Author Archives:

NACCHO Aboriginal #AusVotesHealth and Housing : #2019WIHC #VoteACCHO #Election2019 Labor promises to address overcrowding and create jobs in remote Indigenous communities in #NT #QLD #SA #WA with a $1.5 billion, 10-year investment

“ Labor will address overcrowding and create jobs in remote Indigenous communities with a $1.5 billion, 10-year investment.

Housing shortages and chronic overcrowding contribute to poor outcomes in health, education, employment and community safety for residents living in remote communities.

Labor’s Warren Snowdon (MHR) and Senator Malarndirri McCarthy

Download Press Release Here

Labor $1.5 billion, ten-year Housing investment.

 ” The Torres Strait Island Regional Council put it best in its statement outlining its federal election initiatives:

Homelessness and housing stress can profoundly affect the mental and physical health of individuals and families, as well as impact on their education and employment opportunities, and their ability to participate fully in the community “

See Housing: the first building block to better Indigenous health article Part 3

“ The Queensland Government remains committed to providing quality housing across our State’s remote communities under our 1.08 billion commitment over 10 years,

Federal Labor’s commitment will only strengthen the work we are already doing to assist those living in communities such as across Leichardt

“For 50 years, Australian governments have joined with us to provide homes in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,” 

Deputy QLD Premier and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Jackie Trad said quality of living simply can’t be achieved if people don’t have a roof over their heads. Part 4

“WA has consistently argued that the Commonwealth has historic and moral obligations to provide ongoing funding support for remote communities that, in WA, are home to an estimated 12,000-14,000 of the country’s most disadvantaged people.

“It is gratifying to see that a Federal Labor Government will recognise and honour that responsibility – something the Morrison Government has flatly refused.”

McGowan Government welcomes Federal Labor pledge to support remote housing in WA ” See Part 5 Below 

NACCHO Recommendation 5.Improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing and community infrastructure

  • Expand the funding and timeframe of the current National Partnership on Remote Housing to match at least that of the former National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing.
  • Establish and fund a program that supports low cost social housing and healthy living environments in urban, regional and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Read all NACCHO Housing Posts 

 See all 10 NACCHO #VotesACCHO Recommendations HERE

In 2014-15, more than half of Indigenous Australians in very remote areas lived in overcrowded households, and overcrowding is the leading contributor to Indigenous homelessness.

They said a Labor Government would:

  • Provide a decade of funding certainty to the Northern Territory, by committing an additional $550 million over 5 years from 2023-24, double the commitment by the Liberals.
  • Provide $251 million in funding to Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia in 2019-20.

Following these interim arrangements, Labor will work with the States and Territories to develop a genuine, ongoing partnership to tackle the issue of overcrowding, as part of the Closing the Gap Refresh.

When last in office, Labor initiated the National Partnership Agreement for Remote Indigenous Housing (NPARIH), which saw a record $5.4 billion invested over 10 years to reduce overcrowding and address chronic housing shortages.

An independent review of NPARIH in 2017 found it had built or refurbished 11,500 homes in remote areas, successfully decreasing the proportion of overcrowded households in remote and very remote areas.

The review also found that a further 5500 houses are needed to meet the existing shortfall of housing and accommodate future population growth by 2028.

Part 2 2019 World Indigenous Housing Conference.

The 2019 World Indigenous Housing Conference will bring together Indigenous leaders, government, industry and academia representing Housing, health, and education from around the world including:

  • National and International Indigenous Organisation leadership
  • Senior housing, health, and education government officials Industry CEOs, executives and senior managers from public and private sectors
  • Housing, Healthcare, and Education professionals and regulators
  • Consumer associations
  • Academics in Housing, Healthcare, and Education.

The 2019 World Indigenous Housing Conference #2019WIHC is the principal conference to provide a platform for leaders in housing, health, education and related services from around the world to come together. Up to 2000 delegates will share experiences, explore opportunities and innovative solutions, work to improve access to adequate housing and related services for the world’s Indigenous people.

Event Information:

Key event details as follows:
Venue: Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
Address: 2684-2690 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach QLD 4218
Dates: Monday 20th – Thursday 23rd May, 2019 (24th May)

Registration Costs

PLEASE NOTE: The Trade Exhibition is open Tuesday 21st May – Thursday 23rd May 2019

Please visit www.2019wihc.com for further information on transport and accommodation options, conference, exhibition and speaker updates.

 

Part 3 Housing: the first building block to better Indigenous health April 24 

Craig Johnstone Media Executive at Local Government Association of Queensland

Both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Bill Shorten were in northern Australia recently  (Darwin and Townsville respectively).

Both have brought their chequebooks, but there is one pressing policy issue that impacts many people in north Queensland and the NT but has received scant attention, not only during this campaign, but for many months.

So far in this campaign, there have been many announcements on indigenous policy: promises of better funding for mental health services, hospital upgrades, a plan to address rheumatic heart disease and a range of other public health initiatives.

Bill Shorten has said that West Australian Senator and long-time Aboriginal advocate Pat Dodson would become indigenous affairs minister under a federal Labor government.

Scott Morrison, too, has zeroed in on the scourge of suicide in indigenous communities, promising millions of dollars to address mental health.

The Guardian last week published a rundown of the pronouncements of Labor, the LNP and The Greens propose on indigenous policy.

But missing from the raft of promises by both sides of politics is an acknowledgment that the simple provision of proper shelter has a powerful impact on the physical and mental health of everyone, including indigenous communities.

Overcrowding, homelessness and generally inadequate housing are among the most persistent problems indigenous communities confront. There was a program to tackle this. The National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing provided billions of dollars of investment in building new homes and maintaining existing homes in these communities.

The Government’s own review of the program showed it was making progress but that more work needed to be done to achieve lasting success.

On 30 June last year, it ceased. And neither of the major parties has gone anywhere near promising to revive it.

Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs counts shelter as among the most basic of human physiological needs. Unless this need is met, people are not motivated to achieve higher level needs, like financial and emotional security, health and well-being.

The Torres Strait Island Regional Council put it best in its statement outlining its federal election initiatives: Homelessness and housing stress can profoundly affect the mental and physical health of individuals and families, as well as impact on their education and employment opportunities, and their ability to participate fully in the community.

The latest Closing the Gap report stated that indigenous Australians are three times more likely to experience overcrowding than non-indigenous Australians. This despite the report and all sides of politics acknowledging that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people need to secure appropriate, affordable housing as a pathway to better lives.

Yes, the investment proposed is significant _ $5.5 billion nationally over the next 10 years. But what price better health and education outcomes for indigenous communities?

Part 4 : The Palaszczuk Government has welcomed Federal Labor’s commitment to address overcrowding in remote communities.

The $1.5 billion, ten-year investment will go a long way towards closing the gap in remote housing disadvantage across Queensland.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Jackie Trad said quality of living simply can’t be achieved if people don’t have a roof over their heads.

“The Queensland Government remains committed to providing quality housing across our State’s remote communities under our 1.08 billion commitment over 10 years,” Ms Trad said.

“Federal Labor’s commitment will only strengthen the work we are already doing to assist those living in communities such as across Leichardt

“For 50 years, Australian governments have joined with us to provide homes in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,” she said.

Housing Minister Mick de Brenni said that all ended last year under the Federal LNP.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders have said it was profoundly disappointing to see the Morrison Coalition turn its back from a shared responsibility to Queensland’s remote communities.

“Queensland Labor has joined calls to the Federal Government to continue to fund remote indigenous housing and I wrote and met repeatedly with the outgoing Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion over the past 12 months. All he showed Queensland’s First Nations people was contempt.

“It’s pretty clear that Prime Minister Scott Morrison seems comfortable being the first PM in half a century to turn his back on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders.

“And what’s just as bad is that Deb Frecklington’s Queensland LNP has continually refused to reach out to their colleagues in Canberra and ask them not to turn their backs on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders.

“Further, the Queensland LNP has stood by and done absolutely nothing while their Morrison Coalition in Canberra stripped $1.6 billion from housing funding for Queenslanders – a plan designed to wipe out remote communities.

Member for Cook Cynthia Lui said only a Shorten Labor Government has a plan for all Queenslanders.

“The Palaszczuk Government will provide pathways to secure better futures, to help close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Queenslanders.

“Had Queensland been given our fair share from the Morrison LNP Government, we could have built 189 3-bedroom homes in remote communities in just one year,” Ms Lui said.

Mayor of Palm Island Shire Council Alf Lacey said an investment of $112 million in the 2019-20 Budget from the

Commonwealth coupled with the existing spend is all that would have been needed to address overcrowding – and save the 600 jobs in remote communities.

“It will change and save lives – this funding will help to address overcrowding, protect jobs and allow further economic investment in the region, while a longer-term agreement is negotiated,” Mr Lacey said.

Part 5. WA McGowan Government welcomes Federal Labor pledge to support remote housing in WA

  • Offer would double Coalition’s commitment and offer long-term stability
  • State continues unyielding position to hold Commonwealth accountable
  • Housing is key to achieving Closing the Gap targets for Aboriginal people The McGowan Government’s fight for a better Commonwealth funding deal for remote communities across Western Australia has seen Federal Labor commit to deliver a national 10year, $1.5 billion agreement if it wins government on May 18.

The pledge was welcomed by Housing Minister Peter Tinley and Treasurer Ben Wyatt who have led the State’s fight for a better deal.

Federal Labor’s vow to provide additional funding contrasts starkly with the Federal Coalition which walked away from the previous 10-year, $1.1 billion funding deal when it expired on June 30 last year, claiming responsibility for remote communities rested solely with the State.

Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten confirmed today that a Federal Government led by him would address overcrowding and create jobs in remote indigenous communities with a $1.5 billion, 10year investment.

At least $120 million of that package would flow to WA in the coming financial year (2019-20), doubling the amount supplied by the Coalition Government as a one-off exit payment from the previous long-term agreement in December last year.

That $120 million offer only came after WA rejected the previous offer of $60 million payable over three years and launched a public campaign urging a new long-term agreement to help support some of Australia’s most disadvantaged people.

Tellingly, Mr Morrison and his Aboriginal Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion refused to negotiate a new long-term deal and provide financial certainty for the provision of housing in remote communities.

Poor outcomes in health, education, employment and community safety for those living in remote communities can be largely attributed to housing shortages and chronic overcrowding.

The McGowan Government currently spends about $90 million annually supporting housing and essential services such as power, water and waste management in about 165 remote communities across the State.

Comments attributed to Housing Minister Peter Tinley:

“If we are to have any chance of achieving the aspirational targets of Closing the Gap Refresh then we need to put roofs over people’s heads.

“This is not something the State can do, or indeed should do, on its own – it requires a working, collaborative, sustainable and enduring partnership with the Commonwealth.

“It’s great to see that Bill Shorten is stepping up and is willing to open doors, rather than walk away from this challenge the way Scott Morrison has.”

NACCHO Aboriginal Health #AusVotesHealth #VoteACCHO : What the coalition’s Indigenous-specific and related budget measures reflect for #Election2019 @ScottMorrisonMP @KenWyattMP @GregHuntMP #SenatorNigelScullion

Indigenous-specific and related budget measures

As with previous budgets, the 2019–20 Budget includes both Indigenous-specific measures, listed here, and many mainstream measures that are likely to disproportionately affect Indigenous people, positively or negatively, due to Indigenous people’s level of disadvantage (including higher rates of disability, unemployment, and mental illness) and relative geographical concentration in remote and very remote areas.

The extent to which mainstream services have a positive effect depends in large measure on whether their design and delivery is culturally safe and appropriate.

For consistency with other reporting frameworks, such as the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report and the Indigenous Expenditure Report, measures are categorised according to the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) ‘building blocks’, commencing with those areas the Government regards as key priorities (Portfolio Budget Statements 2019–20: Budget Related Paper No. 1.14: Prime Minister and Cabinet, p. 30).

Since the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2018–19 (MYEFO) the Government has announced a number of other Indigenous measures which are probably funded from grants programs, departmental funds, or the MYEFO’s ‘decisions taken but not yet announced’ allocation. They are not listed in this brief unless they are directly relevant to a Budget measure.

Unless otherwise stated all page references are to Budget Paper No. 2: Budget Measures 2019–20.

James Haughton of the Parliamentary library about the Indigenous specific announcements by government in MYEFO, Budget and as part of their election campaign:

 “NACCHO has developed a set of policy #Election2019 recommendations that if adopted, fully funded and implemented by the incoming Federal Government, will provide a pathway forward for improvements in our health outcomes.

We are calling on all political parties to include these 10 recommendations in their election platforms and make a real commitment to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and help us Close the Gap.”

Read all the 10 Recommendations HERE

Stakeholder reactions to Coalition Budget

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (NACCHO) provides a round-up and summary of Indigenous peak body responses to the Budget.

The CROAKEY health blog provides a summary of pre-budget submissions on Indigenous issues from the health and community sector here.

National Indigenous Television summarised Indigenous peak body reactions to the Budget as ‘lacklustre’ and ‘too little, too late’ despite some ‘glimmers of hope’, such as increased funding for ATSILS and Indigenous health research, although many stakeholders expressed concern at the rolling of the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program into a mainstream funding mechanism.

Many stakeholders expressed concern or outrage that the Budget only allocated $5.0 million in new Budget allocations to preventing Indigenous youth suicide.

The Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention noted the additional $10.0 million announced by the Minister for Indigenous Health (see above) but suggested that if funding were to be in proportion to demand, then Indigenous-specific measures should have been about nine per cent of the total mental health package, or about $70.0 million

Indigenous budget drivers

Over the last decade, the Productivity Commission’s Indigenous Expenditure Reports (IER) have consistently shown that total Commonwealth, state and territory government per capita expenditure on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is approximately double the per capita expenditure on non-Indigenous Australians.

The Australian Government directly spends around 1.5 times as much on Indigenous people on a per-capita basis, or 1.64 times as much if indirect spending (via transfers to the states and territories) is included (calculation based on IER 2017 supplementary data tables).

In 2015–16, the Australian Government directly spent $14.7 billion on Indigenous people, of which 77 per cent ($11.3 billion) was through mainstream programs such as Medicare, social security payments, child care benefits and support for university places accessed by Indigenous people. Around 23 per cent ($3.3 billion) was on Indigenous-specific programs such as ABSTUDY, Indigenous-specific health programs, or Indigenous rangers programs.

When state and territory government spending is included, mainstream spending climbs to over 80 per cent of the total expenditure on Indigenous people.

The main driver of Indigenous expenditure is thus not Indigenous-specific programs, but higher use of all government programs.

Some of this higher use is due to demographic differences—for example, Indigenous people are on average younger and have higher fertility rates than non-Indigenous Australians, leading to more per-capita demand for pre-school, school and university places, and child care services (IER 2017, p. xii).

However, much of it is caused by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s higher levels of disadvantage, leading to higher use of hospitals, social security, and social housing, as well as higher rates of child protection interventions and imprisonment.

These circumstances give rise to demand for Indigenous-specific programs, such as those detailed below, to divert people from these undesirable outcomes. Government per capita spending on Indigenous people and programs can be expected to remain above the per capita average in future budgets until there is real progress on closing the gaps.

In this context, there is currently no provision in the budget to continue the following National Partnerships[1] over the forward estimates period:

  • National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education[2]
  • national partnerships on cross border issues in the Torres Strait, including health issues, mosquito control, and blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections
  • National Partnership on Northern Territory remote Aboriginal investment (formerly the National Partnership on Stronger Futures in the NT) and
  • national partnerships on improving trachoma control and the rheumatic fever strategy.

Furthermore, no support will be provided beyond 2018–19 for remote housing outside the Northern Territory. With the possible exception of trachoma, the issues addressed by these National Partnerships are unlikely to radically improve in the near future.

Health

Education and early childhood

  • Closing the Gap refresh—Indigenous Youth Education Package. Announced in the Prime Minister’s Closing the Gap statement, this provides $200.0 million for scholarships and mentoring for Indigenous students, $70.6 million to freeze or waive Higher Education Loan Program debts for teachers in very remote schools, and $5.0 million to promote school attendance. Only $86.7 million is new money, with the remainder being found from ‘existing resources of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’, possibly referring to the Indigenous Advancement Strategy grant program (p. 153).
  • Extending Family Tax Benefit to ABSTUDY recipients aged 16 or over who study away from home: $36.4 million over five years (p. 159).
  • As well as enabling Indigenous children to access preschool (a Closing the Gap target), the one-year $453.1 million extension of the National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education includes $1.4 million specifically to increase preschool attendance among Indigenous children, 41 per cent of whom do not make full use of the available 15 hours a week (pp. 67–8).
  • An unspecified portion of $62.4 million allocated to the Skills Package—Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow measure will go to pilot four Indigenous ‘second chance’ language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills education services in remote communities (p. 69).
  • $15.0 million under the Community Development Grants Programme measure to fund the William Cooper Centre at Punt Road, an educational hub for Indigenous students run by the Richmond Football Club (p. 126).

Employment and economic participation

  • Securing Tourism and Jobs in Kakadu: $216.2 million over ten years on several programs to boost tourism and upgrade and develop facilities in the Jabiru township. Funding has ‘already been provided for’, possibly in the 2018–19 MYEFO (p. 77). After criticism from the Northern Territory (NT) Government over lack of information on the timing of funding, Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion has stated that $150.0 million will be spent over four years, including $20.0 million from the Indigenous Affairs portfolio.
  • The Support for the Australian Music Industry measure includes $2.7 million for a grant program for Indigenous musicians (p. 60).
  • The Barkly Regional Deal ‘redirects’ $8.5 million in funding from the Indigenous Advancement Strategy to support economic development projects in the Barkly region of the NT (p. 125).
  • The Northern Territory Infrastructure Investment Program includes $60.0 million for road upgrades on the Tiwi Islands (p. 133). Other road projects under this program and the Queensland (pp. 134–5) and Western Australia (p. 143) Infrastructure Investment Programs also include roads in remote areas with high Indigenous populations, which may increase economic opportunities, particularly if Indigenous employment and procurement targets are included.
  • The Indigenous Procurement Policy will be extended to introduce a three per cent value target alongside the three per cent number of contracts target.

Community safety

  • $128.8 million to extend the Cashless Debit Card trials and transition people on Income Management to the Cashless Debit Card (pp. 157­–8). This measure includes:
    • funding to extend the trials in the current sites until 30 June 2021
    • changes to the payments system that will enable merchants to automatically decline transactions that involve restricted items, such as alcohol or gambling products, and
    • moving people who currently use the BasicsCard under income management onto the cashless debit card.

Most people subject to these income quarantining measures are Indigenous. This measure will require legislation, and will be covered in more detail in a separate Parliamentary Library publication.

Governance, leadership and culture

Housing

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s (PM&C) Review of Remote Housing estimates that South Australian remote Aboriginal communities need an additional 300 houses by 2028 to address existing overcrowding and accommodate population growth. The review found that in South Australia (which achieved the highest value for money in remote housing construction) it cost approximately $480,500 to build new houses, plus 6.9 per cent ancillary costs. On these figures, $37.5 million will build approximately 73 new houses, so will not meet the identified demand, although as noted, this item is only ‘part of transition arrangements’. No information is yet available on any longer term programs.

 

[1].          See Budget Paper No. 3: Federal Financial Relations or the Federal Financial Relations website for more information on the National Partnerships.

[2].          The Budget extends this National Partnership by one calendar year, but it still ends within the forward estimates. See the Parliamentary Library’s Education and training budget brief for more details.

[3].          Whether this strategy continues or replaces the National Partnership on addressing blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections in the Torres Strait, which has a cross-border focus, is not clear.

NACCHO Aboriginal #Rural #Remote Health #VoteACCHO  #Vote1RuralHealth #AusVotesHealth : With 65% of Indigenous people living in rural Australia @NRHAlliance prioritises our mobs health

” The National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) has named four key areas an incoming Federal Government must address to help rural Australians get healthier and live longer.

The nation’s peak body for rural, regional and remote health has also listed in detail what needs to be done in each area.

The four areas are:

1.Improving the health of Indigenous Australians

2.Boosting the supply and distribution of allied health care workers in rural, regional and remote areas

3.Creating a greater research focus on factors affecting rural health;

4.Developing a new National Rural Health Strategy.

NRHA CEO Mark Diamond says much needs to be done so everyone in Australia enjoys better health. Currently those living beyond major cities carry 1.3 times the cost, mortality and disability associated with illness and disease. See full Press Release Part 1 below

 ” The body representing 37 rural health organisations has urged the next government to endorse the Uluru Statement from the Heart and establish a “voice” to federal parliament as its No 1 priority to improve Indigenous health.

Launching its election charter at Parliament House, National Rural Health Alliance chair Tanya Lehmann said Australia needed to start tackling problems impacting on people’s health — problems that would not be fixed by more doctors or technology.

Connection to country, spiritual wellbeing, overcoming intergenerational trauma are central to the health of indigenous Australians,”

NRHA Chair Tanya Lehmann told The Australian. see full article Part 4 below

Download the NRHA 9 Page PDF #Election2019 Charter Document HERE

Rural Health Matters 2019 Election Charter FINAL_1

Part 1 Priority 1. Improve Indigenous health

The current health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are unacceptable. (65% of Indigenous people live in rural Australia.)

We seek a commitment from an incoming government to

  1. Endorse the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Makarrata, ie establish a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution and establish a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
  2. Fund an additional 3000 Aboriginal Health Workers and practitioners. ($180m over 4 years; $180m per year ongoing)
  3. Increase base funding of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.
  4. Eliminate Rheumatic Heart Disease. Get serious about meeting targets set under the END RHD program. ($170m over 4 years.)

See Rationale Part 3 Below  

Fund an additional 3000 Aboriginal Health Workers and practitioners. ($180m over 4 years; $180m per year ongoing)

NACCHO has developed a set of policy #Election2019 recommendations that if adopted, fully funded and implemented by the incoming Federal Government, will provide a pathway forward for improvements in our health outcomes.

We are calling on all political parties to include these recommendations in their election platforms and make a real commitment to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and help us Close the Gap.

With your action and support of our #VoteACCHO campaign we can make the incoming Federal Government accountable.

NACCHO Acting Chair, Donnella Mills

Visit NACCHO for more info

Part 2 :  NRHA CEO Mark Diamond says much needs to be done so everyone in Australia enjoys better health. Currently those living beyond major cities carry 1.3 times the cost, mortality and disability associated with illness and disease.

“We are looking for commitments from all sides of politics as we go into this election not only to fund immediate needs but to take a long-term strategic view for the sake of the future of the seven million people living outside major cities.

“We need a new National Rural Health Strategy. The previous strategy was based on a framework endorsed by the COAG Health Council in 2011.

“It’s use and effectiveness has not been evaluated since and we need to understand how widely that framework or guide for decision-making in planning and delivering effective and better health care and health promotion services is being used and what, if anything, needs to change.

“In short, we need to prepare a new National Rural Health Strategy for the approaching third decade of the 21st century to ensure all governments and health care service providers are pulling in the same direction when it comes to rural health.”

Mr Diamond says that if people living in rural, regional and remote areas had the same mortality rates as people living in major cities, there would have been almost 20,000 fewer deaths, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data for 2009-2011.

“In these areas, coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, transport accidents, diabetes, lung cancer and suicide – all preventable conditions – killed 11 more people a day compared with metropolitan areas.

“This situation is unfair and untenable. All that is required is the political will to fix it. In the lead up to this 2019 Federal election we are keen that voters, candidates and political parties understand what it will take for an incoming government to provide good healthcare and health promotion for all regardless of where they live.”

Over the next four weeks the NRHA will roll out more detail on what it is asking of Australia’s next Federal Government. To learn more, check www.ruralhealth.org.au/election19

The NRHA represents all professions and services dedicated to helping rural Australians get health care and health promotion services. Among them are nurses, physiotherapists, doctors, pharmacists, paramedics, surgeons and other allied health professionals. Its 37 members include national organisations representing those professions and other bodies such as NACCHO ,the Country Women’s Association of Australia, the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association and the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia.

Part 3 Indigenous Health Rationale

  1. More than 1,100 delegates from around Australia voted at the 15thNational Rural Health Conference in March to seek government endorsement for the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a key priority. Poorer health outcomes in non-metropolitan Australia reflect the widening gap that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience in their health care compared with non-Indigenous people. It is only when we listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices that we will be able to deliver health solutions that will succeed.
  2. Aboriginal Health Workers and health practitioners are critical to achieving better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through culturally safe preventative health and treatment services. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have three-fold higher levels of preventable hospital admissions and deaths than other Australians and the burden of disease for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is 2.3 times higher. A significant driver behind these numbers is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can often feel unsafe in accessing the health care they need. 2016 data from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association shows the number of Indigenous workers in health professions was 1347.A ratio of one for every 150 Indigenous people would require 4328 practitioners – this would mean putting 3000 more Aboriginal Health Workers and practitioners on the ground.
  3. Increasing the baseline funding for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations will remove funding insecurity that threatens their programs and services.
  4. Young Indigenous Australians are 55 times more likely to die of rheumatic heart disease than their non-Indigenous peers, yet it is preventable. Priorities have been established under the END RHD program – these need to be implemented immediately.

Updated Part 4 Indigenous voice key to wellbeing

The body representing 37 rural health organisations has urged the next government to endorse the Uluru Statement from the Heart and establish a “voice” to federal parliament as its No 1 priority to improve indigenous health.

Launching its election charter at Parliament House, National Rural Health Alliance chair Tanya Lehmann said Australia needed to start tackling problems impacting on people’s health — problems that would not be fixed by more doctors or technology.

“Connection to country, spiritual wellbeing, overcoming intergenerational trauma are central to the health of indigenous Australians,” she told The Australian.

“Recognising indigenous Australians appropriately in the ­Constitution is an important symbol but it’s more than a symbol, it’s ­actually essential to changing the trajectory of the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people. It’s ­essential to closing the gap.”

Bill Shorten plans to hold a ­referendum on indigenous recognition in the first term of his prime ministership if he wins the ­election.

Scott Morrison committed $7.3 million in the budget to investigate a model for an advisory body such as a “voice to parliament”.

In its charter, the NRHA said: “It is only when we listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices that we will be able to deliver health solutions that will succeed.”

The Uluru Statement from the Heart, released in 2017, called for a First Nations voice to be enshrined in the Constitution, with a Makarrata commission to supervise “a process of agreement-making between governments and First ­Nations people and truth-telling about our history”.

NACCHO #VoteACCHO Save a Date Conference and Events : #HeartWeek2019 28 April to 4 May #ShowSomeTicker Encourages all our mob to understand their risk factors for heart disease and take steps to reduce this risk. @heartfoundation #LHPNationalForum2019

This weeks featured NACCHO SAVE A DATE events

National Heart Week 28 April to 4 May

Download the 2019 Health Awareness Days Calendar 

15 May Cultural Safety Consultation closes

21 May First Peoples Disability Network, Is hosting a Human Rights Literacy forum

20 -24 May 2019 World Indigenous Housing Conference. Gold Coast

24 May National Sorry Day Bridge Walk Canberra

18 -20 June Lowitja Health Conference Darwin

2019 Dr Tracey Westerman’s Workshops 

7 -14 July 2019 National NAIDOC Grant funding round opens

23 -25 September IAHA Conference Darwin

24 -26 September 2019 CATSINaM National Professional Development Conference

9-10 October 2019 NATSIHWA 10 Year Anniversary Conference

16 October Melbourne Uni: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing Conference

5-8 November The Lime Network Conference New Zealand 

Featured Save a dates date

National Heart Week 28 April to 4 May 

Heart Week is an opportunity for health professionals and the Australian public to start a conversation about heart health and the steps needed to reduce the risk of heart disease.

In 2019, Heart Week is celebrated from 28 April–4 May. It will focus on the importance of having a heart health check.

Read over 7O + NACCHO Aboriginal Health and Heart Articles

In particular we are focusing on:

  • Heart health checks and what they involve
  • Which patients should have a heart health check and why
  • What steps patients can take to manage their risk of heart disease and stroke.

Aboriginal Heart Health Info 

Get involved with – use our health professional resources to have Heart Health Check conversations with your patients.

The Heart Foundation and project partner, the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association, welcome you to the 2019 Lighthouse Hospital Project National Forum stating today . Follow #LHPnationalForum2019

The 2019 National Forum brings together each of the 18 hospitals participating in the project, as well as their community partners.

This includes Aboriginal Medical Services, Primary Health Networks, and peak bodies involved in improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The 2019 National Forum will provide you with an opportunity to celebrate and learn about the many successful and innovative initiatives implemented through the Lighthouse Hospital Project, and to discuss ways of embedding and sustaining those changes.

The 2018 National Forum was centred around project priorities which had emerged from workshops, engagement and discussion with project stakeholders and challenges and opportunities experienced across the project sites. The following five themes were developed from these priorities and formed the basis of the National Forum agenda:

  • Understanding the patient experience
  • Addressing discharge against medical advice
  • Increasing patient uptake and engagement with services
  • Building service capability to provide culturally safe and clinically competent care
  • Strategies to increase project collaboration

More Details HERE

Download the NACCHO 2019 Calendar Health Awareness Days

For many years ACCHO organisations have said they wished they had a list of the many Indigenous “ Days “ and Aboriginal health or awareness days/weeks/events.

With thanks to our friends at ZockMelon here they both are!

It even has a handy list of the hashtags for the event.

Download the 53 Page 2019 Health days and events calendar HERE

naccho zockmelon 2019 health days and events calendar

We hope that this document helps you with your planning for the year ahead.

Every Tuesday we will update these listings with new events and What’s on for the week ahead

To submit your events or update your info

Contact: Colin Cowell www.nacchocommunique.com

NACCHO Social Media Editor Tel 0401 331 251

Email : nacchonews@naccho.org.au

15 May Cultural Safety Consultation closes 

‘This engagement process is important to ensure the definition is co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, health professionals and organisations across Australia.

Cultural safety is essential to improving health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and we are committed to a genuine partnership approach to develop a clear definition “

NHLF Chair, Pat Turner said the forum’s partnership with the Strategy Group meant that the definition is being led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health experts, which is an important value when developing policies or definitions that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

The NHLF has been operating since 2011 and is national representative committee for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health peak bodies who provide advice on all aspects of health and well-being.

Help define this important term for the scheme that regulates health practitioners across Australia.

AHPRA, the National Boards and Accreditation Authorities in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme which regulates registered health practitioners in Australia have partnered with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health leaders and the National Health Leadership Forum (NHLF) to release a public consultation.

Together, they are seeking feedback on a proposed definition of ‘cultural safety’ to develop an agreed, national baseline definition that can be used as a foundation for embedding cultural safety across all functions in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme and for use by the National Health Leadership Forum.

In total, there are 44 organisations represented in this consultation, which is being coordinated by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Strategy Group (Strategy Group), which is convened by AHPRA, and the NHLF (a list of representatives is available below).

Strategy Group Co-Chair, Professor Gregory Phillips said the consultation is a vital step for achieving health equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. (see Picture below )

‘Patient safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples is inextricably linked with cultural safety. We need a baseline definition of ‘cultural safety’ that can be used across the National Scheme so that we can help registered health practitioners understand what cultural safety is and how it can help achieve health equity for all Australians’, said Prof Phillips.

The NHLF has been operating since 2011 and is national representative committee for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health peak bodies who provide advice on all aspects of health and well-being.

The consultation is a continuation of the work by the National Scheme’s Strategy Group that has achieving health equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as its overall goal. Members of the Group include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health leaders and members from AHPRA, National Boards, Accreditation Authorities and NSW Councils.

AHPRA’s Agency Management Committee Chair, Mr Michael Gorton AM, said the far reach of this work is outlined in the Strategy Group’s Statement of intent, which was published last year.

‘The approach to this consultation is embodied in the Strategy Group’s Statement of intent, which has commitment, accountability, shared priorities, collaboration and high-level participation as its values. As a scheme, we are learning from our engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, who are the appropriate leaders in this work. I thank these leaders, and the experts who have shared their knowledge and expertise with us, for their generosity and leadership which will lead to better health outcomes’, said Mr Gorton.

The six-week consultation is open to the public. Everyone interested in helping to shape the definition of ‘cultural safety’ that will be used in the National Scheme and by NHLF members is warmly invited to share their views.The consultation is open until 5:00pm, Wednesday 15 May 2019.

For more information:

18 May Federal Elections 

Welcome to our special NACCHO #Election2019 #VoteACCHO resource page for Affiliates, ACCHO members, stakeholders and supporters. The health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is not a partisan political issue and cannot be sidelined any longer.

NACCHO has developed a set of policy #Election2019 recommendations that if adopted, fully funded and implemented by the incoming Federal Government, will provide a pathway forward for improvements in our health outcomes.

We are calling on all political parties to include these recommendations in their election platforms and make a real commitment to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and help us Close the Gap.

With your action and support of our #VoteACCHO campaign we can make the incoming Federal Government accountable.

More info HERE 

NACCHO Acting Chair, Donnella Mills

21 May First Peoples Disability Network, Is hosting a Human Rights Literacy forum. #FPDN #community#humanrights #Indigenous #culture

All welcome, Catering will be provided.
Location: Aboriginal Advancement League
THORNBURY, Tuesday 21 May 2019

20 -24 May 2019 World Indigenous Housing Conference. Gold Coast

Thank you for your interest in the 2019 World Indigenous Housing Conference.

The 2019 World Indigenous Housing Conference will bring together Indigenous leaders, government, industry and academia representing Housing, health, and education from around the world including:

  • National and International Indigenous Organisation leadership
  • Senior housing, health, and education government officials Industry CEOs, executives and senior managers from public and private sectors
  • Housing, Healthcare, and Education professionals and regulators
  • Consumer associations
  • Academics in Housing, Healthcare, and Education.

The 2019 World Indigenous Housing Conference #2019WIHC is the principal conference to provide a platform for leaders in housing, health, education and related services from around the world to come together. Up to 2000 delegates will share experiences, explore opportunities and innovative solutions, work to improve access to adequate housing and related services for the world’s Indigenous people.

Event Information:

Key event details as follows:
Venue: Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
Address: 2684-2690 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach QLD 4218
Dates: Monday 20th – Thursday 23rd May, 2019 (24th May)

Registration Costs

  • EARLY BIRD – FULL CONFERENCE & TRADE EXHIBITION REGISTRATION: $1950 AUD plus booking fees
  • After 1 February FULL CONFERENCE & TRADE EXHIBITION REGISTRATION $2245 AUD plus booking fees

PLEASE NOTE: The Trade Exhibition is open Tuesday 21st May – Thursday 23rd May 2019

Please visit www.2019wihc.com for further information on transport and accommodation options, conference, exhibition and speaker updates.

Methods of Payment:

2019WIHC online registrations accept all major credit cards, by Invoice and direct debit.
PLEASE NOTE: Invoices must be paid in full and monies received by COB Monday 20 May 2019.

Please note: The 2019 WIHC organisers reserve the right of admission. Speakers, programs and topics are subject to change. Please visit http://www.2019wihc.comfor up to date information.

Conference Cancellation Policy

If a registrant is unable to attend 2019 WIHC for any reason they may substitute, by arrangement with the registrar, someone else to attend in their place and must attend any session that has been previously selected by the original registrant.

Where the registrant is unable to attend and is not in a position to transfer his/her place to another person, or to another event, then the following refund arrangements apply:

    • Registrations cancelled less than 60 days, but more than 30 days before the event are eligible for a 50% refund of the registration fees paid.
    • Registrations cancelled less than 30 days before the event are no longer eligible for a refund.

Refunds will be made in the following ways:

  1. For payments received by credit or debit cards, the same credit/debit card will be refunded.
  2. For all other payments, a bank transfer will be made to the payee’s nominated account.

Important: For payments received from outside Australia by bank transfer, the refund will be made by bank transfer and all bank charges will be for the registrant’s account. The Cancellation Policy as stated on this page is valid from 1 October 2018.

Terms & Conditions

please visit www.2019wihc.com

Privacy Policy

please visit www.2019wihc.com

24 May National Sorry Day Bridge Walk Canberra

 

18 -20 June Lowitja Health Conference Darwin


At the Lowitja Institute International Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Conference 2019 delegates from around the world will discuss the role of First Nations in leading change and will showcase Indigenous solutions.

The conference program will highlight ways of thinking, speaking and being for the benefit of Indigenous peoples everywhere.

Join Indigenous leaders, researchers, health professionals, decision makers, community representatives, and our non-Indigenous colleagues in this important conversation.

More Info 

​2019 Dr Tracey Westerman’s Workshops 

More info and dates

7 -14 July 2019 National NAIDOC Grant funding round opens 

The opening of the 2019 National NAIDOC Grant funding round has been moved forward! The National NAIDOC Grants will now officially open on Thursday 24 January 2019.

Head to www.naidoc.org.au to join the National NAIDOC Mailing List and keep up with all things grants or check out the below links for more information now!

https://www.finance.gov.au/resource-management/grants/grantconnect/

https://www.pmc.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/grants-and-funding/naidoc-week-funding

23 -25 September IAHA Conference Darwin

24 September

A night of celebrating excellence and action – the Gala Dinner is the premier national networking event in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health.

The purpose of the IAHA National Indigenous Allied Health Awards is to recognise the contribution of IAHA members to their profession and/or improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The IAHA National Indigenous Allied Health Awards showcase the outstanding achievements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health and provides identifiable allied health role models to inspire all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to consider and pursue a career in allied health.

The awards this year will be known as “10 for 10” to honour the 10 Year Anniversary of IAHA. We will be announcing 4 new awards in addition to the 6 existing below.

Read about the categories HERE.

24 -26 September 2019 CATSINaM National Professional Development Conference

 

 

The 2019 CATSINaM National Professional Development Conference will be held in Sydney, 24th – 26th September 2019. Make sure you save the dates in your calendar.

Further information to follow soon.

Date: Tuesday the 24th to Thursday the 26th September 2019

Location: Sydney, Australia

Organiser: Chloe Peters

Phone: 02 6262 5761

Email: admin@catsinam.org.au

9-10 October 2019 NATSIHWA 10 Year Anniversary Conference

SAVE THE DATE for the 2019 NATSIHWA 10 Year Anniversary Conference!!!

We’re so excited to announce the date of our 10 Year Anniversary Conference –
A Decade of Footprints, Driving Recognition!!! 

NATSIHWA recognises that importance of members sharing and learning from each other, and our key partners within the Health Sector. We hold a biennial conference for all NATSIHWA members to attend. The conference content focusses on the professional support and development of the Health Workers and Health Practitioners, with key side events to support networking among attendees.  We seek feedback from our Membership to make the conferences relevant to their professional needs and expectations and ensure that they are offered in accessible formats and/or locations.The conference is a time to celebrate the important contribution of Health Workers and Health Practitioners, and the Services that support this important profession.

We hold the NATSIHWA Legends Award night at the conference Gala Dinner. Award categories include: Young Warrior, Health Worker Legend, Health Service Legend and Individual Champion.

Watch this space for the release of more dates for registrations, award nominations etc.

16 October Melbourne Uni: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing Conference

The University of Melbourne, Department of Rural Health are pleased to advise that abstract
submissions are now being invited that address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and
wellbeing.

The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Conference is an opportunity for sharing information and connecting people that are committed to reforming the practice and research of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health and celebrates Aboriginal knowledge systems and strength-based approaches to improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal communities.

This is an opportunity to present evidence-based approaches, Aboriginal methods and models of
practice, Aboriginal perspectives and contribution to health or community led solutions, underpinned by cultural theories to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing.
In 2018 the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Conference attracted over 180 delegates from across the community and state.

We welcome submissions from collaborators whose expertise and interests are embedded in Aboriginal health and wellbeing, and particularly presented or co-presented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and community members.

If you are interested in presenting, please complete the speaker registration link

closing date for abstract submission is Friday 3 rd May 2019.
As per speaker registration link request please email your professional photo for our program or any conference enquiries to E. aboriginal-health@unimelb.edu.au.

Kind regards
Leah Lindrea-Morrison
Aboriginal Partnerships and Community Engagement Officer
Department of Rural Health, University of Melbourne T. 03 5823 4554 E. leah.lindrea@unimelb.edu.au

5-8 November The Lime Network Conference New Zealand 

This years  whakatauki (theme for the conference) was developed by the Scientific Committee, along with Māori elder, Te Marino Lenihan & Tania Huria from .

To read about the conference & theme, check out the  website. 

NACCHO Aboriginal Health #VoteACCHO #Prevention : Urban Indigenous Health @IUIH_ #Katungul @DanilaDilba #Mulungu #GidgeeHealing @VAHS1972 #ACCHO’s welcome @DeadlyChoices Healthy Lifestyle Program $16.5 million funding announcement by Labor

The Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH), the organisation behind the Deadly Choices Healthy Lifestyle Program, welcomed $16.5 million funding announcement by Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten which will resource Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) for critical health service responses for Indigenous Australians.

Deadly Choices partner organisation CEOs across Australia joined IUIH CEO Adrian Carson in congratulating Mr Shorten for his strong commitment to working with ACCHSs to improve health outcomes and with First Nations people to realise a renewed commitment to closing the gap.

For more information about the Deadly Choices Program


Read full Labor Press Release Here 

Quotes from Adrian Carson, CEO of the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH), the organisation behind the Deadly Choices campaign:

  • This is a significant funding package and it will make a huge difference to our communities across the country.
  • To reduce rates of preventable chronic disease that are impacting our community and to close the gap our people must be empowered to make healthy choices – to stop smoking, to eat good food, to exercise and to get regular health checks. But only our communities can make this happen.
  • Since IUIH was established in South East Queensland in 2009 we have achieved a 340% increase in client numbers – from 8,000 in 2009 to 35,000 in 2017/18.
  • We’ve also seen the number of people having a regular health check at their local community controlled health service increase by almost 4000%, from 550 in 2009 to more than 20,000 people in 2017/18.
  • As a result, in South East Queensland our life expectancy gap is closing at a rate 2.3 times faster than predicted trajectories.
  • We also know that people participating in Deadly Choices programs are twice as likely to engage with their local health clinic – so funding a national expansion to Deadly Choices will have an immediate and significant impact on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  • Deadly Choices is the perfect example of an initiative that has been designed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  • The solutions that we’re coming up with to improve health outcomes in our communities are actually solutions that can benefit the whole country.
  • At a local level, we are seeing these significant improvements in a whole range of areas, particularly those being led by community controlled organisations.
  • We can deliver these outcomes nationally, we just need the resources to do it. So we welcome this announcement – as it puts control in the hands of those who can make the biggest impact.

Quotes from Joanne Grant, Acting CEO of Katungul Health in South Coast NSW:

  • Katungul’s vision is for Aboriginal people to live healthy lives enriched by a strong living culture, dignity and justice.
  • Following the introduction of Deadly Choices to our clinics we have seen a marked increase in the number of health checks performed.
  • In the first year offering Deadly Choices we more than doubled the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients who had a health check. That’s more than double the number of people who are checking in with their health service regularly and being able to access the healthcare that they need, when they need it. In that first year we also attracted almost 400 new patients to our service.
  • Expanding this program to community controlled health services nationally means that in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, more people will have access to health services when they need them.

Quotes by Olga Havnen, CEO of Danila Dilba Health Service in Darwin:

  • Funding the national expansion of Deadly Choices nationally will significantly impact the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  • Here in Darwin, Deadly Choices has been very successful in engaging and educating people of all ages, and particularly young people in our communities.
  • Our Deadly Choices Ambassadors – Steven Motlop (Port Adelaide AFL Player), Kylie Duggan (Tracy Village Jets Basketballer), Patrick Johnson (Sprinter) and Sam Rioli (Basketballer) are all prominent members of the community and positive role models in the greater Darwin community. They attend community events and activities to promote healthy lifestyles and the benefits of getting regular health checks in maintaining and improving health.

Quotes from Gail Wason, CEO of Mulungu Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre in Far North Queensland:

  • A significant area of impact we’ve seen is that kids enrolled in the Deadly Choices education program at school look forward to attending the program – and that means their school attendance rate is up.
  • It also means that they’re engaging with us as their health service and getting their health checks on a regular basis
  • The difference is in the way that we are able to deliver these programs and health messages to our community – it’s a better way. It’s done our way and it meets the needs of our people.
  • Our ACCHS sector are delivering these key messagesto our community in a culturally appropriate manner which makes it work for our mob.

Quotes from Michael Graham, CEO of Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, Melbourne:

  • We welcome today’s funding announcements and Labor’s commitment to work with Aboriginal Medical Services to close the health gap.
  • VAHS looks forward to continuing to build on our current capacity to deliver sustainable improvements in health outcomes for First Nations people.

Quotes from Julie Tongs, CEO of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service, ACT:

  • We are very excited to be launching the Deadly Choices Healthy Lifestyle Program in the ACT in the next few weeks.
  • We strongly support Labor’s commitment to working with Aboriginal Medical Services to delivery culturally capable healthcare to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Quotes from Renee Blackman, CEO of Gidgee Healing, Mt Isa

  • This additional funding commitment would mean that Gidgee Healing will be able to further extend our programs into the communities that we work with.
  • There is just so much demand for these services and programs in these communities.

 

NACCHO Aboriginal Health and the #Justice System #Election2019 #AusVotesHealth #VoteACCHO : @SenatorDodson Labor announces critical $107 million funding measures to address the disadvantage experienced by our First Nations people in the justice system. Responses from @atsils @NationalFVPLS @Change_Record

 ” A Shorten Labor Government will deliver a $107 million package to address the disadvantage experienced by First Nations peoples in the justice system.

Nowhere is the story of unfairness and diminished opportunity more clearly defined than in the justice gap experienced by First Nations peoples.

An Indigenous man is 15 times more likely to be imprisoned than a non-Indigenous man and an Indigenous woman is 21 times more likely to be in custody than a nonIndigenous woman. An Indigenous child is 24 times more likely to be in detention.

This is unacceptable. “

Senator Patrick Dodson  at the Koorie Heritage Trust Inc  with Mark Dreyfus announcing Labor’s First Nations Justice package. See Full Press Release part 1 below

The key First Nations Justice policy Labor announcements include:

  • $21.75 million to continue Justice Reinvestment in Bourke as well as three new trial sites and to establish a National Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Body
  • $40 million for ATSILS
  • $4 million for the peak body NATSILS
  • $21.5 million for Family Violence Prevention Legal Services
  • Developing justice targets as part of the Closing the Gap framework
  • Retaining the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program as a standalone program $42.5 million to Community Legal Centres for family violence work
  • $21 million to double the number of Specialist Domestic Violence Units and Health Justice partnerships

 ” Health justice partnerships in the ACCHO context address people’s fears and distrust about the justice system, by providing a culturally safe setting in which to have conversations about legal matters.

I believe that the development of collaborative, integrated service models such as Law Yarn can provide innovative and effective solutions for addressing not only the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the justice system, but also the health gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Selected extracts from Donnella Mills Acting Chair of NACCHO keynote speaker 9 April 

Read full speech HERE

 “NACCHO has developed a set of policy #Election2019 recommendations that if adopted, fully funded and implemented by the incoming Federal Government, will provide a pathway forward for improvements in our health outcomes.

We are calling on all political parties to include these 10 recommendations in their election platforms and make a real commitment to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and help us Close the Gap.”

Read all the 10 Recommendations HERE

“ The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (QLD) Ltd (ATSILS) has welcomed the funding commitments announced today by The Australian Labor Party (ALP) in relation to addressing family violence and the disadvantage experienced by First Nations peoples in the justice system.

The $107 million justice package announced today by the ALP is a comprehensive strategy that balances common sense with innovation and will go a long way to improving access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should they win Government at the upcoming federal election.

ATSILS have been operating under a cloud of funding uncertainty for far too long so we commend the commonsense approach announced by the ALP to maintain direct funding through the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program. This decision demonstrates a clear belief in the importance of self-determination and community control in the delivery of culturally safe services.”

ATSILS CEO Shane Duffy : Full Press Release continued Part 2 below

 ” The National FVPLS Forum has welcomed the Federal election commitment from Labor to increase funding to Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLSs). Phynea Clarke, Deputy Convenor praised the commitment to increase and provide funding beyond June 2020, which has been long called for.

I am extremely pleased that Labor have committed to $21.5 million in additional funding for FVPLSs, something we have long been calling for. The commitment provides funding beyond end of June 2020, when our current funding is due to end.

All our services are having to turn away clients as a regular occurrence. This increase in funding will mean our services can build their capacity to support more clients and expand their geographic reach”.

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLSs). Phynea Clarke, Deputy Convenor : See Full Press release Part 3

 “Change the Record has welcomed commitments from the Australian Labor Party and The Australian Greens on critical Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice issues.

Today the Australian Labor Party announced a $107 million First Nations justice package. We welcome the Australian Labor Party’s commitments to justice targets, justice reinvestment, Family Violence Prevention Legal Services and to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services,” 

Change the Record and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been calling for these changes for many years, and now our voices are being heard. These commitments are practical solutions and necessary first steps toward ending the over-incarceration of our people.”

Cheryl Axleby, co-chair of Change the Record. See Full Press Release Part 4 below

Part 1

For too long, our justice system has failed First Nations peoples. It has been 28 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and yet the vicious cycle that drives the unacceptable over-representation of Indigenous Australians in our justice system continues.

Labor believes that in tackling the entrenched disadvantages faced by First Nations peoples in the justice system, we must be guided by those who live the reality of the justice gap – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their community-controlled, representative organisations.

Labor’s plan to close the justice gap includes:

Properly funding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS)

Labor will strengthen access to justice for First Nations peoples by providing $40 million over four years to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS). This will greatly enhance the ability of ATSILS to fulfil their three critical functions:

  • Improving access to justice for Indigenous Australians.
  • Reducing the disproportionate disadvantage experienced by Indigenous people in the justice system.
  • Providing cost effective legal assistance.

Labor has also committed to maintaining the independence of the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program, which gives effect to the fundamental principle of selfdetermination for First Nations peoples by funding ATSILS as the communitycontrolled providers of culturally safe legal services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander peoples. This will reverse the Morrison Government’s decision to roll ATSILS into the general funding stream for Commonwealth legal assistance, announced in the 2019-20 Budget in April.

In addition, Labor will provide $4 million over four years to the ATSILS peak body, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS), to build its capacity to lead the sector and to support its strategic plan to improve justice outcomes based on community, culture and empowerment.

Justice targets

A Shorten Labor Government will work with the States and Territories to adopt justice targets under the Closing the Gap framework, so that the inequality in justice outcomes can be properly highlighted and to address unacceptable levels of incarceration among First Nations peoples.

This will focus national attention on Closing the Gap in these areas, complementing existing targets in education, employment, housing, life expectancy and mortality.

Labor will uphold the principle that imprisonment should be an option of last resort.

A Shorten Labor Government will also work with state and territory governments to grow and sustain alternative sentencing mechanisms such as Koori Courts and mediation forums to reduce pressure on the overburdened justice system.

Progressing justice reinvestment

A Shorten Labor Government will invest $21.75 million over four years into progressing justice reinvestment.

Labor will commit to extending the justice reinvestment project currently underway in Bourke, New South Wales, and introduce the trial to sites in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Labor will establish three new launch sites in a major city, regional town and remote community that build on existing community-led initiatives to explore the role of justice reinvestment in preventing crime and reducing incarceration.

These sites will be identified by working with state and territory governments, and with justice reinvestment initiatives currently at various stages of development across Australia.

Labor will support and resource a national framework for justice reinvestment. Through COAG, Labor will establish a national coordinating body, as recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission, to build the evidence base, collect data and measure progress as the new targets are implemented, and to monitor the effectiveness of justice reinvestment in the Australian context.

Family Violence Prevention Grants

Labor will work in partnership with First Nations women to address unacceptably high rates of violence against Indigenous women. Labor will provide a dedicated

First Nations’ stream of the $60 million Community Prevention & Frontline Service Grants program to support community-led and culturally-appropriate prevention programs.

We will also invest in Aboriginal-controlled frontline services, including at least $20 million for refuges and safe houses and a $21.5 million boost to Family Violence Prevention Legal Services over four years.

These commitments form part of Labor’s comprehensive strategy to address the scourge of family violence.

The injustice dealt to First Nations peoples is a stain on our whole nation. We must rise to the challenge of closing the justice gap.

If we properly fund First Nations-led legal services, show leadership with nationally coordinated targets, and invest in what works – we can close the justice gap.

This election is a choice between a properly funded, First Nations-led and evidence-based justice package under Labor, or further cuts and chaos to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services under the Liberals.

Only Labor can be trusted to deliver a fair go under the law for First Australians.

Part 2 ATSILS 

“The announced funding boost of $40 million to ATSILS around the nation is a welcomed measure in this climate of over-incarceration where the demand for our services regularly sees our organisation operating with exceeded capacity. Although this funding increase is not of the scale recommended by the Productivity Commission’s – Access to Justice Arrangements Inquiry Report 2014, it is a positive step in the right direction and will help to increase the reach of our culturally safe services to many vulnerable people in regional and remote regions where ATSILS are often the only service providers.

ATSILS also welcomes funding commitments for Family Violence Prevention Legal Services and Community Legal Services to provide domestic violence front line support and the increased funding committed to our national peak body NATSILS.

A serious commitment to innovative justice reinvestment solutions and justice targets are key elements needed to effectively address the over- incarceration and family violence experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

We have been advocating for increased support for these measures for many years, and on the back of the undeniable success of the justice reinvestment pilot project in Bourke, it is extremely encouraging to see the ALP commit funding for a National Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Body and for further trial sites throughout Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Part 3

Read and Download full FVPLS Press Release HERE

FVPLS

Part 4

Read and Download full Change the Record Press Release HERE

Change The Record

NACCHO Aboriginal Health and #Election2019 #AusVotesHealth #VoteACCHO : Would Indigenous health and ‘the gap’ be better served by focusing on positives, not negatives @Mayi_Kuwayu #OurCulturesCount

 ” When you think of Indigenous health, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Is it the Closing the Gap campaign? The gap in life expectancy? Over-representation in the criminal justice system?

Or is the first thing that comes to mind that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are among the longest-surviving cultures in the world?

That mortality rates due to cardiovascular disease have dropped by 43 per cent since 1998?

Or that the prevalence of smoking has dropped by almost 10 per cent in the past decade?

It’s not too surprising if you didn’t think of the last three things — or if you didn’t even know these were true. Because this is not what we hear about in the media.

Think about the positive difference we could make by refocusing the conversation on strengths and success.”

Dr Katie Thurber is a Research Fellow in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program at Australian National University : See Full Report continued Part 1 Below

Dr Katie Thurber works with the Mayi Kuwayu Study team as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Katie assists with study development and data analysis. She completed her PhD at NCEPH under the supervision of Professor Emily Banks and Associate Professor Ray Lovett.

Katie’s PhD research explored the social determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child health, focusing on nutrition and weight status.

Culture has long been considered a critical determinant of health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But we haven’t been able to prove in quantitative terms that strong culture is linked to better health, because we have lacked reliable measures of culture.

This led to the development of the Mayi Kuwayu study, which spent four years working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country to develop measures of cultural participation and expression.

People are completing this survey right now, with the aim of providing large-scale quantitative evidence on how culture is linked to wellbeing

MKY invites you to complete this survey to help us understand how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture links to health and wellbeing.

They have worked with many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities to make this survey.

You can take the survey here:

NACCHO Aboriginal Health #IDW2018 #NACCHOagm2018 Report 5 of 5 @Mayi_Kuwayu Landmark study to examine health benefits of Indigenous connection to country launched at #NACCHOagm2018

” The health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is not a partisan political issue and cannot be sidelined any longer.

NACCHO has developed a set of policy #Election2019 recommendations that if adopted, fully funded and implemented by the incoming Federal Government, will provide a pathway forward for improvements in our health outcomes.

We are calling on all political parties to include these recommendations in their election platforms and make a real commitment to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and help us Close the Gap.

With your action and support of our #VoteACCHO campaign we can make the incoming Federal Government accountable. “

NACCHO Acting Chair, Donnella Mills

Check  our new Election2019 Page Here

Part 1 Continued from opening :  Picture above : Culture is considered critical for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s wellbeing. So how do we measure that? (ABC Kimberley: Ben Collins/file photo)

 Originally published on ABC Website 

A study found that in Western Australia, three quarters of all media stories about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in 2012 were negative, focusing on topics such as alcohol use, child abuse, petrol sniffing, violence, and suicide.

Together this paints a pretty grim picture.

We call this constant negative portrayal of a population “deficit discourse” — and it can have a profound influence on how we view Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

These negative stories, and the focus on problems, can reinforce negative stereotypes about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, which can then contribute to racist attitudes and behaviours.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who constantly hear these negative stories may internalise negative beliefs about their identity, which can contribute to low self-esteem and psychological distress.

It can also decrease people’s willingness to participate in health-promoting behaviours.

For example, in a study in the United States, African-American adults were shown one of a few different statements about colon cancer.

The key thing is that all of the statements were true, and based on the same data. The only thing that varied was how the statistic was framed.

Some of the participants saw the statistic in a deficit frame: either, black people are doing worse than white people; or, black people are improving, but less than white people. Others saw the statistic presented in a positive way: black people are improving over time.

The study found participants who saw the statistic framed positively had a better emotional response than those who saw the statistic framed negatively.

Even more, the study found these participants were more likely to want to be screened for colon cancer themselves.

So a simple change in how the exact same data was framed resulted in different health action.

This constant deficit discourse can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The act of continually talking about gaps and problems may actually serve to make things worse.

What should we do about this?

We need to acknowledge the potential effects of continuing to present such a negative (and unfair) portrayal of Australia’s First Peoples.

The ‘deficit discourse’ of Indigenous health

Listen to Katie Thurber explain how negative stories can reinforce negative stereotypes about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for Ockham’s Razor.

We also need to change things. This can start with changing the way we conduct research, and how we present findings in the media.

As consumers, we need to critique and question what we hear in the media. We need to be mindful of the way we discuss these issues, whether with our friends or on social media.

As a researcher, I consider I have an ethical obligation to avoid “deficit discourse”, given the potential health consequences.

So, within our research group, we try to do things a bit differently.

We follow two broad principles to focus our research on strengths, rather than on problems.

The first principle: we look at how things are going within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

Our first concern is to understand how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are doing — what groups are doing well, what groups are doing less well, what is working, and what is not working.

This gives us the true story of what is going on, and it gives us real data we can feed back to communities.

We may compare this information with data from the non-Indigenous population where this is relevant, but this is always a lower priority.

Focusing on “the gap” only tells us the size of the space between two data points.

The size of “the gap” doesn’t tell us anything about how things are going for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, or for non-Indigenous people, for that matter.

The smoking gap, or why how we talk about statistics matters

I’ll give you an example of this using data about smoking prevalence, the percentage of the adult population that currently smokes daily.

A 2016 report looked at trends over time in smoking prevalence in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population relative to smoking prevalence in the non-Indigenous population.

The researchers found that in 2008, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were 2.4 times as likely to smoke as non-Indigenous adults, and in 2013, they were 2.8 times as likely to smoke.

Because 2.8 is bigger than 2.4, they concluded the gap in smoking had widened. This sounds like a bad news story, and it could have been interpreted to mean that tobacco control efforts were not working.

This didn’t line up with what we were hearing on the ground, so we looked at the data another way.

Instead of focusing on comparing the data with the non-Indigenous population, we looked within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population to estimate the change in smoking prevalence in absolute terms.

We found the prevalence of smoking had dropped by 9 per cent in the past decade, matching the progress in the non-Indigenous population, where there was a 7 per cent decrease.

What this means in terms of real lives is that there are 35,000 fewer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults smoking today, compared to if things had stayed the same. This will help avoid thousands of early deaths.

We saw particularly notable drops in smoking among younger people and those living in urban areas.

We learned that we need to redouble our tobacco control efforts for older age groups, and for those living in remote areas, building on what is working.

While both reports were accurate, they led to entirely different conclusions. The difference comes down to the way the statistics were framed.

We found there was a significant drop in smoking prevalence for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and for non-Indigenous adults — it was a good news story for both groups.

This good news is hidden when we focus on the comparison between the two groups.

Look at what’s helping, not just what’s harming

The size of the “gap” isn’t telling us the whole story — and it may be hiding real progress that is occurring.

We learn much more by exploring how things are going within a population than we do by only looking at the difference between two populations.

The second principle: rather than only looking at risk factors, or things that cause disease, we try to explore factors that might promote health and wellbeing. These are called a few names, such as protective factors, health assets, health resources, or salutogenic factors.

Looking at protective factors can be tricky, because while we have a reasonably good idea of the types of things that cause disease — such as smoking, high body mass index, and alcohol use — we don’t have as good of a grasp on what promotes wellbeing.

So to do this, we explore things that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have told us is important to their wellbeing such as their culture, their family, and their environment.

These are concepts that we don’t usually measure in large-scale studies — often because these things are considered “too hard” to measure. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

For example, culture has long been considered a critical determinant of health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But we haven’t been able to prove in quantitative terms that strong culture is linked to better health, because we have lacked reliable measures of culture.

This led to the development of the Mayi Kuwayu study, which spent four years working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country to develop measures of cultural participation and expression.

People are completing this survey right now, with the aim of providing large-scale quantitative evidence on how culture is linked to wellbeing.

Identifying protective factors lets us design programs and policies that promote wellbeing, building on strengths that already exist within Indigenous families and communities. It’s an important complement to standard research that focuses on risk factors for disease.

I’ve explored these ideas in the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, but this is something we can do for all populations, all the time.

Think about the positive difference we could make by refocusing the conversation on strengths and success.

 

NACCHO #VoteACCHO Aboriginal Health and Immunisation : It’s World #ImmunisationWeek 24- 30 April . Here are the facts how #vaccination protects you and our mob. #ProtectedTogether #VaccinesWork

The theme this year is Protected Together: Vaccines Work!, and the campaign will celebrate Vaccine Heroes from around the world – from parents and community members to health workers and innovators – who help ensure we are all protected through the power of vaccines.
Picture above AHCWA 
On this page

Feature article

We seek all ACCHO assistance in supporting women to get vaccinated against influenza and pertussis during pregnancy.

The influenza and pertussis vaccines are available at no cost to pregnant women through the National Immunisation Program (NIP).

The most important factor associated with uptake of influenza and pertussis vaccination during pregnancy is a healthcare provider recommendation.

The Department of Health is undertaking an online campaign to promote pertussis and influenza commencing March through to May 2019.

Key campaign messages

  • Antenatal vaccination is recommended to protect both pregnant women and their babies from influenza and pertussis and their complications.
  • Maternal antibodies against pertussis provide protection to babies until they have received at least two doses of pertussis containing vaccines (at six weeks and four months of age).
  • Maternal antibodies against influenza provide protection to babies for the first few months of life until they are able to be vaccinated themselves at six months of age.
  • Babies less than six months of age are at greatest risk of severe disease and death from influenza and pertussis.
  • Pregnant women are also at increased risk of morbidity and mortality from influenza compared with non-pregnant women. Pregnant women are more than twice as likely to be admitted to hospital as other people with influenza.

Please note that the evidence around the timing of pertussis vaccination in pregnancy has recently been reviewed and the pertussis-containing vaccine is now recommended as a single dose between 20 and 32 weeks in each pregnancy, including pregnancies that are closely spaced to provide maximal protection to each infant.

This advice is reflected in the Australian Immunisation Handbook at www.immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au.

Please take all opportunities to speak to your pregnant patients and their partners about the importance of getting vaccinated against influenza and pertussis during pregnancy. Ideally, vaccination should be part of routine antenatal care.

To support you in these discussions, I have enclosed a number of resources that you and your patients may find useful.

These resources are also available for order or download from the Department of Health’s immunisation website at www.health.gov.au/immunisation.

About vaccines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Read all previous NACCHO Aboriginal Health and Immunisation Articles Here

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are able to get extra immunisations for free through the National Immunisation Program (NIP) to protect you against serious diseases.

These extra immunisations are in addition to all the other routine vaccinations offered throughout life (children, adults, seniors, pregnancy).

https://beta.health.gov.au/resources/videos/get-the-facts-protect-your-mob-hero-video#

Getting your bub vaccinated is free and helps keep everyone safe from diseases.

My name is Belinda, I have four children.

No I was never late with my vaccinations, because I always check the health book you were given and at the back you know it tells you when you’re due for your vaccinations.

If there are children in your community that are not up to date, let their parents know to bring them to the clinic as soon as possible.

On each vaccination, you know the childhood nurse she explained to me what each injection was for and how often they were to have it.

I would say to other parents that it’s important to have your children immunised. Nothing scary about it.

Vaccinating on time makes sure your bub gets the best protection against serious diseases.

Get the facts at immunisationfacts.gov.au

Children aged 5 years old or under

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 5 years or under should receive all routine vaccines under the NIP. You can see a list of these vaccines on the Immunisation for children page.

The Australian Government recommends that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 5 years or under have the following additional vaccines.

Pneumococcal disease

An additional booster dose of pneumococcal vaccine is recommended between the ages of 12 and 18 months for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in:

  • Queensland
  • Northern Territory
  • Western Australia
  • South Australia.

Visit the Pneumococcal immunisation service page for information on receiving the pneumococcal vaccine.

Hepatitis A

Two doses of the hepatitis A vaccine are given 6 months apart. These doses should be given from 12 months of age for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in:

  • Queensland
  • Northern Territory
  • Western Australia
  • South Australia.

The age that both the hepatitis A and pneumococcal vaccines are given varies among the 4 states and territories. Speak to your state or territory health service for more information.

Visit the Hepatitis A immunisation service page for information on receiving the hepatitis A vaccine.

Influenza

The influenza vaccine is free for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over through the NIP.

Visit the influenza immunisation service page for information on receiving the influenza vaccine.

Children aged 5 to 9 years old

Influenza

The influenza vaccine is free for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over through the NIP.

Visit the influenza immunisation service page for information on receiving the influenza vaccine.

Catch-up vaccines

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 5 to 9 years should receive any missed routine childhood vaccinations. Catch-up vaccines are free through the NIP. See the NIP Schedule for more information.

Children aged 10 to 15 years

Influenza

The influenza vaccine is free for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over through the NIP.

Visit the influenza immunisation service page for information on receiving the influenza vaccine.

Catch-up vaccines

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 10 to 15 years old should receive any missed routine childhood vaccinations. Catch-up vaccines are free through the NIP. See the NIP Schedule for more information.

Other vaccines

All children should receive routine vaccines for children aged 10 to 15 years old. These are HPV (human papillomavirus) and diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (pertussis), meningococcal ACWY vaccines given through school immunisation programs.

People aged 15 to 49 years old

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 to 19 years old should receive any missed routine childhood vaccinations. Catch-up vaccines are free through the NIP. See the NIP Schedule for more information.

Influenza

The influenza vaccine is free for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over through the NIP.

Visit the influenza immunisation service page for information on receiving the influenza vaccine.

Pneumococcal disease

Pneumococcal vaccines are free for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 to 49 years old who are at high risk of severe pneumococcal disease.

Visit the Pneumococcal immunisation service page for information on receiving the pneumococcal vaccine.

People aged 50 years old or more

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years old or more should receive any missed routine childhood vaccinations. Catch-up vaccines are free through the NIP. See the NIP Schedule for more information.

Pneumococcal disease

Pneumococcal vaccines are free for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years old or over.

Visit the Pneumococcal immunisation service page for information on receiving the pneumococcal vaccine.

Influenza

The influenza vaccine is free for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over through the NIP.

Visit the influenza immunisation service page for information on receiving the influenza vaccine.

NACCHO Aboriginal Health Workforce News : #Election2019 #VoteACCHO #AusVotesHealth #Vote1RuralHealth : @NRHACEO The 4 key approaches an incoming Federal Government needs to immediately address to reduce the critical shortage 2. Plus @IAHA_National Press release

 

“We have people living in our remote and rural regions who don’t know what optometrists or audiologists are, let alone having visited one, yet such professionals are readily available in our metropolitan cities.

Do Australians think this is fair?

We acknowledge the Federal Coalition Government’s $550m commitment to fund 3000 additional doctors and 3000 additional nurses but doctors and nurses alone won’t do it.

We also need physiotherapists, psychologists, audiologists, social workers and many other allied health professions to be on the ground to provide the comprehensive care needed to address the woeful health statistics in our non-metropolitan regions.

We know that telehealth can deliver things like home-based rehabilitation, mental health care services and aged care support but when 80 per cent of 400 Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory alone don’t even have a 3G or 4G mobile phone signal, there is no way to deliver it.

We want communities to identify digital connectivity solutions for online health care that will work for their area and for the Federal Government to fund these solutions through a national grants program. “

National Rural Health Alliance CEO Mark Diamond acknowledged considerable progress by previous governments in addressing rural doctor shortages but says this is only part of the solution : See full Press Release below 

NACCHO Recommendation 10 of 10 #VoteACCHO

Aboriginal health workforce

  • Increased support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce and increased support for workforce for the ACCHO sector which includes the non-Indigenous health professionals on which ACCHOs rely
  • Develop an Aboriginal Employment Strategy for the ACCHS sector

 ” Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) welcome the announcement of $4.65 million in funding from the Commonwealth Government to support the expansion of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Academy Model.

The academy is a community-led learning model focused on academic achievement and re-shaping the way training pathways are co-designed and delivered with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students.

The model aims to embed culturally safe curricula and to be inclusive of local cultural aspirations for successful outcomes where social, cultural and environmental determinants are addressed with wraparound supports. ”

See full Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) Press Release Part 2 

National Rural Health Alliance Press Release 

An incoming Federal Government needs to immediately address the critical shortage of allied health professionals in rural, regional and remote Australia if the nation is to have any hope of making healthcare accessible to those regions, the National Rural Health Alliance says.

Download a PDF Copy of the full press release

National Rural Health Alliance Workforce Election 2019

To ensure all Australians have access to healthcare, the NRHA is recommending four key approaches. They are:

  • Fund an additional 3000 allied health care professionals. ($300m over 4 years)
  • Fund 20 demonstration sites in rural and remote regions with a workforce to match the needs to each and use this to develop future workforce models. ($50m over 4 years)
  • Establish a grants program to make sure Australians in rural, regional and remote areas have telecommunications connectivity so they can access healthcare remotely. ($400m over 4 years)
  • Make Medicare rebates available for online or telehealth consults offered by GPs and other allied health professionals to people in outer regional, remote and very remote areas. ($420m over 4 years and $180m per year thereafter).

Funding demonstration sites would guide workforce planning for the future.

Some regions, such as western NSW, had already identified that short-term contracts and fly-in, fly-out allied health workforces failed to provide sustainable care with strong impacts on health outcomes.

Grants to improve digital connectivity would also help make healthcare more accessible.

Mr Diamond said the fourth option for improving access to health care was to make Medicare rebates available for online or telehealth consultations offered to people in outer regional, remote and very remote areas.

Medicare rebates for telehealth consultations provided by doctors and psychologists to people in drought-affected areas are already in place.

This initiative would mean extending those rebates to more professions and make them available to people in non-drought affected areas.

The NRHA represents 37 national organisations whose members work in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Check NRHA Election Charter Rural Health Matters! at  www.ruralhealth.org.au/election19

Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) welcome the announcement of $4.65 million in funding from the Commonwealth Government to support the expansion of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Academy Model.

The academy is a community-led learning model focused on academic achievement and re-shaping the way training pathways are co-designed and delivered with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students. The model aims to embed culturally safe curricula and to be inclusive of local cultural aspirations for successful outcomes where social, cultural and environmental determinants are addressed with wraparound supports.

In announcing the funding, Minister for Indigenous Health, The Hon. Ken Wyatt MP, said:

“I am proud to support the IAHA National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Academy (which is) an incredible achievement in creating training and career pathways into the health sector. These pathways play an important role in improving health care for all Australians, and I acknowledge the work of IAHA in establishing the academy.”

The first academy, the Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Academy (NTAHA), was officially launched in early 2018 in partnership with Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT). Twenty-five Aboriginal students from five Darwin high schools enrolled in the first intake of the NTAHA, with the first cohort due to complete their Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance in December 2019.

IAHA will build on the successes to date and develop partnerships to expand the academy into new regions, including QLD, NSW and the ACT. Local communities and stakeholders will be critical to the future planning and implementation of the new academies, including universities where students can build their knowledge and understanding of the tertiary sector and potential pathways.

IAHA members, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health graduates, have played an important role in providing mentorship and guidance to academy students. IAHA Chairperson, Nicole Turner, has been active in the formation and operation of the academy and said:

“Students are now on an educational and training pathway leading to long term careers in health and have shown interest in a broad range of professions including oral health, pharmacy, speech pathology, nursing, midwifery and medicine. The importance of this model is that it is about supporting students make informed choices and contextualise their opportunities to their local community and workforce needs.”

IAHA look forward to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, families, communities and other key stakeholders to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to pursue meaningful careers in health.

Download media release HERE

NACCHO #ANZACday2019 tribute : Our black history: #LestWeForget Boer War , WW1, WW2 Vietnam etc Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women veterans.

” Over 1000 Indigenous Australians fought in the First World War. They came from a section of society with few rights, low wages, and poor living conditions. Most Indigenous Australians could not vote and none were counted in the census. But once in the AIF, they were treated as equals. They were paid the same as other soldiers and generally accepted without prejudice.”

From the Australian War Memorial Indigenous Defence Service Website

Private Miller Mack served in World War I from 1916-17 alongside fellow Australian troops among the 7th Reinforcements in France.

 ” Private Miller Mack’s image is iconic – frequently used as a symbol of Indigenous Australians’ important contribution to the ANZAC war effort. Yet for nearly a century, the soldier himself has lain forgotten, in an unmarked pauper’s grave. Now, says his grand-niece Michelle Lovegrove, he has finally been given the burial he deserves, as his body has been re-interred on Ngarrindjeri land. ”

Read full story here

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have served in every conflict and commitment involving Australian defence contingents since Federation, including both world wars and the intervals of peace since the Second World War.

Artwork via Lee Anthony Hampton from Koori Kicks Art.

Researching Indigenous service

Little was known publicly about the presence of Indigenous men and women in Australia’s armed forces prior to the 1970s. Subsequent research has established a record of Indigenous service dating back to the start of the Commonwealth era in 1901, and even a small number of individual enlistments in the colonial defence forces before that.

It is impossible to determine the exact number of Indigenous individuals who participated in each conflict, and this research is ongoing. New names are constantly emerging, while some have been removed after research identified them as non-Indigenous.

Before 1980, individuals enlisting in the defence forces were not asked whether or not they were of an Indigenous background.

While service records sometimes contain information which may suggest Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage, many servicemen have been identified as Indigenous by their descendants.

RAAF Leading Aircraftman Brodie McIntyre is a proud Warlpiri man. On Anzac Day this year he will represent the Australian Defence Force at Gallipoli in Turkey.

Here you can find a list of known indigenous service people: https://www.awm.gov.au/indigenous-service

First World War

Over 1000 Indigenous Australians fought in the First World War. They came from a section of society with few rights, low wages, and poor living conditions. Most Indigenous Australians could not vote and none were counted in the census. But once in the AIF, they were treated as equals. They were paid the same as other soldiers and generally accepted without prejudice.

When war broke out in 1914, many Indigenous Australians who tried to enlist were rejected on the grounds of race; others slipped through the net. By October 1917, when recruits were harder to find and one conscription referendum had already been lost, restrictions were cautiously eased. A new Military Order stated: “Half-castes may be enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force provided that the examining Medical Officers are satisfied that one of the parents is of European origin.”

This was as far as Australia – officially – would go.

Why did they fight?

Loyalty and patriotism may have encouraged Indigenous Australians to enlist. Some saw it as a chance to prove themselves the equal of Europeans or to push for better treatment after the war.

For many Australians in 1914 the offer of 6 shillings a day for a trip overseas was simply too good to miss.

Indigenous Australians in the First World War served on equal terms but after the war, in areas such as education, employment, and civil liberties, Aboriginal ex-servicemen and women found that discrimination remained or, indeed, had worsened during the war period.

The post First World War Period

Only one Indigenous Australian is known to have received land in New South Wales under a “soldier settlement” scheme, despite the fact that much of the best farming land in Aboriginal reserves was confiscated for soldier settlement blocks.

The repression of Indigenous Australians increased between the wars, as protection acts gave government officials greater control over Indigenous Australians. As late as 1928 Indigenous Australians were being massacred in reprisal raids. A considerable Aboriginal political movement in the 1930s achieved little improvement in civil rights.

Second World War

Lieutenant (Lt) T.C. Derrick, VC DCM (right) with Lt R. W. Saunders

Hundreds of Indigenous Australians served in the 2nd AIF and the militia. Many were killed fighting and at least a dozen died as prisoners of war. As in the First World War, Indigenous Australians served under the same conditions as whites and, in most cases, with the promise of full citizenship rights after the war. Generally, there seems to have been little racism between soldiers.

In 1939 Indigenous Australians were divided over the issue of military service. Some Aboriginal organisations believed war service would help the push for full citizenship rights and proposed the formation of special Aboriginal battalions to maximise public visibility.

Others, such as William Cooper, the Secretary of the Australian Indigenous Australians’ League, argued that Indigenous Australians should not fight for white Australia. Cooper had lost his son in the First World War and was bitter that Aboriginal sacrifice had not brought any improvement in rights and conditions. He likened conditions in white-administered Aboriginal settlements to those suffered by Jews under Hitler. Cooper demanded improvements at home before taking up “the privilege of defending the land which was taken from him by the White race without compensation or even kindness”.

Enlistment Second World War

At the start of the Second World War Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were allowed to enlist and many did so. But in 1940 the Defence Committee decided the enlistment of Indigenous Australians was “neither necessary not desirable”, partly because white Australians would object to serving with them. However, when Japan entered the war increased need for manpower forced the loosening of restrictions. Torres Strait Islanders were recruited in large numbers and Indigenous Australians increasingly enlisted as soldiers and were recruited or conscripted into labour corps.

In the front line

With the Japanese advance in 1942, Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders in the north found themselves in the front line against the attackers. There were fears that Aboriginal contact with Japanese pearlers before the war might lead to their giving assistance to the enemy. Like the peoples of South-East Asia under colonial regimes, Indigenous Australians might easily have seen the Japanese as liberators from white rule. Many did express bitterness at their treatment, but, overwhelmingly, Indigenous Australians supported the country’s defence.

The post Second World War period

Returned soldiers

Wartime service gave many Indigenous Australians pride and confidence in demanding their rights. Moreover, the army in northern Australia had been a benevolent employer compared to pre-war pastoralists and helped to change attitudes to Indigenous Australians as employees.

Nevertheless, Indigenous Australians who fought for their country came back to much the same discrimination as before. For example, many were barred from Returned and Services League clubs, except on Anzac Day. Many of them were not given the right to vote for another 17 years.

Enlistment after the war

Once the intense demands of the war were gone, the army re-imposed its restrictions on enlistment. But attitudes had changed and restrictions based on race were abandoned in 1949. Since then Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders have served in all conflicts in which Australia has participated.

Other services

Little is known about how many Indigenous Australians have served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The numbers are likely lower than for the army but future research may tell a different story.

RAAF

Throughout the Second World War the RAAF, with its huge need for manpower, was less restrictive in its recruiting than the army. However, little is known about Aboriginal aircrew. Indigenous Australians were employed for surveillance in northern Australia and to rescue downed pilots.

Leonard Waters

Leonard Waters, a childhood admirer of Charles Kingsford-Smith and Amy Johnson, joined the RAAF in 1942. After lengthy and highly competitve training he was selected as a pilot and assigned to 78 Squadron, stationed in Dutch New Guinea and later in Borneo. The squadron flew Kittyhawk fighters like the one on display inthe Memorial’s Aircraft Hall.

Waters named his Kittyhawk “Black Magic” and flew 95 operational sorties. After the war he hoped to find a career in civilian flying but bureaucratic delays and lack of financial backing forced him to go back to shearing. Like many others, he found civilian life did not allow him to use the skills that he had gained during the war.

RAN

As well as an unknown number of formally enlisted Indigenous Australians and Islanders, the RAN also employed some informal units. For example, John Gribble, a coastwatcher on Melville Island, formed a unit of 36 Indigenous Australians which patrolled a large area of coast and islands. The men were never formally enlisted and remained unpaid throughout the war, despite the promise of otherwise.

Kamuel Abednego

The United States Army recruited about 20 Torres Strait Islanders as crewmen on its small ships operating in the Torres Strait and around Papua New Guinea. Kamuel Abednego was given the rank of lieutenant, at a time when no Indigenous Australian or Islander had served as a commissioned officer with the Australian forces.

Life on the home front

The war brought greater contact than ever before between the whites of southern Australia and the Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders of the north. For the whites it was a chance to learn about Aboriginal culture and see the poor conditions imposed on Indigenous Australians. For the Indigenous Australians the war accelerated the process of cultural change and, in the long term, ensured a position of greater equality in Australian society.

Labour units

During the Second World War the army and RAAF depended heavily on Aboriginal labour in northern Australia. Indigenous Australians worked on construction sites, in army butcheries, and on army farms. They also drove trucks, handled cargo, and provided general labour around camps. The RAAF sited airfields and radar stations near missions that could provide Aboriginal labour. At a time when Australia was drawing on all its reserves of men and women to support the war effort, the contribution of Indigenous Australians was vital.

The army began to employ Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory in 1933, on conditions similar to those endured by Aboriginal workers on pastoral stations: long hours, poor housing and diet, and low pay. But as the army took over control of settlements from the Native Affairs Branch during the war conditions improved greatly. For the first time Indigenous Australians were given adequate housing and sanitation, fixed working hours, proper rations, and access to medical treatment in army hospitals.

Pay rates remained low. The army tried to increase pay above the standard five shillings a week and at one stage the RAAF was paying Indigenous Australians five shillings a day. But pressure from the civilian administration and pastoralists forced pay back to the standard rate.

In some areas the war caused great hardship. In the islands of Torres Strait, the pearling luggers that provided most of the local income were confiscated in case they fell into Japanese hands. The Islanders enlisted in units such as the Torres Strait Light Infantry, in which their pay was much lower than whites and often not enough to send home to feed their families

Women

Aboriginal women also played an important role. Many enlisted in the women’s services or worked in war industries. In northern Australia Aboriginal and Islander women worked hard to support isolated RAAF outposts and even helped to salvage crashed aircraft.

 

Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker)

Oodgeroo Noonuccal joined the Australian Women’s Army Service in 1942, after her two brothers were captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore. Serving as a signaller in Brisbane she met many black American soldiers, as well as European Australians. These contacts helped to lay the foundations for her later advocacy of Aboriginal rights.

Torres Strait Islander units

Since early the early twentieth century proposals were made to train the Indigenous Australians of northern Australia as a defence force. In the Second World War these ideas were tried out.

In 1941 the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion was formed to defend the strategically-important Torres Strait area. Other Islander units were also created, especially for water transport and as coastal artillery. The battalion never had the chance to engage the enemy but some were sent on patrol into Japanese-controlled Dutch New Guinea.

By 1944 almost every able-bodied male Torres Strait Islander had enlisted. However, they never received the same rates of pay or conditions as white soldiers. At first their pay was one-third that of regular soldiers. After a two-day “mutiny” in December 1943 this was raised to two-thirds.

In proportion to population, no community in Australia contributed more to the war effort in the Second World War than the Torres Strait Islanders.

Donald Thomson and the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit

Donald Thomson was an anthropologist from Melbourne who had lived with the East Arnhem Land Indigenous Australians for two years in the 1930s. In 1941 he set up and led the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit, an irregular army unit consisting of 51 Indigenous Australians, five whites, and a number of Pacific and Torres Strait Islanders. Three of the men had been to gaol for killing the crews of two Japanese pearling luggers in 1932. Now they were told that it was their duty to kill Japanese.

The members of the unit were to use their traditional bushcraft and fighting skills to patrol the coastal area, establish coastwatchers, and fight a guerilla war against any Japanese who landed. Living off the country and using traditional weapons, they were mobile and had no supply line to protect. Thomson shared the group’s hardships and used his knowledge of Aboriginal custom to help deal with traditional rivalries. The unit was eventually disbanded, once the fear of a Japanese landing had disappeared.

The Indigenous Australians in the unit received no monetary pay until back pay and medals were finally awarded in 1992.

Kapiu Masai Gagai

Kapiu Gagai was a Torres Strait Islander from Badu Island. He was a skilled boatman and carpenter and was working on pearling luggers when he joined Donald Thomson in Arnhem Land during the 1930s. In 1941 he again joined Thomson, this time in the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit. As bosun of Thomson’s vessel, the Aroetta, he patrolled the coast to prevent Japanese infiltration. Later he accompanied Thomson on patrol into Japanese-held Dutch New Guinea, where he was badly wounded. Gagai never received equivalent pay to white soldiers, which was also difficult for his family during and after the war.

Indigenous personnel are known to have served in later conflicts and operations (including in Somalia, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq, and on peacekeeping operations) but no numbers are available.

In the 1980s the Department of Defence began collecting information about Indigenous heritage, and these figures show that the number of Indigenous men and women serving in the Australian Defence Force has been increasing since the 1990s.

The department claimed that in early 2014 there were 1,054 Indigenous service personnel (on both permanent and active reserve) in the Australian Defence Force, representing about 1.4 per cent of the ADF’s uniformed workforce.

Indigenous service women honoured in Canberra’s Anzac ceremony | NITV

https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2018/04/24/indigenous-service-women-honoured-canberras-anzac-ceremony via @NITV

More about: