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NACCHO NATSIHP news: $12 billion Aboriginal health plan to be launched today

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KEY FACTS

Projected funding for health programs specifically designed for and targeted at Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders is estimated to be about $12 billion to 2023-24.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health services will continue to be supported to fulfil their pivotal role in improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes.”

A DRAMATIC expansion of the health system to focus on indigenous children’s health and to include broader issues of child development is the central plank of a 10-year Aboriginal health plan to be unveiled today.

Please note as soon as the report is released

1.You can download it from NACCHO resources

2.Read our Chair Justin Mohamed’s response

The plan, which dictates where state and federal governments should focus their efforts, aims to deliver the policies required to eliminate the indigenous life expectancy gap by 2031.

It commits governments to give more attention to and increase spending on “difficult and distressing issues of violence, abuse and self-harm”.

Indigenous Health Minister Warren Snowdon (pictured below last week opening Male Health Summit) will say today that the health plan places priority on social and emotional wellbeing and the issues that impact on it, including alcohol and other drugs. It also focuses on improving the wellbeing of indigenous people with a disability.

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The Rudd government says the 10-year National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan is “free of racism and inequality” and provides the “necessary platform to realise health equality by 2031”.

“Importantly, in this health plan we signal the need to expand our focus on children’s health to broader issues in child development,” Mr Snowdon will say. “We have much more work to do in developing robust research and data systems. I am also resolved that we will tackle the difficult and distressing issues of violence, abuse and self harm.” The government will commit to “drive health system improvements and maintain a clear priority on primary healthcare system reform”, he will say. “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health services will continue to be supported to fulfil their pivotal role in improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes.”

The government will report annually to parliament about measures and targets aligned to the new plan.

“The health plan provides a clear focus on strategies to address racism and to empower people to take control of their own health,” Mr Snowdon will say. “While we need to continue to strengthen healthcare we also need to enhance our focus on specialist care and hospital care in the secondary and tertiary systems.”

A series of 17 nationwide consultations was held with Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, communities and groups, with more than 140 written submissions and a series of roundtables to gather expertise on a range of issues relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Projected funding for health programs specifically designed for and targeted at Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders is estimated to be about $12 billion to 2023-24.

Mr Snowdon will also use the launch of the health plan to reiterate his call to state and territory governments to publicly commit their contributions to the new National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes.

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NACCHO political alert: Parties lack vision on health policy as election looms according to Grattan Institute

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Dr Stephen Duckett is Director, Health Program at the Grattan Institute

From the Australian Financial Review

Health policy typically rates as one of the top election issues and one where Labor has a historic advantage.

Yet in this election, apart from a stoush about what will happen to Medicare Locals, both government and opposition have been surprisingly quiet, neither articulating a clear vision about what they stand for, and how that differs from their opponents.

Sure the budget had the usual sprinkling of goodies, dressed up as a coherent program about cancer, or whatever, but publicity about that has evaporated and it is hard to see the opposition coming out against these media-friendly initiatives.

Previous elections have seen some big ideas on the table; 2007 for example, saw then opposition leader Kevin Rudd promising to fix the Commonwealth-State blame game and Labor’s lead over the Liberals on health surged.

The reality of failed delivery in government saw that advantage dissipate, despite prime minister Rudd’s extensive consultation with people around Australia on the topic. Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton has described Mr Rudd’s “big picture” reforms turning into “passport photo-sized” delivery.

So what should be on the agenda for 2013?

Elections typically see parties focus on popular policies which will help them garner votes, appeal to sectional interests and/or their base, and get them across the line. These are typically the short-term, one electoral cycle fixes.

Once in government, they also need to focus on important strategic issues that are probably not election winners that can be explained in a 10-second sound bite. But the quality of a government can be measured by whether it is prepared to think beyond the current cycle and start addressing these longer-term needs.

My choices for the key short-term issues for the election are about access to care. Waiting times for public hospital care, both inpatient and outpatient, are too long. There are also problems with access to general practitioners both in terms of waiting times and out-of-pocket costs that make visits unaffordable.

Voters expect parties to be fiscally responsible and in the health sector that means standing up to vested interest and cutting waste. There are big dollars to be saved here, reducing Australia’s sky-high pharmaceutical prices being a $1.3 billion dollar example.

Important as these issues are, the election should also be about assessing who can better handle the long-term strategic issues. These are typically issues which are complex and for which there are no simple solutions. My candidates here include: repositioning the health system to care better for people with chronic illnesses (and to prepare for the increased prevalence of these conditions in the future); improving access to the right sorts of mental health care; and improving the health status of the most disadvantaged in our society (including indigenous people). All of these issues need to be considered in the context of real questions about the financial sustainability of states and an understanding that levers for change are sometimes held by the wrong level of government.

The long-term issues are the critical ones for our future, too often buried in the short-term, sound-bite-friendly, fixes. I’m not suggesting that parties should articulate a clear vision to fix these problems in the campaign. But they do need to recognise that not everything in the health system is going to be perfect after a three-year go at the levers of power. Voters should be confident that they are willing to set the foundations for long-term change, not just the address the short-term priorities.

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Visit the Australia 2.0 hub on The Australian Financial Review online

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NACCHO award winning member news: Carbal Medical Centre QLD takes top gong at awards

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Article by: Adam Davies, The Chronicle

Justin Mohamed chair of NACCHO congratulates another award winning NACCHO member .

CARBAL Medical Centre CEO Dr Harry Randhawa was still on cloud nine yesterday, days after learning the organisation had won a prestigious award as part of NAIDOC week celebrations.

The organisation was named indigenous business of the year at a gala dinner held at the Cathedral Centre at the weekend.

Dr Randhawa said the award came as a big surprise to the organisation and its 33 employees.

“It is a huge boost for the centre,” Dr Randhawa said.

“It is recognition of all the hard work we have done over the past year.

“It came as a very big surprise really,” he said.

Dr Randhawa said Carbal Medical Centre, which was established in 2006, provided culturally safe and secure health service to the city’s indigenous population.

“The centre is an extremely important part of the local community,” he said.

“We provide GP and nursing services for indigenous people.

“However, we also have access to a number of different health services for indigenous people.”

Dr Randhawa said thousands of indigenous people accessed the organisation’s services each year.

“We have more than 4500 clients registered on our books,” he said.

“Last year alone 2723 people accessed the services we provide.

“I am still gob smacked at winning the award. It is just fantastic news for the centre and the staff.”

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NACCHO smoke free news: We reveal how tobacco control measures are improving health worldwide

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Article by: Zoe Ferguson – Editor, The Conversation

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2013 shows more people worldwide are benefiting from tobacco control measures.

“Every day should be a no tobacco day”

See message from TOM CALMA

The report, released today, said that 2.3 billion people living in 92 countries (a third of the world’s population) are now covered by at least one measure protecting them against tobacco’s effects. This figure has more than doubled in the past five years.

But tobacco use continues to be the leading global cause of preventable death, killing approximately six million people and causing more than half a trillion dollars of economic damage annually.

In 2008, WHO identified six evidence-based tobacco control measures that are the most effective for reducing tobacco use. Known as “MPOWer”, the measures correspond to one or more of the demand reduction provisions included in the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control:

·         Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies,

·         Protect people from tobacco smoke,

·         Offer help to quit tobacco use,

·         Warn people about the dangers of tobacco,

·         Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and

·         Raise taxes on tobacco.

The report says three billion people now live in regions with national anti-tobacco campaigns and, as a result, hundreds of millions of people are less likely to start smoking.

Professor of Health Policy at Curtin University Mike Daube said the report’s findings are positive, despite the harsh realities of tobacco’s impact worldwide.

“We are making global progress in tobacco control – more countries banning tobacco advertising, implementing non-smoking provisions, mandating health warnings and running public education programs – but the grim reality is that around the world each year people are still smoking six trillion cigarettes, leading to six million deaths,” he said

“The power of the tobacco industry remains immense. It continues to oppose and delay action in developed countries and to promote its products ruthlessly in developing countries,” he noted.

“The catastrophic news is that more than 60 years after we learned unequivocally about the dangers of smoking, this remains our largest preventable cause of death and disease and action by most governments is slow, limited and resisted by the tobacco industry at every step.”

Associate Professor Billie Bonevski, a research fellow for the Cancer Institute NSW and a research academic in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, referred to the report’s finding that low- and middle-income countries are a target for the tobacco industry and said more needs to be done to stem their power in these places.

“Resources should be directed to these countries to ensure they are equipped with the workforce and legislative power to counter the tobacco industry’s efforts. Tobacco control efforts need to reach the whole of the population, especially people who find it difficult to stop smoking,” she said.

“Even in developed countries, we’re seeing a concentration of smoking amongst socially disadvantaged and vulnerable sub-groups of the population. Bans on tobacco advertising and promotion alone are unlikely to help highly addicted smokers to quit. Evidence-based nicotine dependence treatments need to be easily accessible for these smokers.”

Professor Daube said that while Australia was doing well, the battle is far from over.

“It is encouraging that Australia is a world leader in tobacco control – but we cannot afford to be complacent: we must continue to show other countries that we can win our battles against Big Tobacco.”

The Conversation is funded by CSIRO, Melbourne, Monash, RMIT, UTS, UWA, Canberra, CDU, Deakin, Flinders, Griffith, JCU, La Trobe, Massey, Murdoch, Newcastle. QUT, Swinburne, UniSA, USC, USQ, UTAS, UWS and VU.

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NACCHO media release: Aboriginal health gap in danger of blowing out

Justin - NACCHO Chair

Pictured: Justin Mohamed

The national Aboriginal primary health peak, the National Community Controlled Health Organisation
(NACCHO) today warned that the significant inroads being made to close the health gap for Aboriginal
people was in danger of being eroded without urgent commitment from all states and territories.

NACCHO Chair, Justin Mohamed said the National Partnership Agreement to Close the Gap signed by
all states and territories in 2008 had now expired and inaction threatened to derail the gains made in
the health of Aboriginal people across the country.

“Commendably, both the Commonwealth and Victorian governments have shown leadership and resigned to the Agreement before it expired at the end of June,” Mr Mohamed said.

“The WA government has also rolled funding over for another 12 months as they undergo a review of
Aboriginal health expenditure.

“Critical health programs are now at risk if other states and territories continue to avoid putting in their
share to close the appalling life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people which
can be up to seventeen years difference.

“It is simply unacceptable that this issue isn’t being given priority by all states and territories given how
far we have come already and how far we have yet to go.

“We need to see generational change for our people to break the cycle of poor health and it is
extremely disappointing that some state and territory leaders seem to think the issue will go away if
they ignore it long enough.”

Mr Mohamed, speaking at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Summit in
Victoria today, said the evidence was there that close the gap initiatives were working and that
Aboriginal health provided by Aboriginal people in their own communities was having a real impact.

“The summit today has provided a great opportunity to showcase the incredible contribution Aboriginal
Community Controlled Health Organisations are making in their communities.

“We have concrete evidence that Aboriginal health in Aboriginal hands is what is really making the
difference in achieving health outcomes for our people.

“We are seeing big improvements in child birth weights, maternal health and management of chronic
diseases like diabetes.

“There is still a long way to go so we must maintain the momentum and continue to fund and support
the community controlled health model which has for 40 years now proved its worth.”

Media contact: Olivia Greentree 0439 411 774

NACCHO kids health news: AMA – Give Aboriginal children a healthy start

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Article by: Motherpedia

The AMA President says health should be the priority for Indigenous children.

A healthy start for Indigenous children should be a priority for any Federal Government according to the AMA.

The peak medical association has called for increased efforts to improve the health of Indigenous children.

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said evidence showed the importance of a good start in life for future health, and improved early childhood development among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples needed to be a policy priority for the Federal Government.

“Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are growing up in circumstances that are no better than those experienced in Third World countries, rather than a wealthy nation such as ours,” Dr Hambleton said.

“This can set them up for a lifetime of poor health that costs them, their families and the broader community dearly.

“The Federal Government needs to show foresight in heading these problems off before they develop by investing in a healthy start for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.”

Dr Hambleton said the AMA would like to see the Government to develop a stronger and more sustained focus on early childhood development programs that had been shown to work.

He said the AMA was playing its role by sponsoring research to identify where the developmental needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were greatest, and recommend measures to achieve improvement.

The results of the AMA research will be included in a report to to be released later this year.

NACCHO MJA report: Partnership and leadership: key to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal people

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Article by:Tammy M Kimpton, BMed, President, Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association, Canberra, ACT.

Pictured above second from right at last weeks AIDA launch

The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association urges all medical professionals to support and participate in the values it hopes will be embedded in future health policy

This year, we will see the development of a new National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan to guide governments in improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.1 Development of the Health Plan will be led by the Minister for Indigenous Health, with the support of a stakeholder advisory group to bring together the government and organisations with expertise in Indigenous health.2

The aim of this Health Plan is to shape the tone, direction and content of Indigenous health policy into the future. Apart from becoming familiar with the evidence and government priorities on areas of Indigenous health that relate to our work, medical professionals should note the particular values and themes that the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA) wants to see embedded throughout the document; these include culture, partnership, Indigenous leadership and workforce. These principles are inextricably linked and are important not only to federal policy development and implementation but also to individual medical professionals in a range of areas, including in our day-to-day interactions with patients, care planning and staff recruitment and development.

Workforce will need to be an important feature of the Health Plan because building an adequate health workforce is crucial to delivering high-quality, sustainable health services for Indigenous people. The Indigenous medical workforce in Australia is growing, but Indigenous people are still underrepresented in this area. In 2011, the intake of first-year Indigenous medical students in Australian universities reached parity at 2.5% — for the first time matching the proportion of Australia’s population made up of Indigenous people.3 To ensure that the Indigenous medical workforce continues to grow, academic, professional and cultural support is essential. In particular, Indigenous medical students and doctors are more likely to stay and thrive in learning and working environments that consistently demonstrate cultural safety.3

The solution to both a stronger workforce and further improvements in Indigenous health is partnership: our people working alongside non-Indigenous people in order to achieve an agreed goal. Such partnerships are seen in collaboration agreements which spread across the medical education continuum. Agreements currently exist between AIDA and Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand, and AIDA and the Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils; an agreement will soon be launched between AIDA and the Committee of Presidents of Medical Colleges. This collaboration did not happen overnight; it was a lengthy process, with trust being built over time and through each organisation demonstrating its commitment to improving Indigenous health. These best-practice models are available on the AIDA website (http://www.aida.org.au/partnerships.aspx) and should be recognised by all medical professionals as a best-practice framework for improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, health is not just about an individual’s physical wellbeing; it is a holistic concept that encompasses the social, emotional and cultural wellbeing of the entire community. AIDA asserts that the Health Plan needs to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures at its centre in recognition of the importance of culture to the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people. As medical professionals, we must also embed culture in the provision of health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as evidence shows correlations between increased cultural attachment and better health and wellbeing.1 In achieving this, it is important that the Health Plan be developed and conducted through genuine partnerships between governments, Indigenous organisations and communities, not only because such an approach is consistent with what is contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but because it makes good sense.4

AIDA recommends creating strong partnerships with Indigenous organisations and communities to guarantee Indigenous participation in decision making and showcase strong Indigenous leadership in communities.3

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, particularly through the peak national health bodies, is paramount in providing government with professional advice from Indigenous health practitioners in developing the Health Plan.3 AIDA recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organisations play a central role in the health of Indigenous people; however, it is also important that members of the non-Indigenous mainstream health workforce play their role in delivering equitable services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is expected that the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan will be released later this year. I encourage you, upon reading it, to ask yourself what your role is in delivering quality and culturally appropriate health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to consider how this role could be strengthened. As members of the health workforce, we need to locate ourselves within the Health Plan and implement strategies in partnership with Indigenous communities and organisations. AIDA argues that this combination of strategic action and partnership is critical to achieving equitable health and life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

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NACCHO MJA health news: Improving the health of Aboriginal children in Australia

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Article by:

Sandra J Eades, BMed, PhD, Professor1
Fiona J Stanley, MB BS, MSc, MD, Professor2
1 School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
2 Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA.

Regular monitoring and supportive federal and state public policy are critical to closing the gap in child health

Health and wellbeing of children and young people are the keys to human capability of future generations. Human capability includes the capacity to participate in economic, social and civil activities and be a valued contributor to society;1 it means that not only can you usefully live, work and vote, but you can be a good parent to your children. Thus there is no better investment that the state can make than to influence factors that will enhance the health and wellbeing of children and youth.

There were an estimated 200 245 First Nations2 children aged 0–14 years in Australia in 2011, comprising 4.9% of the total child population and 35% of the total First Nations population.3 With such a high proportion of children compared with the non-Aboriginal population, the First Nations population is much younger, with fewer adults per child to care for them. An Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth report adds to evidence from the most recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on the health of Australia’s children to document the growing divide between the health of First Nations and other Australian children.3,4

Child health indicators include mortality rates (Box, A), prevalence of chronic conditions, indicators of early development (including rates of dental decay [Box, B]), promotion of early learning (eg, adults reading to children in preschool years) and school readiness assessed with the Australian Early Development Index (Box, C).3 Risk factors for poor child health include: teenage pregnancies; smoking and alcohol exposure during pregnancy; pregnancy outcomes such as stillbirths, low birthweight and preterm births; the proportion of children aged 5–14 years who are overweight or obese; and the proportion of children aged 12–15 years who are current smokers. In addition, indicators of the level of safety and security of children — including rates of accidental injury, substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect, evidence of children as victims of violence, and indicators of homelessness and crime — further highlight how poorly Aboriginal children fare during childhood.

Owing to significant gaps in available data, Australia is not included in UNICEF reports relevant to First Nations children, including The children left behind: a league table of inequality in child well-being in the world’s rich countries.5 This report is important for many First Nations children who experience conditions near the bottom because it focuses on closing the gap between the bottom and the middle:

We should focus on closing the gap between the bottom and the middle not because that is the easy thing to do, but because focusing on those who do not have the chance of a good life is the most important thing to do.5

While there has been progress, particularly in educational outcomes, the gap in healthy child development in safe and secure environments is disturbing. It has resulted from of a variety of complex social circumstances, due to colonisation, marginalisation and forced removals. To effectively and successfully interrupt and reverse these generational traumas on today’s children, careful and sensitive First Nations-led programs are required. Programs in Canada and Australia have shown that the major protective and healing effects of strong culture are immensely powerful, even in urban situations, which highlights the value of strong government support for such programs in Australia. For example, putting First Nations children and youth into cultural programs is more effective than incarceration for preventing recidivism, and increased recognition of Aboriginal cultures in school curricula increases rates of high school completion by First Nations students.6

Drawing on our own and overseas data,7 we believe that Australian services have failed to close the gap in child health because they have been developed without involving or engaging First Nations people. When participatory action research methods are used, as has been done with Inuit communities in Nunavut in Canada,8 the use and success of services are dramatic. Such strategies lead to higher levels of local employment, higher self-esteem, and reduced mental illness and substance misuse among First Nations people. British Columbian data on First Nations youth suicide rates have shown that the lowest rates in Canada were in communities with strong culture and Aboriginal control of services (eg, health, education and community safety).9 This means that a major rethink of services for First Nations people is needed, and that centralised policy applied to multiple diverse communities is unlikely to work. Although the policy content of what needs to be done can be developed centrally based on existing evidence (eg, alcohol in pregnancy causes brain damage, early childhood environments are vital to help children to be ready for school, complete immunisation prevents infections, and avoiding sweet drinks prevents obesity and dental decay), development and implementation of services need to be done locally and with community involvement. A great example of this is the strategy to overcome fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) that was developed by Aboriginal women June Oscar and Emily Carter and the First Nations people of Fitzroy Valley. This comprehensive and effective strategy has enabled the community to think and act beyond the stigma of FASD — community members drove the design and implementation of programs to prevent FASD, and they created opportunities and support mechanisms to enable the best possible treatment for children with FASD.10

Building on the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth report,4 we need a consistent national framework for monitoring health status and an understanding of the impact of federal and state policies on First Nations children. Recent policies with the potential to affect First Nations children include: the Northern Territory intervention, the loosening of alcohol restrictions in the Northern Territory, policies aimed at addressing overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in child protection reporting, housing policies (including evictions and the transfer of public housing properties to ownership and management by non-government organisations), policies that have changed financial support for single parents, education policies aimed at assessing school readiness and other policies aimed at closing the gap in health. The effects of these policies on First Nations children need to be considered in regular assessments of public policy, with the needs of children prioritised over competing interests.

The exciting thing is that we now have a growing number of Aboriginal health care providers and other university-trained professionals to employ to make services effective. We have equity in medical student intakes which augurs well for future progress in this critical area. The dream of having appropriate, culturally safe policies, programs and services for our First Nations children can become a reality if it is supported and promoted by all levels of government.

Child health indicators that show a divide between First Nations and other Australian children*

SES = socioeconomic status. LBOTE = language background other than English. * Adapted with permission from A picture of Australia’s children 2012.3 † Developmentally vulnerable on one or more Australian Early Development Index domains.
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NACCHO International health news: ACCESS to JUSTICE for Aboriginal People

Shane Duffy

Shane Duffy, the Chairperson of the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) delivered a joint statement on behalf NATSILS and the Indigenous Peoples Organisation Network of Australia (IPO) in response to a Study on access to justice in the promotion and protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples at the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) at the Sixth Session meeting in Geneva from 8-12 July 2013.

Mr Duffy said studies such as these provide a critical point of reference and authoritative guidance for States (National Governments) in their efforts to provide for and implement their obligations concerning the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

However, while Mr Duffy agrees that the experience of Indigenous Peoples within the criminal justice system the world over requires urgent action, he said care needs to be taken not to confine States understanding their responsibilities by limiting the expression or scope of these rights to one element or area of concern.

He further added; Access to justice for Indigenous Peoples must be about how we can use both Indigenous and Western systems of justice to ensure the greatest possible quality of life for all Indigenous Peoples’, which is highlighted at Article 5 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that affirms Indigenous Peoples right to maintain and strengthen our political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions while retaining our right to also participate fully in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State.

Mr Duffy’s statement called on the Human Rights Council (HRC) to encourage States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the foundational document for the development of all policies concerning Indigenous Peoples, including issues related to access to justice, and that the HRC request the EMRIP extend the Study on access to justice in the promotion an protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples to include a practical analysis of Articles 1 (4) and 2 (2) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and General Comment XXIII by the CERD as it relates to special measures and the requirement to obtain free, prior and informed consent.

Mr Duffy further added ‘it is important that States utilise informed standardised data collections that ensures a more strategic approach that provides appropriate needs based financial resources to Indigenous organisations to build their capacity to respond appropriately to Indigenous justice needs.

Mr Duffy said, ‘In Australia, the statistics provide a damning picture, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults incarcerated at 15 times the rate of non-Indigenous adults; imprisonment rate for our women has grown by 58.6% between the years 2000 to 2010; Our children are 24 times more likely to be in youth detention than non-Indigenous young people. In 2011-12, our children were subjected to child protection substantiations at a rate of 41.9 per 1000, nearly eight times that of non-Indigenous children.  They are also ten times more likely to be in out-of-home care (comprising 31% of all children in care), despite making up only 4.2% of the population of all children and young people. In addition to the rising rates, our children are increasingly being placed with non-Indigenous foster carers.

We have therefore called on the Australian government to take into consideration the significant issues highlighted in the full intervention to work collaboratively with us to facilitate the restoration and strengthening of local governance and decision-making structures to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s access to justice’.
Contact:

For a full copy of Mr Duffy’s Intervention and/or interview enquiries please contact Amala Groom
Phone: +61 425 820 658
Email

Further Information:

IPO Media

IPO Facebook

IPO Twitter

 

 

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NACCHO Male Health news: Aboriginal Men Heed the Call for Better Health

Male Health Summit - Ross River Resort - July 2013

Outcomes from this summit will follow later this week

About 120 Aboriginal men from across Australia have joined together at a national summit to identify ways to improve the health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males in remote communities.

 

Minister for Indigenous Health, Warren Snowdon, said today the three-day summit involved men from 29 communities from the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia.

“For the first time, we are working closely with the men who live in these areas and asking them for their recommendations and ideas on ways to improve their health and the health of their families and communities,” he said.

“The summit will discuss a number of issues impacting health, including physical, social and emotional wellbeing, culture, employment, incarceration, and access to services in remote Aboriginal communities.

“At the end of the Summit, we hope to have developed some plans for action they can take back to their communities.” 

 The Australian Government’s National Partnership on Remote Service Delivery has identified each of the communities represented at the Summit as a priority area.

Under the partnership, the Government is working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to improve service delivery and facilities, to raise the quality of services, and support community leadership.

“Rather than having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people feel like they’re part of the problem, we want to encourage and support Aboriginal men to be part of the solution,” Mr Snowdon said.

 The Australian Government has provided $440,000 to support the Aboriginal Health Summit in partnership with the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress and Wurli Wurlinjang Health Service.

The Australian Government has funded a wide range of programs targeting men’s health, following the release of the National Male Health Policy. Including initiatives to prevent and treat prostate cancer, new funding for mental health programs aimed at men, supporting Men’s Sheds and funding organisations that address key male health issues including reproductive health.

There has also been funding committed towards programs to address the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. Recognising and promoting the positive roles Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males have in managing their own health, and in supporting the health of all members of their communities including women and children.

The Australian Government is also investing in providing better treatment for men with prostate cancer, with about 20,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Abiraterone acetate (marketed as Zytiga®) will be available on the PBS from 1 August 2013, at a cost of $46 million over four years. 

Funding of $7 million over four years was recently announced to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia to support up to 13 Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurses to assist and support up to 4,000 men with prostate cancer.

In an effort to address suicide rates particularly among males, the Federal Government is investing $23 million to expand the beyondblue national workplace program, and building on the Info Line for men.

Campaigns are also being developed to address the stigma around depression, anxiety and related disorders.

Through the Strong Fathers Strong Families (SFSF) initiative $6.8 million has been provided to promote the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fathers, partners, grandfathers and uncles and encourage them to actively participate in their children’s and families’ lives.

More than $300,000 has been provided to establish, equip and promote Men’s Sheds as a positive contributor towards health, wellbeing and community engagement issues within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

White Lion has been granted $275,000 to provide intensive outreach support for young Aboriginal people who are incarcerated or have recently been released from incarceration.

 Media Contact: Marcus Butler  02 6277 7820 or  0417 917 796

 

Minister Warren Snowdon - Male Health Summit - Ross River Resort