj Gen Jeffery to the position, scoffed at the suggestion that disadvantage is concentrated in remote areas.
"We're not living normal lives - we're totally over-represented in the social indicators, we're dying a lot younger, we don't have the education opportunities, (people are living) below the poverty line in many parts of Australia. It is not just those in northern Australia who are battling to make ends meet."
Aboriginal leader Pat Dodson told Fairfax the head of state's remarks were superficial and suggested that all that was needed was to "force these (remote) people out of their communal ways".
"It really denies the uniqueness of who the indigenous people are and what their contribution to this country can be in their own right, as if they have nothing to contribute except the absorption of the culture that the West has offered to us. It's a pretty damnable statement if that's the case."
Earlier this year, Maj Gen Jeffery supported the apology to Aborigines removed from their families as children and he has spoken often of the need to teach more indigenous history in schools.
But his remarks are sensitive because of the debate sparked by the federal intervention in Northern Territory remote communities. Critics called the intervention "paternalistic" and a continuation of the mindset that led to the stolen generations in the first place.
Lowitja O'Donoghue, the first head of the disbanded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, said Maj Gen Jeffery's figures are "questionable" and imply that urban Aborigines are doing fine.
"It really promotes the urban-remote divide, and that is really quite wrong," Dr O'Donoghue, herself once touted as a potential governor-general, said.
"I'm just disappointed that he should go out on a note like that when we know there's been a lot of emphasis on remote areas and the difficulties there, but there are huge, huge difficulties in urban Australia, and we need to bridge that gap."
Governors-general have often used their position to speak out on Aboriginal issues.
Sir William Deane promoted reconciliation and the incoming Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, has said one of her priorities will be Aboriginal affairs.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24273545-421,00.html
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