- Bumper raise criminal age petition
- UN urges child detention overhaul
- Better support for mob with breast cancer
- QLD mob to lead CTG initiatives
- AHW Georgie supports Ngarrindjeri mob
- Winnunga News July 2022
- New process for job advertising
- Save the Date – Dental Health Week
The image in the feature tile is from a 29 July 2020 Happy Mag article The call to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Australia has been denied.
Bumper raising criminal age petition
More than 200,000 people nationwide have petitioned the Federal Government to take action to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14. Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney met with representatives from Change the Record and other human rights, legal and First Nations-led organisations who handed over the petition on Tuesday this week.
Change the Record co-chair Cheryl Axleby said the petition delivered a clear message from1,000s of Australians who want to see children looked after. “We are calling on every state and territory government to heed the medical, legal and child development experts who have been crystal clear; no child under the age of 14 years old should be arrested, hauled before a court or convicted of a criminal offence.”
A spokesperson for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the Federal government could take leadership on the matter which has traditionally been managed by state governments. “It’s sad fact that a significant number of children held in detention are Indigenous children and we need to invest in programs to tackle the unacceptably high rate of incarceration of Indigenous Australians.”
To read the National Indigenous Times article AG leaves door open to change as bumper criminal age petition handed to Federal Govt in full click here.
Image source: Amnesty International.
UN urges child detention overhaul
A leading Indigenous international human rights law expert has urged the Federal Government to ratify a key protocol on children’s rights to assist youth in detention. United Nations (UN) Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues expert member Hannah McGlade said while Australia had ratified the Convention, children still did not have the right to appeal human rights violations effectively with international agencies. “Children and youth are people who don’t have a voice,” she said.
“We particularly need to elevate their voices in terms of human rights issues, access to justice, and access to international human rights law mechanisms.” Ms McGlade said minors recently sent to a maximum security adult prison in WA could use the protocol, if ratified, to lodge a complaint. “We have adults in that position, former Banksia Hill detainees now in adult prison, who are talking about killing themselves,” she said. “Indigenous children and youth are particularly denied a voice, we especially need to advocate their rights through the communications process of this system.”
To view the National Indigenous Times article UN Indigenous experts urge Australia to overhaul child detention shame in full click here.
Image source: The West Australian.
Better support for mob with breast cancer
Indigenous Australians affected by breast cancer will benefit from important revisions to a Cancer Australia guide for health workers. Cancer Australia revised its widely-used Breast Cancer Handbook for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Health Practitioners in consultation with Indigenous health experts and leaders.
The Handbook provides information on breast cancer detection, diagnosis, treatment, and support. Following community and health worker feedback, the revised edition includes advice on supporting social and emotional wellbeing, palliative care, and breast cancer in men, and has been a critical resource for many Indigenous health workers, helping to build their knowledge and skills to improve outcomes for breast cancer patients. It also contains information on breast cancer symptoms and encourages breast cancer screening.
Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health, Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy said “Social support and emotional care for those affected by breast cancer are just as important as physical care during treatment. This evidence-based Handbook gives our dedicated health workers the tools they need to provide culturally appropriate care and support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and expertly guide them through their cancer journey.”
The Handbook is available on the Cancer Australia website here.
Artwork by Yorta Yorta, Wemba Wemba, Mutti Mutti and Wiradjuri artist, Alkina Edwards for use on Aboriginal breast screening shawl. Image source: CancerScreen VIC.
QLD mob to lead CTG initiatives
Doomadgee will lead a state-first “closing the gap” pilot to identify how best to roll-out priority programs like health, housing, and early childhood in First Nations communities in Queensland. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Craig Crawford said the best chance to reach the 17 targets in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap was through community-led decision making.
He said the pilot program in Doomadgee comes ahead of a history-making Path to Treaty launch by the Palaszczuk Government on16 August 2022. “Our approach now places First Nations people at the centre of decision-making,” Mr Crawford said. “We recognise that a shift in how we develop and implement government policies and programs is needed to ensure significant improvements in life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This represents a new way of working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – together, in partnership.”
To view the media statement First Nations peoples to lead ‘closing the gap’ initiatives in Queensland released earlier today by QLD Minister for Seniors and Disability Services and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships the Honorable Craig Crawford, click here.
Photo: Allyson Horn, ABC Brisbane.
AHW Georgie supports Ngarrindjeri mob
Georgie Trevorrow is a pillar in the Murray Bridge Ngarrindjeri community that seeks to support the entire community. Georgie was employed as a Community Cultural Development Officer for the Rural City of Murray Bridge (RCMB) for nearly seven years, until Moorundi received funding. When Moorundi received their funding, Georgie transferred from the RCMB and continued her position with the new ability to spread her wings in an Aboriginal organisation. “
Georgie decided at the young age of 19 that she wanted to make a difference within the community and began studying the Aboriginal Primary Healthcare certificate. Her study had to be put on the backburner as Georgie had two children, but it was when her certificate was complete that she saw doors start to open for her “I became an Aboriginal health worker (AHW), and just worked with my community, and I just loved it,” Georgie said. “My background is in health, but it’s so much broader, it’s not just taking your temperature and your blood pressure and going to the doctors.”
To read the Murray Valley Standard article Georgie Trevorrow, singing and supporting the Ngarrindjeri community in full click here.
Georgie Trevorrow in front of Moorundi Ink’s artwork for a children’s book. Photo: Sam Lowe. Image source: The Murray Valley Standard.
Winnunga Newsletter July 2022
The July 2022 edition of the Winnunga Newsletter is out now and available here.
This edition is jam-packed with articles, updates and information including:
- Our Booris Our Way Press Release
- From The Warehouse Of Broken Promises
- Archie Roach – A Great Australian Taken Away – Again
- Time For a Progress Report On Raising The Age
- Minister Apologises For Treaty Consultation ‘Hurt’
- And You Thought It Couldn’t Get Any Worse!
Sector Jobs
Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.
Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website Current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.
Dental Health Week
Dental Health Week (DHW) is the Australian Dental Association’s (ADA) major annual oral health campaign. It takes place each year in the first full week of August, this year from Monday 1 to Sunday 7 August. The campaign focuses on the importance of taking steps to care for your teeth and gums to help you to keep your teeth and smile for life. The ADA’s main oral health messages and the four key messages of the DHW campaign: brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste; floss; eat a healthy diet; and have regular dentist visits, aim to reinforce the importance of maintaining good oral heal of the to keep your teeth for life.
According to an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience poor oral health such as multiple caries and untreated dental disease, and are less likely to have received preventive dental care. The oral health status of Indigenous Australians, like all Australians, is influenced by many factors but in particular a tendency towards unfavourable dental visiting patterns, broadly associated with accessibility, cost and a lack of cultural awareness by some service providers. To view the AIHW report in full click here.
You can find more information about DHW on the ADA website here.