1.SA Nunyara Aboriginal Health Service Whyalla SA awarded $500,000 New Directions: Mothers and Babies Services grant
2. NSW : Awabakal Medical Services “Tackling Indigenous Smoking” health workshops for students
3.1 QLD New partnership between AFL Gold Coast Suns and Deadly Choices 715 Health Checks
3.2 QLD : 90th anniversary of 270km walk to be marked by ceremony and re-enactment
4.VIC : VAHS Healthy Lifestyle Team , Deadly Dan and Smoke Free Super Heroes
5.WA : First National first Aboriginal Affairs roundtable meeting in seven years to discuss their progress .
6.NT Additional $1.6m for Indigenous language interpreters
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1.SA Nunyara Aboriginal Health Service Whyalla SA awarded $500,000 New Directions: Mothers and Babies Services grant
Local Aboriginal families with young children will benefit from new services after Nunyara Aboriginal Health Service was successful in gaining a $500,000 grant earlier this month.
The New Directions: Mothers and Babies Services program is an initiative of the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Health, and aims to deliver antenatal, postnatal and early childhood services targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with children under five yearsn old. Nunyara plans to use the funding to improve the health care of children from antenatal care right through until they attend primary school.
The health service currently have a part time Aboriginal Maternal Infant Care (AMIC) Practitioner and access to a Midwife one day per week.
The funding would increase the hours of these two positions as well as create four new jobs. Nunyara will employ a Child Health Coordinator, Child Health Nurse, AMIC Trainee and Transport Officer to support the new program.
Nunyara Aboriginal Health Service chief executive officer Cindy Zbierksi said the team anticipates they can “more than double” Nunyara’s service delivery outputs relating to improved access and outcomes for under five-year-olds.
“We can increase the child health checks by at least doubling them in the first six months and increase childhood immunisation by 20 percent,” she said.
The provision of a Transport Officer in the new program will also assist clients to attend specialist appointments in Port Augusta, who have more Paediatric and Obstetric services than Whyalla.
Mrs Zbierski said this has been an issue in the past, as travelling to Port Augusta is less than 100 kilometres away so clients do not qualify for the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme.
Nunyara is working on converting one of its buildings into a space for this service and plans to have the team fully operational by the end of 2017. Nunyara is located at 17/27 Tully St, Whyalla
2. NSW : Awabakal Medical Services “Tackling Indigenous Smoking” health workshops for students
IRRAWANG High School Indigenous students were treated to some famous faces this week, with some Indigenous stars visiting the school to run a health workshop with the students
The workshop was all about “Tackling Indigenous Smoking” and has been generously funded by the Awabakal Medical Services and facilitated by No Limit Management.Students were treated to three special guests who spoke to the crowd.
Cody Walker, a professional footballer in the NRL with the Sydney Rabbitohs is a proud man of Bundjalung and Yuin Heritage.
George Rose, a former NRL player, played for Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, with whom he won the 2011 NRL premiership, and also Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters.
He played for the Walgett Aboriginal Connection in several Koori knockouts and is a proud Kamilaroi man.
International Indigenous model Samantha Harris, a respected Dunghutti woman, joined the football stars to run the workshop group for the morning.
Each of the guests spoke of their life journeys and reinforced to the students the dangers of smoking, encouraging them to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle and stand up to peer pressure.
The students took part in fun, but physical team and confidence building activities, working together to reach outcomes.
The guest stars gave the students an opportunity at the end of the workshop for photos and autographs.
Matt Chaffey, Year 10 student from Medowie said “I really appreciated the mentors coming to our school.”
“From what they told us, it makes me more determined to never smoke.”
Well done to the staff and students for another unique and creatively managed experience for the students at Irrawang High School.
3.1 QLD New partnership between AFL Gold Coast Suns and Deadly Choices 715 Health Checks
The Deadly Choices Gold Coast SUNS jersey will be free for community members when they have a full 715 Health Check Kalwun on the Gold Coast
The Deadly Choices Gold Coast SUNS jersey will be free for community members when they have a full 715 Health Check Kalwun on the Gold Coast
3.2 QLD : 90th anniversary of 270km walk to be marked by ceremony and re-enactment
On Wednesday 28 June more than 100 people, including a support crew of cooks, a nurse, counsellor, community workers and volunteers, will set out to walk from Taroom, 290km west of Maryborough, to Woorabinda – more than 270km to the north – over eight days.
The Trek will be kicked off by a Healing Ceremony on Bundulla Station, the site of the former Taroom Aboriginal Settlement, which was closed down in 1927 because of the threat of flooding from a nearby irrigation scheme.
The Taroom Aboriginal Settlement, also known as Taroom Aboriginal Reserve, was established as a government-operated reserve on a site on the Dawson River, east of the township of Taroom in 1911. The settlement was established under the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897, which enabled direct government control over the lives of Aboriginal people in Queensland, including forced removals to designated reserves. Under the direction of a superintendent, the settlement housed Aboriginal people from different language groups and regions of Queensland, who lived within a highly regulated and tightly controlled institutional environment until its closure in 1927.[1]
Inhabitants at the time were forced to move to what is now Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire, 170km south west of Rockhampton.
Most of them walked.
The purpose of the Healing Ceremony is to pay respect to those hundreds of Elders, men, women and children and to lay wreaths at a memorial at the site.
Trek walkers are expected to travel from Woorabinda, Yarrabah, Palm Island, Cherbourg and other central Queensland communities, and will include non-Indigenous participants.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the walk and the third year of re-enacting the walk.
Media is welcome to attend. For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Christine Howes on 0419 656 277.
4.VIC : VAHS Healthy Lifestyle Team , Deadly Dan and Smoke Free Super Heroes
This week the VAHSHLT were hanging out at Yappera Children’s Service Co-Operative reading Deadly Dan at the League and talking about the importance of staying smoke free!
At our Coach program we are educating the kids about healthy lifestyles and are creating a next generation of smoke free super heroes!!
#youSmokeYouChoke #StaySmokeFree Aboriginal Quitline Quit Victoria Department of Health & Human Services, Victoria
5.WA : First National first Aboriginal Affairs roundtable meeting in seven years to discuss their progress .
State and territory Aboriginal affairs leaders say it is inevitable the federal government will need to have treaty negotiations with indigenous people.
Representatives from Western Australia, the ACT, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria met on Friday for the first roundtable meeting in seven years to discuss their progress on Aboriginal affairs.
WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt, who is indigenous, said each state faced similar issues including housing, treaties, Aboriginal representation and land tenure.
“It’s an opportunity now for states and territories to have a much better understanding of what we’re all doing, and co-operate a lot more to create more opportunities for Aboriginal people,” he told reporters on Friday.
“We’re seeing a lot more happening in the space of Native title, constitutional recognition and closing the gap.”
Mr Wyatt met with SA Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Minister Kyam Maher, ACT MLA Rachel Stephen-Smith, NT MLA Chansey Paech and Member for Geelong Christine Couzens.
Roundtable meetings are expected to continue once or twice a year, with discussions towards the end of 2017 to focus on how states and territories will use land vested in Aboriginal communities to better create economic development.
Mr Wyatt said treaty conversations were occurring with Nyoongar people from WA’s South West region, and acknowledged this was happening across Australia.
“What Uluru has shown is that Aboriginal Australia is very keen to have this conversation about treaties elevated,” he said.
“It has created a new pressure on the commonwealth government to engage in an area that perhaps, may be new to them.” Mr Maher said a state treaty could be announced by the end of the year and that bilateral agreement would have a federal impact.
“When states and territories talk with one voice it helps solve problems,” he said.
6.NT Additional $1.6m for Indigenous language interpreters
The Coalition Government is providing the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) with an additional $1.6 million to expand its successful Indigenous Interpreting Project.
See Background Health NT Research TeleinterpretingServices
Indigenous language interpreters play an essential role in ensuring First Australians have access to a fair legal system, as well as government and community services. Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, said 11 per cent of First Australians spoke an Indigenous language as their main language at home.
“In some parts of Australia, English is the third or fourth language spoken, clearly demonstrating the need for widely available interpreting services,” Minister Scullion said.
“This $1.6 million investment will ensure the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters is able to meet the growing need for accredited Indigenous language interpreters in regional and remote Australia, particularly in the health and justice sectors.
“The authority’s Indigenous Interpreting Project has already enjoyed considerable success.
Since 2012, it has led to 96 accreditations being awarded to Indigenous interpreters across 25 languages.