The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is a platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.
We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.
Main challenge is closing the funding gap
The Commonwealth Budget contains some very welcome measures in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. But structural reform is what is really required and a longer-term commitment to close the funding gap is necessary if we want the health gap to improve.
In Cairns this morning, Donnella Mills, the Chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) said, ‘The prelude to this Budget has been dominated by the mainstream and economic concerns. We understand that the Government is concerned with cost-of-living pressures, affordable housing, and domestic violence. We support all efforts in this regard. But we also acknowledge that it contains some important measures that will assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people and bring valuable relief to our sector.’
NACCHO welcomes the $12.8m in suicide prevention, $10m for mental health support, $11.1m to expand coverage of the Closing the Gap Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, $94.9m to combat communicable diseases in our communities, and $12.5m to facilitate community-led distribution of menstrual products in regional and remote First Nations communities. These are all important announcements.
Donnella Mills said, ‘These provide a critical first step after the failed Referendum last year. The Government needs to get a positive dialogue happening in the wake of all the misinformation and hostility that we lived through. The best way of doing that is to invest in our communities and fund the responsibly costed package of proposals that NACCHO puts forward each year.’
‘Why should Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people expect to live lives 8-9 years less than other Australians?’ asked the acting CEO of NACCHO, Dr Dawn Casey.
In Canberra this morning, she said, ‘Despite all the myths you heard in the Referendum about wasted expenditure, the cold hard fact of the matter is that there is a health funding gap of $4.4b each year for our people. That equates to about $5,000 per Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person. The Commonwealth’s share of that gap is $2.6b. So, we have a simple challenge to work through with the Government: let’s agree on a plan to close the funding gap, if we are ever to close the health gap.’
NACCHO is also looking forward to bunkering down behind the seminal National Agreement on Closing the Gap. The Productivity Commission’s report showed that most government agencies are fumbling in their efforts to implement it and seem not to understand the necessary structural reform that the Prime Minister and eight premiers and chief ministers signed up to in 2020. We see the Agreement as an important mechanism to help close the gap.
Donnella Mills said, ‘As we have been denied a Voice, it is up to NACCHO and our counterparts to advocate for our sectors. The main message we have for governments, at the moment, is to work with us in closing the funding gap and let’s continue to work together to get the National Agreement firing.’
You can find NACCHO’s media release Some good news but the main challenge is closing the funding gap in full on the NACCHO website here.
Yulu-Burri-Ba: 40 years of community-run health services
North Stradbroke Island’s Indigenous community convened last Friday (10 May 2024) to commemorate four decades of community-run health services. From its inception in 1984 the provision of healthcare has evolved significantly. A broad spectrum of services caters to the needs of the island and the southern bayside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. They include dental care, family wellbeing initiatives, Birthing in Our Community programs, Deadly Choices advocacy, women’s and men’s groups and youth engagement schemes, as well as foster and kinship care support.
Aunty Maureen Myers, a pioneer in advocating for culturally safe community-controlled health services on the island, and the current Director of the Yulu-Burri-Ba board, expressed pride in the shared vision, commitment, and tireless efforts of all contributors, acknowledging the profound positive impact on the community. “It was built to give better health outcomes for our people who couldn’t afford to go to the doctor,” Ms Myers said. “Now we have easy access to healthcare services like we never had before. When you feel comfortable with going to a doctor you get the healthcare you need. Because it is community-controlled it meets the needs of the community.”
Yulu-Burri-Ba CEO, David Collins, said the milestone is an opportunity to reflect on and acknowledge the leadership of Elders and what can be achieved through working together, “Our founding Elders saw that there was a need for these services, and they have been proven correct with the growth of health and welfare services we’re now providing to more than 5,000 community members in our region. From the humble beginnings of the first clinic at Dunwich Hall in 1984, operated as an outreach service by Brisbane AICHS, to the transition to self-management and incorporation of Yulu-Burri-Ba between 1993 and 1994, the journey towards community-led healthcare has been transformative. When it first started, it was with volunteers and support from Brisbane AICHS (now ATSICHS),” Mr Collins said. “And then along the way, from our community – from our fellow Aboriginal Medical Services, the Australian and Queensland Governments, and the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health.”
To view the National Indigenous Times article Yulu-Burri-Ba marks 40 years of advancing Aboriginal health services in full click here.
Image: supplied by Yulu-Burri-Ba Aboriginal Corporation for Community Health. Image source: National Indigenous Times.
CTG by investing in jobs and housing
In a media release yesterday the Hon Linda Burney MP, Minister for Indigenous Australians outlined the 2024–25 Budget measures aimed at accelerating progress to close the gap:
Jobs and Housing
- $777.4 m Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program to be implemented in partnership with First Nations people, to build skills and experience, and deliver services that communities want
- improving housing in remote NT communities with a 10-year $4b joint investment between the Australian and NT Governments to support delivery of up to 270 houses each year, and deliver repairs and maintenance to existing housing; $120m over three years to continue delivery of housing improvements and essential infrastructure upgrades to NT Homelands.
Health and Wellbeing
- $12.8m towards suicide prevention, including the Indigenous Youth Connection Culture program (Suicide Prevention) for 12 communities
- $10m to NACCHO to deliver targeted and culturally appropriate mental health supports
- $11.1m over five years to expand coverage of the CTG Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Co-payment Program to all PBS medicines, broadening access to affordable PBS medicines for First Nations people living with, or at risk of, chronic disease
- $94.9m over two years to support management of communicable disease control in First Nations communities
- $12.5m over four years to NACCHO to facilitate community-led distribution of menstrual products in regional and remote First Nations communities where menstrual products are expensive and hard for First Nations women and girls to access.
Quality School Education
- $74.8m over four years to develop a new National First Nations Education Policy, extend a number of First Nations education programs, and provide partnership funding to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation and SNAICC – National Voice for our Children
- $32.8m to the Clontarf Foundation to continue to school engagement programs during 2025 for First Nations boys and young men.
- $2.4m over three years to implement the First Nations Teacher Strategy to increase the number of First Nations teachers in schools
- $18m for a capital works fund to build new and improve existing boarding facilities in Central Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from remote NT communities.
Crime Prevention, Community Safety and Reducing Incarceration Rates
- $76.2m over five years to establish a new First Nations Prison to Employment Program
- $10.7m to the Justice Policy Partnership, which will focus on reducing the rates of adult and youth incarceration
- $15.4m for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and an additional $8.6m to Family Violence Prevention Legal Services in 2024-25 to provide an urgent funding injection for legal assistance services
- $4.6m in one year to ensure service continuity for the Custody Notification Service
Strengthening Families and Reducing Proportion of Children in Out-of-Home Care
- $5.9m over two years to establish of the National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People.
- $11.7m over two years to extend the First Nations Family Dispute Resolution Pilot.
You can read Minister Burney’s media release Closing the gap by investing in jobs and housing in full here.
Veronica Lulu outside the home she cannot get into. Photo: Aaron Fernandes. Image source: SBS NITV article A third of remote Aboriginal houses at ‘unacceptable’ standard, published on 13 May 2022.
Budget initiatives welcome, but more needed
The measures in the federal budget targeting First Nations communities have been applauded, but advocates say there is more work to be done. Arrernte/Luritja woman Catherine Liddle, the acting lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks alliance of more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled peak organisations and members and CEO of the national group for First Nations children and families, SNAICC said those measures in the federal budget have been called for and welcomed – but there is more work to do.
“We have to say that those signals that we’re going to invest in children are really good signals. We know that for the first time ever, we’re seeing 29.1 million over four years going into both SNAICC and NATSIAC [[National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anglican Council]] as those peaks (national groups) that lead in the children’s space. That money is dedicated to ensuring that we are partnering with governments; and that we are doing things differently. But it’s still not enough that it still needs to go the whole hog (all the way); and that means that all of our peaks need to be set up in that way. It also means that we need to be really thinking about how we stop children and families coming into contact with any tertiary interventions. Budgets are critical to being able to do that.”
She says the implementation of the federal budget initiatives will be critical to achieving the Closing the Gap targets.
“Look, it goes some of the way, but I think what we see in all budgets at this point in times is there are winners and there are losers. There are things that are good; and there are things that are not so good for us to genuinely close the gap, and this is what the productivity commission found, we need to change the way we do this. There’s a clear roadmap that says, if you’re going to invest: make sure you’re partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Make sure you are lining up all the ducks (local, state and federal co-ordination), so that what you’re genuinely getting is system reform. And until we get those genuine system reform elements implemented, we’re always going to miss the mark a bit.”
To listen to or read the transcript of the SBS News News in Depth podcast click here.
SNIACC CEO Catherine Liddle & acting lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks alliance. Image sources: SBS News website & SNAICC website.
NACCHO to facilitate period product distribution
The Women’s Agenda article The key wins for women’s health in the budget published yesterday examines how the budget will support women’s health, one the five priority areas nominated by the government under its new gender equity strategy. The article specifically mention the $12.5m that will be provided to NACCHO to facilitate community-led, culturally appropriate distribution of free period products in remote communities.
An ABC News article Fighting shame and challenges of menstruation in isolated Australian communities published on 20 February 2020 and available here, said that for many Indigenous girls living remotely in outback Australia the conversation about their monthly cycle is complex. Compounded by overcrowding, access to affordable sanitary products and functioning bathrooms can make dealing with menstruation challenging.
To view the Women’s Agenda article in full click here.
Young girls learning about how to manage their menstrual cycles with confidence. Photo: Central Australian Youth Link Up Service. Image source: ABC News.
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.
International Day of Families – 15 May 2024
The International Day of Families is celebrated on 15 May every year, with this year’s theme being Families and Climate Change.
Climate change negatively impacts the health and well-being of families through increased pollution, while extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, such as hurricanes, droughts and floods, often lead to forced displacement and loss of livelihoods for families and individuals. Such events impact agricultural productivity and access to water, intensifying hunger and vulnerability. They cause economic disruption in industries sensitive to climate impacts such as agriculture and fisheries. Without drastic action, adaptation to and mitigation of the impacts of climate change will become increasingly difficult and costly.
Empowering families through education, changing consumption habits, and advocacy is critical for meaningful and effective climate action. Families pass values across generations, so instilling sustainable habits and climate awareness in families from an early age is important. Integrating circular economy principles into early childhood education can help build a sustainable economic model based on minimizing waste and regenerating natural resources. Families as consumers and advocates can drive the transition to a circular economy.
The 2024 International Day of Families aims to raise awareness of how climate change impacts families and the role families can play in climate action. Through family and community initiatives, we can foster climate action with education, access to information, training and community participation.
The notion of family in Aboriginal culture is closely tied to themes of connectedness and kinship. In this setting, family structures are pivotal to identity formation, understanding one’s own spiritual and cultural belonging, and assists in establishing strong links with community. Ultimately, family and kinship are a cohesive forced that bind Aboriginal people together.
You can find more information about the role of family and kinship in Aboriginal culture on the Watarrka Foundation website here.
You can find more information on the International Day of Families on the United Nations website here.
![tile with text 'International Day of Families 15 May [2024]' & IDF logo](https://i0.wp.com/nacchocommunique.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/KEY-DATE-15-May-International-Day-of-Families-UN-website-15.5.24.png?ssl=1)
Image source: United Nations website.
