1.1 National : Watch NACCHO CEO appearance on the ABC TV the Drum for NAIDOC week
1.2 National : Federal Department of Health launches a new website
1.3 National : NACCHO support of Adam Goodes 2014-2019 ” Aboriginal Health and Racism “ #TheFinalQuarter
2.1 Armajun Aboriginal Health Service Armidale hold NAIDOC Week celebration
2.2 NSW : AHMRC The July Edition of Message Stick is out now!
2.3 NSW : Barrier between NSW Indigenous patients and hospital staff: report
3.1 VIC : VACCHO to co-host 2019 OCHRE DAY Men’s Health Conference in Melbourne
4.1 Qld : QAIHC welcomes Minister Ken Wyatt to their new offices in Brisbane
4.2 QLD : Renee Blackman CEO of Gidgee Healing ACCHO Mt Isa on fact finding road trip
4.3 QLD : Goolburri ACCHO : Jaydon Adams Foundation Indigenous Jets Ipswich Jets 2019
5.SA : Tackling Tobacco Team – Nunkuwarrin Yunti the mob going smoke-free in Adelaide’s Prisons.
6.WA : AHCWA : Derby Aboriginal Health Service (DAHS) in Derby completed their final block of training in our Cert II Family Wellbeing Training Course
7.1 NT : Team AMSANT travelled to Sydney this week for national NACCHO workshop
7.2 : NT Katherine West Health Board traveling with our friend Healthy Harold to the schools talking about smoking
8. ACT : Julie Tongs CEO Winnunga ACCHO Canberra congratulates Aunty Thelma Weston the 2019 National NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year
9. Tas: Tasmanian NAIDOC Aboriginal award winners
How to submit in 2019 a NACCHO Affiliate or Members Good News Story ?
Email to Colin Cowell NACCHO Media
Mobile 0401 331 251
Wednesday by 4.30 pm for publication Thursday /Friday
1.1 National : Watch NACCHO CEO appearance on the ABC TV the Drum for NAIDOC week
Watch ABC TV IView Friday 12 July Edition
1.2 National : Federal Department of Health launches a new website
Welcome to the new health.gov.au website
We think you’ll find it a better website. We’ve:
- changed the way it looks and works so it’s easier to use
- reorganised our content so it’s easier to find
- rewritten our content so it’s easier to understand
- improved navigation and search
- begun consolidating our other Health websites into this one, so more of our information is in one place
Department Press Release
The new website has been developed through comprehensive research and testing with our stakeholders.
Health.gov.au users told us they couldn’t find what they were looking for and when they did, it was often out of date and hard to read. Content was also often replicated and spread across more than 90 Health-owned websites.
The new website has better functionality and content has been written in plain English to improve the experience of all users.
An improved search function will search the new and old website during the transition period to ensure all relevant content is picked up. Better analytics will help us understand our users and continue to respond to their needs.
This project has been, and will continue to be, a major exercise. We expect it will take up to 12 months to completely rewrite our content.
In the meantime, Health topics that have not yet been fully revised will have a short introduction on the new site and links to old content for detail. Links to the old website will still work until we decommission our old website.
We won’t decommission the old site until we are satisfied the new website is complete.
1.3 National : NACCHO support of Adam Goodes 2014-2019 ” Aboriginal Health and Racism “ #TheFinalQuarter
In 2015 NACCHO supported our good friend of NACCHO Adam Goodes with a ” Racism is a driver of Aboriginal ill health ” campaign that attracted a record 50,000 Likes and shares on our Facebook page reaching 846,848 followers
READ OUR NACCHO RACISM Post HERE
This followed our 2013 sponsorship of the first All-Indigenous team to represent Australia that Adam co captained with Buddy Franklin
Missed the Channel 10 Broadcast ? Watch HERE
2.1 Armajun Aboriginal Health Service Armidale hold NAIDOC Week celebration
More than 40 people attended the Armajun Aboriginal Health Service in Armidale on Thursday morning, but it had nothing to do with anything medical and everything to do with their NAIDOC Week morning tea.
Armajun program manager Deb Green said the day was fantastic.
“As the day gets on, we’ll get more community members who will just wander in,” she said.
“There will be an area left open so they can just come in and have a meal, and have a chat if other people are around.
“The whole week has been absolutely brilliant. We should be very, very proud of our community, and every service provider that has hosted an event over the last two weeks, it’s just been amazin
2.2 NSW : AHMRC The July Edition of Message Stick is out now!
Read about AH&MRC staff celebrating NAIDOC Week 2019, wrap-ups for Yarn Up, Your Health Your Future and the Dubbo Symposium and an update on the 2019 flu season.
Read about it here >> http://bit.ly/2XQldhR
2.3 NSW : Barrier between NSW Indigenous patients and hospital staff: report
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in NSW hospitals have reported being treated with less respect and dignity than non-Indigenous patients.
The Bureau of Health Information surveyed about 36,000 patients in hospitals and emergency rooms between 2017 and 2018.
The bureau’s chief executive, Diane Watson, said nearly all of the 1,000 First Nation patients were happy with their overall care, but some clear trends emerged.
Director for Aboriginal Health Geri Wilson-Matenga said new training programs would be designed to help medical staff with cultural communication and understanding.
3.1 VIC : VACCHO to co-host 2019 OCHRE DAY Men’s Health Conference in Melbourne
The NACCHO Ochre Day Health Summit provides a national forum for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male delegates, organisations and communities to learn from Aboriginal male health leaders, discuss their health concerns, exchange share ideas and examine ways of improving their own men’s health and that of their communities.
REGISTER and other information on this years Ochre Day Men’s Health Conference
Please visit the NACCHO website.
3.2 VIC : Aboriginal Victorians are twice as likely to be hospitalised for mental health issues, compared to the wider population
A history of marginalisation and cultural dispossession has contributed to lower emotional and social wellbeing among Aboriginal Victorians, the state’s mental health royal commission has heard.
Key points:
- Aboriginal Victorians are twice as likely to be hospitalised for mental health issues, compared to the wider population
- Almost half of the state’s Aboriginal population has a relative who was removed under the policies which lead to the Stolen Generations
- One elder told the commission the western concept of mental health was neither familiar, nor helpful for Aboriginal people
Wemba Wemba elder Auntie Nellie Flagg ( Pictured above ) described the mental anguish that accompanied the relentless racism she experienced growing up in the north-west Victorian town of Swan Hill in the 1960s. See Full Report
Helen Kennedy, from the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, said: “They’re losing their life to suicide at twice the rate.”
“We’re not seeing improvements.”
Ms Kennedy told the commission part of the problem was a lack of recognition of the profound trauma arising from a long history of marginalisation and the dispossession of land, culture and children.
Almost half of all Aboriginal Victorians have a relative who was removed under policies which lead to the Stolen Generations.
“These impacts have been brutal,” Ms Kennedy said.
“They have left a legacy of enduring trauma and loss that continues to affect Aboriginal communities, families and many individuals is in many compounding ways.”
Culturally appropriate services critical
Ms Kennedy told the inquiry that developing culturally appropriate services staffed by Aboriginal people was critical.
She said Victoria had only eight Aboriginal mental health workers statewide.
“We are lagging behind other states,” she said.
“We need a massive reinvestment to support a growing skilled Aboriginal workforce.”
Ms Kennedy said one approach proving successful elsewhere was the creation of trauma-informed community “healing centres” aimed at helping individuals build stronger connections to culture, community, family, spirituality, their mind and emotions.
“What we’re doing now is not working. We have to have a different approach,” she said.
“Looking after people’s social and emotional wellbeing and supporting protective factors … we know that works.”
4.1 Qld : QAIHC welcomes Minister Ken Wyatt to their new offices in Brisbane
QAIHC CEO Mr Neil Willmett was pleased to welcome Ken Wyatt MP to their new office this week. They discussed a range of topics including the great work QAIHC Members were doing, the work QAIHC leads in the Sector, and the importance of strong partnerships with government and stakeholders.
4.2 QLD : Renee Blackman CEO of Gidgee Healing ACCHO Mt Isa on fact finding road trip
Setting off yesterday to Burketown to meet with Council, Aboriginal Land Council and Consumers re health services. Robust discussions- great feedback – NWHHS, Gidgee Healing and WQPHN working with the community to improve health outcomes
Renee Blackman second from LEFT
4.3 QLD : Goolburri ACCHO : Jaydon Adams Foundation Indigenous Jets Ipswich Jets 2019
Big thank you to photographer for these amazing pictures. see more HERE
5.SA : Tackling Tobacco Team – Nunkuwarrin Yunti the mob going smoke-free in Adelaide’s Prisons.
There have been some inspiring stories and changes going on. #BeHealthyBeSmokefree #Rewriteyourstory
6.WA : AHCWA : Derby Aboriginal Health Service (DAHS) in Derby completed their final block of training in our Cert II Family Wellbeing Training Course
Last month, students from the Derby Aboriginal Health Service (DAHS) in Derby completed their final block of training in our Cert II Family Wellbeing Training Course, all graduating successfully with ease. The course runs over a 4 day period and is part of the Family Wellbeing program at AHCWA that aims to support the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal people and their communities within WA. The aim of the program is to increase awareness of the contributing factors that impact on family wellbeing and identify strategies to help build better foundations to overcome these factors.
Congratulations to the students from DAHS!
For more information on the training please contact our Family & Wellbeing Program Coordinator, Ken Nicholls on (08) 9227 1631 or email ken.nicholls at ahcwa.org.
7.1 NT : Team AMSANT traveled to Sydney this week for national NACCHO workshop
7.2 : NT Katherine West Health Board traveling with our friend Healthy Harold to the schools talking about smoking
We have been traveling with our friend Healthy Harold to the schools in the Katherine West region. Healthy Harold has been yarning to the kids about their dreams when finishing school and how smoking could affect their dreams.
What’s your Smoke Free Story?
8. ACT : Julie Tongs CEO Winnunga ACCHO Canberra congratulates Aunty Thelma Weston the 2019 National NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year
Thelma Weston, a descendant of the Meriam people of the Torres Strait, is like no other. Her life is a story of survival, achievement, hope, love and celebration.
Despite only having a limited education, Aunty Thelma trained as a nurse and became a fully qualified health worker.
At age 83, Aunty Thelma still works full time at Winnunga Aboriginal Health and Community Services in Canberra, using her skills to manage the needle exchange program.
She has a long history of outstanding involvement and achievements in the community and has sat on a number of local and national committees and boards.
Aunty Thelma is on the board of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association (NATSIHWA) and regularly travels across Australia to attend board meetings.
As a breast cancer survivor, Aunty Thelma has worked with Breast Cancer Network Australia to encourage other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to connect, seek support and information about the disease.
Aunty Thelma is much loved, admired and well respected, not only in her workplace and amongst her clients, but in the wider ACT community and across Australia. She is a wonderful example of a wise and caring Torres Strait Islander woman who has achieved much for her family and community.
9. Tas: Tasmanian NAIDOC Aboriginal award winners
Congratulations Rob Braslin Aboriginal of the year. Congratulations Zack Riley-youth of the year; Adam Thompson-artist of the year; Taylah Pickett-scholar of the year (award accepted on her behalf by Raylene); Sherrin Egger-sportsperson of the year. Congratulations to all nominees and all award winners 🖤💛❤️