” What you (Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews ) said about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advancement being led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is absolutely right,
The great Australian Chris Sarra said very wisely … governments have got to stop doing things to Aboriginal people and start doing things with them and that is my commitment.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has told a Reconciliation event The Long Walk he is committed to following the lead of Indigenous people, less than a year after rejecting their call for an enshrined voice in parliament.
After Premier Daniel Andrews spoke of his government’s efforts to create a state Treaty at the Long Walk event at Melbourne’s Federation Square, Mr Turnbull said the two leaders were “starting to agree on more things all the time”.
During a summit at Uluru in May 2017, Indigenous leaders rejected symbolic constitutional recognition in favour of an elected parliamentary advisory body and a treaty.
But in October, Mr Turnbull said a new representative body was not desirable or capable of winning acceptance at a referendum
” Australian Medical Association has thrown its support behind last year’s Uluru Statement from the Heart: It was a fairly clear-cut decision for us to make.
We recognise the issue regarding the will to want to have the right to self-determination. We recognise the health inequities, the social justice inequities, the wellness inequities that confront our Indigenous population.
And this Statement is just another way of trying to ensure that we can continue to work and get all governments, both State, Federal, and Territory, to work towards closing the gap, improving the social determinants of health, and recognising the need and the required improvements that are necessary to address the gap that currently exists.
The ACCHOs, or Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, are a very important part of the health delivery process. It recognises that the usual relationships, when it comes to health facilities in a different way, it’s a different connectivity. “
The recently elected Australian Medical Association’s President, Tony Bartone, who participated in the Long Walk spoke with ABC Radio reporter, Dan Conifer . See full interview and AMA press release Part 1 and 2 below
” Politicians, footballers and campaigners have joined thousands of Australians in the Long Walk event to support moves to improve Indigenous health and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
It has been 14 years since AFL champion Michael Long’s momentous journey from his home in Melbourne to the Prime Minister to get the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people back on the national agenda.
Indigenous health is focal point of this year’s walk, with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service Australian Medical Association (AMA) and Quit Victoria both throwing their support behind the event.
Ill health forced Essendon great Michael Long to miss this year’s Long Walk.
Part 1 : Australian Medical Association has thrown its support behind last year’s Uluru Statement from the Heart
The AMA Federal Council has endorsed the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which calls for a First Nations’ voice in the Australian Constitution.
AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, said today that the AMA has for many years supported Indigenous recognition in the Australian Constitution, and that the Uluru Statement is another significant step in making that recognition a reality.
“The Uluru Statement expresses the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in regard to self-determination and status in their own country,” Dr Bartone said.
“The AMA is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
“Closing the gap in health services and outcomes requires a multi-faceted approach.
“Cooperation and unity of purpose from all Australian governments is needed if we are to achieve meaningful and lasting improvements.
“This will involve addressing the social determinants of health – the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.
“Constitutional recognition can underpin all these endeavours, as we work to improve the physical and mental health of Indigenous Australians.”
Dr Bartone said the AMA was proud to announce its endorsement of the Uluru Statement during National Reconciliation Week.
Part 2 :The recently elected Australian Medical Association’s President, Tony Bartone, who participated in the Long Walk spoke with ABC Radio reporter, Dan Conifer
ELIZABETH JACKSON: Within the next couple of years, your local doctor’s surgery could be adorned with posters supporting Indigenous Constitutional change. The highly influential
Australian Medical Association has thrown its support behind last year’s Uluru Statement from the Heart. The peak body says including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the nation’s founding document could help make Indigenous patients healthier. The AMA’s President Tony Bartone has told our political reporter Dan Conifer the organisation is unequivocal in its support.
TONY BARTONE: It was a fairly clear-cut decision for us to make. We recognise the issue regarding the will to want to have the right to self-determination. We recognise the health inequities, the social justice inequities, the wellness inequities that confront our Indigenous population. And this Statement is just another way of trying to ensure that we can continue to work and get all governments, both State, Federal, and Territory, to work towards closing the gap, improving the social determinants of health, and recognising the need and the required improvements that are necessary to address the gap that currently exists.
DAN CONIFER: Can you just explain for us how something like the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and the changes that it calls for, would support health outcomes, would improve life expectancy and so on?
TONY BARTONE: They’re fairly fundamental aspirations that are part of the Uluru Statement, and those aspirations and recognitions really speak to a number of emotional, physical, and broader social, environmental issues that really will address, as we say, the social determinants of health. We can’t really seek to close the gap when it comes to health outcomes until we address the fundamental building blocks.
DAN CONIFER: Now, one of the key elements of the Uluru Statement is about involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in decision-making processes. In the medical profession, how has involving Indigenous Australians driven improvements?
TONY BARTONE: The ACCHOs, or Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, are a very important part of the health delivery process. It recognises that the usual relationships, when it comes to health facilities in a different way, it’s a different connectivity. Put another way, it recognises the inherent qualities and behavioural patterns of our Indigenous population, and that is different from a traditional Western-type setting which we’ve become experienced with.
DAN CONIFER: And if a referendum were to be held on any of the elements of the Uluru Statement, how would the AMA, individual doctors and specialists around the country, take part or be involved in that campaign?
TONY BARTONE: We would use all avenues open to us, both in terms of our advocacy and communication with our members, to ensure that the information and the sharing of that information, in terms of the wider community, patients who come to our surgery, the access points that we do have, are used to the fullest in terms of ensuring a proper address of the Statement’s initiatives.
DAN CONIFER: So we could see Vote Yes posters or pamphlets or badges in GP surgeries when this, or if this comes to a vote?
TONY BARTONE: What we’d see is the Association taking a front foot in our communication and advocacy on behalf of members. Of course, each individual member is free and would be wanting to participate to perhaps even a fuller extent, which would lead to putting up of posters and sharing that material in a surgery environment. But we would take a front foot more at an Association level to ensure that we communicate with our stakeholders, with our leaders in Parliament, and with the community in general through our media connectivity to communicate that wish and desire.
Part 3 The Long Walk ,VAHS and Quit Victoria promotes Indigenous health
Smoking rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are almost three times the national average of non-Indigenous people, although the prevalence in Indigenous communities is falling steadily.
In Victoria, 41 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are smokers.
Quit Victoria’s Aboriginal Tobacco Control Program Coordinator Jethro Pumirri Calma-Holt told SBS News the health of Indigenous Australians should be kept at the top of the agenda.
“Indigenous health is something that needs to be invested in by everyone and that’s part of national reconciliation week.”
“What Michael Long did all those years ago has created a really big legacy for everyone to follow in his footsteps,” he said
Check it out the legend himself Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti wearing the VAHS Deadly Choices Shirt out during the warm up for Dream Time at the G. The other players also wore the shirts as well… What a moment !
If you want your very own VAHS Deadly Choices Shirt just like Tippa the only way you can get one is to complete a health check at VAHS. So call us and book your health check on 03 9419 3000
