Jun 6 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Breaking down barriers to support mums-to-be

Breaking down barriers to support mums-to-be
Stolen as a child, now training others to heal
Health advocate addresses UN delegates
JCU welcomes first Indigenous Chancellor
Perception Alice Springs unsafe deters workers
Culturally appropriate mental health support coming
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is of Aboriginal Elder Uncle Elvis and Kiralee Moss performing the smoking ceremony for Anne-Shirley Braun and baby Amelia at the first yarning circle at Westmead Hospital’s Cultural Gathering Place in June 2021. The image appeared in article Breaking down barriers to support western Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mums-to-be published in The Pulse yesterday, Monday 5 June 2023.

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Breaking down barriers to support mums-to-be

The Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mums and Bubs Program Steering Committee is working hard to implement various initiatives to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mums-to-be and their families across the district. With over 30 attendees, 40% of who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, this committee is breaking down silos to improve health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait families in a culturally appropriate way through establishing sustainable partnerships.

Committee member Jo Fuller is the Integrated and Community Health Priority Populations program lead at WSLHD, and since 2016 has managed the Aboriginal Health portfolio and was a founding member in starting this committee. Jo is passionate about service collaboration and strongly believes that reconciliation needs to be driven by non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples. “Through the Mums and Bubs Program Steering Committee, we have been able to establish culturally sensitive and appropriate services and provide alternative pathways for the delivery of non-Aboriginal services to the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across western Sydney,” said Jo.

One example of this is the Westmead Hospital Midwifery Caseload Practice and Westmead Dragonfly Midwifery group that offers culturally safe midwifery continuity of care for women from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with a service that runs 24/7 during pregnancies and up to six weeks following birth.

To view The Pulse article Breaking down barriers to support western Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mums-to-be in full click here.

Belinda Cashman (Acting Director Aboriginal Health Strategy), Koorine Trewlynn (Principal Project Officer Kimberwalli). Image source: The Pulse.

Stolen as a child, now training others to heal

Aunty Lorraine Peeters’s last memory of her homeland was watching the mission gates fade into the distance from the back of a rattly truck. After being snatched from her parents at Brewarrina Mission in NW NSW in 1942, four-year-old Lorraine was taken 650 kms south with her five sisters to Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls. The Wailwan Gamilaroi woman’s life was about to change forever.

Separated from her sisters, Aunty Lorraine described being ripped from her family and culture and “plonked into another” as a government-led assimilation strategy to get rid of her people. “Brainwashed, abused, and the whip — if you ever used your own culture,” she said while reflecting on the former home’s mantra of ‘act white, speak white, be white’. “I really think it was a genocide of our race.”

Lorraine Peeters has step up a program, Maumali, to help other members of the Stolen Generations, and the wide community, work through and understand trauma. Marumali is a Gamilaroi word for “put back together”.

To view the ABC News article Lorraine Peeters was stolen and trained to be a servant in NSW, now she trains others to heal in full click here.

Aunty Lorraine Peeters leaning on bridge wall

Aunty Lorraine Peeters. Photo: Carly Williams, ABC News.

Health advocate address UN delegates

To deliver a speech for your own nation among the nation states of the world in diplomatic Geneva is always deemed a privilege, but one personal address from the heart of the world’s oldest continuous living culture was worth the wait of the journey. There Pat Anderson from the podium was surveying the eyes of the room of delegates of United Nations members staring back, all the while carrying the weight of 65,000 years of history proudly on the resilient Alyawarre woman’s shoulders.

The internationally-recognised advocate for Indigenous health grew up from humble beginnings and that upbringing was not far from her mind in that moment. “All I was thinking is, ‘I am a long way from Darwin, let alone a long way from Parap camp’,” Pat says. Parap camp, which she called once home, was a collection of surplus army tents, pegged down and sheltered away from the rest of established Darwin for Aboriginal and “mixed” families to exist.

“That’s where my parents instilled in us a really strong sense of justice and what was right and wrong. They also encouraged us to be brave, to stand up and say what you needed to say. I’ve spent my life of trying to make change, trying to educate, trying to convince, trying to coax, trying to cajole what is a wider community to our cause,” Pat says. “We are a sovereign people, an ancient people, we have knowledge and we are of value.”

To view the National Indigenous Times article Pat Anderson’s long journey has important steps to come in full click here.

Pat Anderson arms crossed across chest standing under gum tree

Pat Anderson. Photo: Andrew Mathieson. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

JCU welcomes first Indigenous Chancellor

Last Thursday 1 June 2023, at James Cook University’s (JCU) Bebegu Yumba Campus in Townsville, on the lawns in front of the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library Professor Ngiare Brown was welcomed as JCU’s sixth Chancellor. Professor Brown is the first female and first Indigenous to assume the university’s most senior governance and strategy role.

“I’m a Yuin nation woman from the South Coast of NSW. I’m a doctor by trade, a mother, a researcher, a clinician, and I get up to lots of mischief,” she said. “I find this quite an extraordinary opportunity. I would never have anticipated being approached for such a role. I am hoping that I can be a good role model for other women, girls, other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples but also people who have limited opportunities in their current context. There are institutions that want them to be part of their journey.”

Deputy chancellor Jayne Arlett said the appointment of the institution’s first female and first Indigenous chancellor was “significant. She is an exceptional person with very high standing at a national and international level,” she said.

You can read more about Professor Ngiare Brown in the ABC News article New James Cook University chancellor hopes to bridge education divide amid ‘growth period’ here.

16 seated people, 13 in academic robes, 3 women in civilian attire; Professor Ngaire Brown at investiture as Chancellor of JCU

Professor Ngaire Brown seated in the middle of the front row at her investiture as Chancellor of James Cook University on 1 June 2023.

Perception Alice Springs unsafe deters workers

Top NT doctor John Boffa says alcohol restrictions mean Alice Springs is “back to being a safe place” but and healthcare workers are being put off coming to the area by “a situation which has largely been addressed”.

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (CAAC) chief medical officer Dr John Boffa said the “single most important factor” in attracting healthcare workers to the region was to “get the message out that Alice Springs is now safe. The crisis is over, we’re back to where we were in 2021 and we had no staff not coming in because they said it was unsafe,” he said.

“But unfortunately in the national picture there’s still this perception that this town is unsafe as it was leading up to Christmas last year — that’s not true.”

The above has been extracted from the NT News article Top Alice Springs doctor John Boffa says alcohol restrictions mean the town is now ‘safe’ published earlier today.

CAAC Chief Medical Officer John Boffa speaking to media outside building

CAAC Chief Medical Officer John Boffa said the “situation” in Alice Springs had largely been addressed by alcohol restrictions. Photo: Laura Hooper. Image source: NT News.

Culturally appropriate mental health support coming

People in the Alice Springs region will soon have access to free, and culturally appropriate mental health and wellbeing support in their own community. Together, the Australian Government and NT Government are investing $11.5m to establish and operate new adult and kids Head to Health services, which are expected to open in 2024.

The Head to Health services in Alice Springs will be safe and welcoming places for all people, with a strong focus on being culturally safe and responsive to meet the needs of First Nations people. Head to Health services provide compassionate, flexible and high-quality mental health and wellbeing support from multidisciplinary care teams. People can be seen without an appointment, to get the services they need from a range of professionals, which may include First Nations health workers, psychologists, paediatricians, nurses, social workers and peer support workers.

The new Head to Health service for adults will provide short to medium-term care for people with moderate to severe levels of mental illness. This new service will take a holistic approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing, and provide immediate support and follow up for people who are in crisis or distress. The new Head to Health Kids service will deliver culturally appropriate specialist therapeutic services for children ages 0 to 12 years, strengthening outcomes for children’s mental health and wellbeing and their families throughout the Central Australia region.

Both of these Head to Health services will be co-designed in close partnership with the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (CAAC) and First Nations representatives, health professionals and service providers, as well as local communities, including people with lived and living experience of mental ill-health and families experiencing childhood difficulties.

To view The Hon Emma McBride MP, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Assistant Minister Rural and Regional Health’s media release New free mental health services for Alice Springs in full click here.

Head to Health logo and Dugjuan Hoosan sitting in hills near his home Hidden Valley in Alice Springs. Photo: Maya Newell – Director of In my blood it runs. Image source: Alice Springs News.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

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Jun 5 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: $1.48 Million upgrade for Indigenous Health Training Facility

$1.48 Million upgrade for Indigenous Health Training Facility
Why culturally appropriate maternity care matters
Voice to Parliament debate taking a toll on mental health
Cultural healing sites promote wellbeing and reconciliation in healthcare
Health and alcohol facilities key to decreasing incarceration rates
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is NSW Premier Chris Minns at AH&MRC Training. Source: AH&MRC.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

$1.48 Million upgrade for Indigenous Health Training Facility

To bolster Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare and support the training of future First Nations health workers, the New South Wales Government has committed $1.48 million to upgrade the training headquarters of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC) located in Little Bay.

The AH&MRC is the peak body for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations in NSW, and its training headquarters play a crucial role in equipping the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare professionals while enhancing the skills of the existing workforce. The facility currently houses lecture rooms, clinical demonstration areas, and training laboratories designed to simulate real-life medical emergencies.

With completion slated for later this year, the planned upgrades will bring the building in line with modern standards and align it with the latest National Construction Code. This renovation will provide an enhanced learning environment for students and ensure that the facility remains a hub for excellence in Indigenous health training.

Chris Minns, the Premier of New South Wales, expressed his support for the project, stating, “There is really important work happening at this site, and we’re proud to ensure that it continues for years to come.” The government’s investment underscores its commitment to fostering Indigenous health and underscores the recognition of the vital role played by the AH&MRC in promoting culturally appropriate healthcare and training.

For the complete media release from the NSW Government, please click here.

Source: AH&MRC

Why culturally appropriate maternity care matters

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers and babies are vastly over-represented in areas of still birth, preterm, perinatal deaths, and infant mortality. Mothers are often faced with no choice but to travel alone to birthing centres scattered across Australia, far away from their Country. Aiming to provide culturally appropriate maternity care, the Birthing on Country Centre of Excellence at Waminda, an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation in Nowra NSW, is set to be operational in 2025-26.

Dr Yvette Roe, a proud Njikena Jawuru woman and researcher said returning birthing centres to Aboriginal communities will give babies the best start in life. Dr Roe said, “We want to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices are at the forefront of what we do. Aboriginal women want healthy babies.”

To ensure deliveries are both culturally and clinically safe, Dr Roe is calling for contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and practices to be combined with western medicine in Birthing on Country Services.

Leading a study titled Indigenous Birthing in an Urban Setting, Dr Roe and a team of researchers determined that mothers in urban settings faced similar challenges to those in remote communities. The study included a Birthing in Our Community service which followed a cultural safety framework and included an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce. The team saw significant decreases in pre-term birth, epidural pain relief in labour, caesarean sections, third stage labour interventions, neonatal nursery admissions, and unborn notifications.

For the complete National Indigenous Times article click here.

Dr Yvette Roe. Source: National Indigenous Times

Voice to Parliament debate taking a toll on mental health

Concerns are being raised by mental health practitioners and organisations focused on social and emotional wellbeing about the detrimental effects of the increasingly negative public debate surrounding the Voice to Parliament, particularly on young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Professor Helen Milroy, a Palyku woman and fellow of the Rural Australian New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), has highlighted the potential for even a slight increase in vitriol to disproportionately impact the emotional well-being of young individuals. She expressed her concerns, stating, “When there is a barrage of misinformation and people are making exaggerated claims or misrepresenting what the Voice is truly about, it becomes extremely challenging for young people to counter those narratives.”

The spread of hateful rhetoric can quickly erode the self-esteem and sense of empowerment of young Indigenous people. Karlie Stewart, a Yuin woman and social worker, emphasized the significant disconnect between the political discussions surrounding the Voice and the understanding of young Aboriginal individuals in the community. Stewart explained, “…There’s a big element of confusion. All this conversation is happening above and around, but they actually don’t even know what it is that’s going on,” Steward said.

“It’s up to us as older people, who have the knowledge and the capacity and the connections to engage in these conversations, to go back to our young fullas and say, ‘Here’s what it is, here’s what it means, here’s what it might mean for you.”

The impact of the ongoing public debate on the Voice to Parliament has raised serious concerns about the mental well-being of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It calls for urgent action to counter the spread of misinformation and provide accurate information to empower and support young individuals in understanding the significance of the Voice and its potential implications for their future.

For the complete WAToday article click here.

Fellow of the Rural Australian New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Professor Helen Milroy. Source: WAToday

Cultural healing sites promote wellbeing and reconciliation in healthcare

During Reconciliation Week, the Berri Barmera Council unveiled a cultural healing site, named Healing Place, near Barmera Hospital. This community space aims to provide a culturally safe place for individuals awaiting medical appointments, undergoing treatment, and visitors who find themselves in anxious circumstances at the hospital.

The opening of Healing Place has sparked a nationwide call for the establishment of additional cultural healing sites across different states and territories. Tyson Lindsay, Cultural Safety Officer, expressed the need for an increase in such spaces, not only in South Australia but throughout the entire nation. The inclusion of cultural healing sites in healthcare facilities has the potential to enhance holistic wellbeing and promote cultural connection and understanding.

In Mount Gambier, healing circles have been constructed at the Pangula Mannamurna Aboriginal Corporation. These circles represent various stages of the healing process. The first circle encourages individuals to openly discuss their problems with respected elders. The second circle emphasizes utilizing the wisdom and knowledge of elders and the community to seek solutions. Finally, the “song and dance” circle enables people to pay homage to the knowledge and stories that have contributed to their healing. South East Elder, Uncle Doug Nicholls said, “It was important people go through the entire healing process”

“We’ve got to make sure once we’ve done the talking that we’re talking to the right people who know the business about what the medicines are, where to go to get the right treatment, and right stories for the value of the health treatment,” Uncle Doug said.

For the complete ABC article, please click here.

Source: ABC South East SA: Sam Bradbrook

Health and alcohol facilities key to decreasing incarceration rates

Amidst the ACT Government’s independent review into the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Canberra’s criminal justice system, calls for dedicated mental health and drug and alcohol facilities have emerged. The Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service CEO, Julie Tongs, expressed scepticism about the review, emphasizing the need for action rather than further discussions.

The Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization says that the information sought in the review has already been provided to the Territory Government. Tongs stressed the urgency of implementing a preventive model to address the glaring gap in incarceration rates, stating, “It’s very, very frustrating when we see shattered lives every day, lives that could have been prevented in the first place.”

Disturbing statistics reveal that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals now account for 26% of the Canberra prison population, representing the highest incarceration gap in the country. ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury acknowledged that addressing underlying social issues is crucial to reducing the disproportionate rates of Indigenous incarceration.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and their advocates stress the importance of moving beyond repetitive discussions and implementing concrete measures to provide support and prevent the cycle of incarceration. By investing in targeted healthcare facilities and addressing systemic issues, governments can take significant steps toward reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system.

The government said an interim report would be delivered by March 2024, with a final report to be completed late that same year.

For the complete ABC article, please click here.

Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service CEO Julie Tongs. Source: ABC News: Greg Nelson.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Jun 1 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Imagining Australia without racism

Imagining Australia without racism
Health checks for mob fell during pandemic
Stolen Generations survivors need Healing Card
GPs encouraged to call out racism
Brewarrina’s water, land, future all connected
Sector Jobs
Key Date – Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June 2023

The image in the feature tile is of Wayne Nannup, CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA as it appeared in a National Indigenous Times article Imagine what our country would be like without racism published on Wednesday 31 May 2023. Photo: Giovanni Torre.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Imagining Australia without racism

Wayne Nannup, CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA has written an opinion piece for the National Indigenous Times where he asks us to imagine a life without racism: “We could live at peace in a country that values its First Nations Peoples and recognises us within the Constitution. We could walk freely through shopping centres or ride on trains without the fear of being followed or harassed.”

Mr Nannup says “racism doesn’t discriminate between how little or well-known we are. The colour of our skin continues to be targeted by the ill-informed and bigoted members of society. Racism, or discrimination based on race or ethnicity shatters the world that so many of us live in. It generates depression, affects self-esteem and creates a sense of helplessness and loss and also contributes to increasing physical and mental health disparities amongst our people. The reality is that racism is more evident now than ever before.”

To view the National Indigenous Times article Imagine what our country would be like without racism in full click here.

In a related story the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is currently working on a national anti-racism framework (NARF), which will be a national, central reference point for anti-racism action.

Following on from the release of the NARF Scoping Report 2022, the AHRC has launched a community guide to the scoping report findings to better support understanding of a NARF including how communities can be part of the ongoing process to develop it. The Community Guide (currently being translated into 7 languages alongside the development of an Easy Read Guide) summarises the initial findings outlined in the NARF Scoping Report 2022.

The AHRC have also prepared an amplification kit, available here, which includes a suite of digital and social media content for organisations to raise awareness of the newly published Community Guide available here.

Health checks for mob fell during pandemic

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released a report about Indigenous-specific health checks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report explores the impacts of COVID‑19 and associated restrictions on the number of Indigenous-specific MBS health check services provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people between January 2020 and December 2021. The analysis examines the impacts of COVID‑19 by year and month at the national, state/territory and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas levels.

Following a decade of annual growth, 2020 and 2021 were the first years without an increase in Indigenous-specific health check numbers. The number of health checks delivered during the first 2 years of the pandemic were somewhat lower than during the peak year of 2019 – despite the continuing growth of the Indigenous population.

New telehealth options for Indigenous-specific health checks were introduced at the start of the pandemic. These were used most commonly shortly after being introduced, but then the numbers of health checks delivered this way declined gradually. The impact of the pandemic on the use of Indigenous health checks varied across Australia. Tasmania, which was relatively unaffected by cases and restrictions, stood out as the state that appeared to be the least affected during 2020 and 2021.

To read the AIHW report Indigenous-‍specific health checks during the COVID-19 pandemic in full click here.

Stolen Generations survivors need Healing Card

The Healing Foundation is urging the Federal Government to implement its recommendations for a universal Healing Card for Stolen Generations survivors, modelled on the existing “Gold Card” scheme for veterans.

Under proposals submitted by the Healing Foundation for Federal Budget considerations over the past two years, eligible Gold Card holders would have access to all primary healthcare needs to support them to stay out of hospital, all clinically necessary treatment, and supports and services that assist them to live at home including respite services for survivors and their carers. The Gold Card would also enable them to access healing programs that involve family and community.

By implementing the proposal, Federal Aged Care Minister Anika Wells and Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler could make a real difference to the lives of Stolen Generations survivors and their families, Fiona Cornforth, CEO for the Healing Foundation said.

To view the Croakey Health Media article Timely call for health reform to support healing for the Stolen Generations in full click here.

Stolen Generations survivors Valerie Woods (L) & Brenda Greenfield-Woods

Stolen Generations survivors Valerie Woods (L) and Brenda Greenfield-Woods in Canberra, for the Healing Foundation’s 15th Anniversary of the National Apology Event. Photo: Luke Currie-Richardson. Image source: Croakey Health Media.

GPs encouraged to call out racism

While reconciliation touches on all aspects of Australian society, RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chair Dr Karen Nicholls says its role in improving Indigenous health outcomes cannot be overstated.

In particular, she said it is important for GP allies to recognise and acknowledge that racism is present within Australia’s healthcare system and has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing patients, as well as their families and communities. “Clearly, we want a health system that is far more culturally safe than what it is,” Dr Nicholls said. “Part of that means that when you see racism, call it out. Definitely, definitely call it out.”

She also says more needs to be done to protect people who speak up about racism, while continued effort is required to dismantle the structural features that allow it to thrive in Australian healthcare.

To view the RACGP newsGP article GPs encouraged to call out racism in healthcare in full click here.

National Reconciliation Week 2023 is promoting allyship by encouraging all Australians to ‘be a voice for generations’. Image source: RACGP newsGP.

Brewarrina’s water, land, future all connected

Water has always been the basis of life in the bush. Speak to any local and they will remember the spark of life that returned to the community when water breached the Brewarrina Weir after years and years of drought. To local Aboriginal communities, cultural water flows create the basis of life for plants, animals, bush medicine – and impact on the physical and mental health of Aboriginal communities right across the region.

Brewarrina Local Aboriginal Land Council is currently in the process of developing opportunities to bring water and life back to local lands and they have taken a group of experts to assess a block of land close to everyone’s heart, the lands associated with the local Aboriginal Mission. A big part of the discussions related to Cultural Flows, the understanding of local Indigenous needs, and how Aboriginal needs are included in future water usage.

According to the Echuca Declaration of 2010, “Cultural flows are water entitlements that are legally and beneficially owned by the Indigenous Nations of a sufficient and adequate quantity and quality to improve the spiritual, cultural, environmental, social, and economic conditions of those Nations. This is our inherent right.”

To view the Western Plains App article Leaders connecting land, water and Brewarrina’s future in full click here.

Brewarrina Fish Traps. Photo: Urain Warraweena. Image source: Brewarrina Local Aboriginal Land Council Facebook site.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Key Date – Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June

In the lead up to National Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June 2023) Reconciliation Australia expressed their support for Stan Grant in the face of the racist attacks he has been subjected to, and urged Australians to engage in the national debate on these matters in an informed and respectful manner.

Reconciliation Australia said that while Stan’s experience demonstrated once again that Australia still has a long way to go towards building a reconciled and just society, it retained its hope and optimism in the good hearts of most Australians.

Even while Stan Grant was being savaged online for speaking truthfully about the experiences of colonialism during the recent coronation, 84% of Australians believe it is important to know about the histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.

You can read Reconciliation Australia’s media release Stan Grant and Racism in full here.

tile with text 'National Reconciliation Week'

Image source: Only Melbourne website.

May 31 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Health leaders slam Big Tobacco

Health leaders slam Big Tobacco
Racism continues to plague lives of mob
Ear health vital to improve education outcomes
Uni receives $3.5m Birthing on Country grant
Study finds smoking target ‘cannot be achieved’
Sector Jobs
Key Date – Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June 2023

The image in the feature tile appeared in the article Maari Ma Slams Big Tobacco on World No Tobacco Day written by Stuart Kavanagh and published in the Barrier Truth yesterday Wednesday 30 May 2023.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Health leaders slam Big Tobacco

World No Tobacco Day is a time to inform the public on the dangers of using tobacco and highlight what the World Health Organisation (WHO) is doing to fight the tobacco epidemic. NSW ACCHO Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation is rallying against Big Tobacco’s insidious influence, calling for communities to join in the battle.

Maari Ma’s CEO, Richard Weston says there is an urgent need to support those trying to quit smoking and the young from health damages caused by vaping: “Health authorities are now reporting that 99% of vapes in Australia contain nicotine, and they are being marketed towards our young people – the next generation of smokers for Big Tobacco.”

Mr Weston said Big Tobacco is targeting the next generation of smokers with sweet-smelling, coloured and flavoured vapes laden with highly addictive nicotine. Despite the federal government’s recent introduction of regulations to prohibit selling vapes to anyone under the age of 18, schools have reported an alarming rise in vaping among students. Mr Weston said the entire community has a role to play in addressing this health crisis, “We are ready to support our community to kick the addiction and prevent our children from becoming the next generation of smokers through vaping.”

You can find out more about World Tobacco Day on the WHO website here and read the Barrier Truth article Maari Ma Slams Big Tobacco on World No Tobacco Day in full here.

Racism continues to plague lives of mob

Dr Hannah McGlade, Kurin Minang human rights expert and member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, says “Australia is a racist country. It has a racist history which continues to impact on the lives of Aboriginal people. Evidence of racism in Australia against Aboriginal people is extensive.” Nearly three decades on from her 1997 analysis of the Race Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) review, Dr McGlade said “with racism and racist views being displayed overtly to Aboriginal people, including from politicians, we must ask – how far have we really come in addressing racism, a serious violation of human rights?”

The issue of racism against Aboriginal people took national stage recently over the treatment of ABC journalist Stan Grant who stood down in the face of shocking racial abuse directed towards him and his family. This abuse had intensified during Grant’s reporting of the King’s Coronation where perspectives of Indigenous peoples on the Crown were aired. Initially no one from ABC’s management spoke publicly in his defense, although they had in the past done just that when it concerned a prominent white journalist who’d experienced harassment. Stan Grant told us to keep our sympathy for those in our community that don’t have his privilege, and who are feeling alone and abandoned.

Dr McGlade said that she has recently for the first time in her life been on the receiving end of racist emails, in response her speaking out about the children at Banksia Hill Detention Centre; Aboriginal children who’d had guns pointed at their heads by police after they rioted in response to successive lockdowns, which have been declared unlawful by the Supreme Court. Dr McGlade said she knew she could simply delete the racist messages and continue her human rights advocacy in relative safety. She acknowledged, however, that this was not so for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Racism continues to plague the lives of Aboriginal people in full click here.

ABC staff outside of ABC Sydney HQs holding 'I stand with Stan' signs

ABC staff gathered outside the organisation’s Sydney headquarters in support of Stan Grant. Photo: Keana Naughton, ABC News.

Ear health vital to improve education outcomes

Up to nine in 10 Aboriginal children in remote areas experience middle ear disease, according to Ear Science Institute Australia, which left untreated can cause hearing loss and have a profound effect on language development, education and employment. Ear Science Institute Australia recently formed a partnership with Mineral Resources (MinRes) to increase resourcing to the Lions Healthy Hearing Outback program for the Nyiyaparli and Martu people in the East Pilbara region in WA. Under the partnership Ear Science Institute Australia is able to deliver an integrated service model combining telehealth with an Ear Health Coordinator providing on-the-ground logistical support to patients that need treatment.

Audiologist Lucy Mitchell took on the role of Ear Health Coordinator in March and will travel to Newman, Jigalong, Punmu, Parnngurr and Kunawarritji to tackle what she described as “a massive social justice issue”. “Aboriginal children will experience ear disease earlier, sometimes from two weeks old, they’ll experience it more severely and more frequently than non-Aboriginal children. This will have long lasting impacts throughout someone’s life because if you can’t hear, you can’t learn,” she said. “Even with mild hearing loss it can be very difficult to hear the teacher in a classroom or to communicate with family at home. Overcrowding in housing, hygiene and nutrition are all factors that can contribute to poor ear health.”

The program is run by Ear Science, Rural Health West and the Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service (PAMS), with MinRes’ $600,000 commitment over three years bolstering service delivery. Nurses and Aboriginal health workers in the communities will be trained to use a video otoscope that captures photographs and video inside a patient’s ear, with the examinations facilitated by an ENT specialist 1,600km away in Perth.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Tackling the ear health gap vital to improving education outcomes for Indigenous children in full click here.

Dr Anton Hinton-Bayre, ENT Consultant Aboriginal girl's ear

Dr Anton Hinton-Bayre, ENT Consultant, at work. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Uni receives $3.5m Birthing on Country grant

Imagine being 38 weeks pregnant and having to leave your family and community behind to travel hundreds of kms to get the care you and your baby will need for the birth. Though far from ideal, this is the reality many Aboriginal women in remote communities face when it’s time to have their babies – and it’s something Southern Cross University (SCU) and its partner organisations are committed to changing.

SCU has secured a $3.558m grant from the Department of Health and Aged Care to collaboratively scope and design an innovative program for Birthing on Country with three ACCHOs. The Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme – Workforce and Maternity Services Grant will include help for Aboriginal mums-to-be to quit smoking. The project will be led by Professor Gillian Gould and Australia’s first Aboriginal Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialist, Dr Marilyn Clarke, both from the University’s Faculty of Health.

“I’m very excited to be part of this successful research grant, which will allow the Birthing on Country movement in Australia to be further explored and integrated with culturally competent smoking cessation care.” said Dr Clarke. Professor Gould leads iSISTAQUIT, a program for pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are wanting to quit smoking. “We know that Birthing on Country has a very powerful impact on Aboriginal women, and that quitting smoking is one of the most important things they can do for their own health and the health of their babies,” said Professor Gould. “Coupling the already successful iSISTAQUIT program with a long-term plan to facilitate safe Birthing on Country will create a holistic pre-natal health plan for Aboriginal women living remotely.”

To view the Southern Cross University News article Southern Cross receives $3.5m Birthing on Country grant to improve Indigenous midwifery services and quit smoking program in full click here.

Professor Gillian Gould & Dr Marilyn Clarke holding iSISTAQUIT purple carboard frame text ' change starts with a chat - I'm helping mob to be smoke-free'

Project leads Professor Gillian Gould and Dr Marilyn Clarke. Image source: Southern University News webpage.

Study finds smoking target ‘cannot be achieved’

A plan to cut adult smoking rates in Australia to 5% by 2030 is likely to fall short by several years, the authors of new research have warned. The target, which also forms part of the recently published National Tobacco Strategy 2023–30, will not be met according to modelling carried out by the Daffodil Centre, a joint venture between Cancer Council NSW and the University of Sydney. Their research, available here, was published this month in the Tobacco Control journal.

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicate around one in 10 adults (10.1%) smoked in 2021–22. However, while smoking has fallen significantly in recent decades – with more than one in four adults (26%) recorded as smokers as recently as 1998 – plans to halve the current rate by the end of the decade are not on track, the article suggests.

“[The] 5% adult daily smoking prevalence target cannot be achieved by the year 2030 based on current trends,’ the authors wrote. “Urgent investment in concerted strategies that prevent smoking initiation and facilitate cessation is necessary to achieve 5% prevalence by 2030.” Professor Nick Zwar, Chair of the RACGP’s smoking cessation guidelines’ Expert Advisory Group, agrees that without further action the target is likely to be missed. However, he remains hopeful of an improved outlook. “The recently released National Tobacco Strategy 2023–2030 sets out actions, proposed by the Government at the Commonwealth level, which could change that situation,’ he said.

To view the RACGP newsGP article Smoking target ‘cannot be achieved’ on current trends: Study in full click here.

Aboriginal woman's hand holding a cigarette

Aboriginal smoking rates can be over 70% in some remote communities. In the early days after invasion Aboriginal people were paid with tobacco. Source: Creative Spirits webpage.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Key Date – Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) runs from 27 May to 3 June each year, with the dates representing significant milestones in the fight for justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Advocates say this year’s event is especially significant due to the upcoming Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. NRW organisers say the 2023 mission is to encourage “all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise”. Each year, NRW features community events around the country that promote greater awareness and respect for First Nations culture and history and aims to strengthen the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians.

In the regional city of Armidale in NW NSW, the anniversary of the Bridge Walk (28 May 2000) is marked with a community event at a local bridge, drawing 200 people from around the region for a day of music, speeches and food. Co-organiser Diana Eades said attendance has grown over the past 13 years.

“It’s the biggest event in this region for reconciliation. And really what we’ve been saying, especially this year now more than ever, is it is the time for non-Aboriginal people to stand with Aboriginal people very publicly and say that we stand for justice, equality, respect. And we stand against racism and scaremongering,” she said.

To read the SBS News article National Reconciliation Week is here. What does it represent and why is it significant? in full click here.

CEO of Reconciliation Australia Karen Mundine (right) addresses Stolen Generations survivors and advocates on the first day of Reconciliation Week. Source: Image source: Twitter / Reconciliation Australia – SBS News website.

May 30 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Protecting mental health in referendum lead up

Protecting mental health in referendum lead up
NACCHO Sexual Health Update webinar
Aboriginal peacemakers discuss conflict resolution
ACCHO hosts family violence forum
New culturally appropriate PCOS resource
Sector Jobs
Key Date – Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June 2023

The image in the feature tile is of Wiradjuri man Stan Grant as he announced he was taking some time out from his high-profile media role. Photo: Getty Images. Image source: article True Reconciliation or just history repeating? published on the University of Melbourne Pursuit webpage on 27 May 2023.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Protecting mental health in referendum lead up

Campaign messaging in the 2017 marriage equality plebiscite saw LGBTQIA+ communities experience frequest sex and gender discrimination. It’s beginning to feel like history is repeating itself, with hatred and racism toward Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being shared publicly amongst Australian citizens amidst the referendum.

Discourse, particularly on social media, surrounding the Voice highlights the prevalence of racism in Australia. Proud Wiradjuri man, Stan Grant, who recently stepped down from his high-profile media role to prioritise his health, urged others to: “Please send that support and care to those of my people, and all people, who feel abandoned and alone, who are wondering whether they have a place in this country and do not have my privileges.”

There’s concern for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are faced with the current racist abuse dominating conversations across the country, who do not have a support network. The Government has provided extra funding to support mental health during this time, but the mental health system is still in crisis mode following COVID-19. The educational campaign promoting empathy understanding and social inclusivity needs to be intensified and promoted.

To view the Pursuit article True reconciliation or just history repeating? in full click here. You can also read a related article We need to learn from our mistakes in the Marriage Equality Voice and Support First Nations Peoples during the Voice debates published in Lifehacker Australia here.

The same-sex marriage Yes vote provided the LGBTQIA+ community with a feeling of being accepted and supported, protecting against poor mental health. Photo: Wikimedia. Image source: The University of Melbourne Pursuit webpage.

NACCHO Sexual Health Update webinar

Please join the NACCHO Communicable Diseases Team for an update on sexual health during the NACCHO Sexual Health Update webinar.

This webinar will include:

Review of the Kirby Surveillance Report
Changes to ASHM testing guidelines
Training/workshop needs in ACCHOs
Discussion and question time

WHEN: Wednesday 31 May 2023, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (AEST)

We look forward to having you attend the event!

To join the on-line webinar click here.

Aboriginal peacemakers discuss conflict resolution

Fifty “peacemakers” from remote communities across the NT have met in Katherine to discuss ways to resolve disputes without using violence. The program, run by the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), brought community leaders together last week from Yuendumu, Galiwin’ku, Wurrumiyanga, Lajamanu, Groote Eylandt and Yirrkala. Peacemaker Danny Garrawurra, from the remote community of Galiwin’ku, said he worked with service providers to resolve disputes while maintaining his Yolngu cultural obligations. “We are facing those problems within family to family, and it really is a struggle for us,” he said.

Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) showed the rates of hospitalisations of Indigenous Territorians due to assault were the highest in Australia, particularly in disadvantaged remote areas. Last week, a young man from Wadeye was sentenced to prison for his involvement in a violent riot that left a man dead.

NAAJA’s principal legal officer Nick Espie said local mediators required more support and resourcing to prevent family and domestic disputes from escalating. “There are a lot of people here that have worked very hard in this role that often takes a personal toll,” he said. “They’ve done this unnoticed, and often without funding and without being paid.”

To view the ABC News article Aboriginal peacemakers meet to discuss conflict resolution in remote NT communities in full click here.

Aboriginal peacemaker Danny Garrawurra from Galiwin'ku green shirt standing against tree

Peacemaker Danny Garrawurra from remote community of Galiwin’ku. Photo: Samantha Dick. Image source: ABC News.

ACCHO hosts family violence forum

Domestic and family violence is disturbingly common in the Orana region, with 2,860 incidents recorded by NSW Police between 2021 and 2022. The real number though is much higher as many victims will never report their experiences, and this is something that needs to change. To help foster this, the Wellington Aboriginal Corporation Health Services (WACHS) hosted a domestic violence forum called ‘Let’s Make Change’ last week on Thursday, 25 May 2023.

One of the guest speakers at the event was notorious bank robber turned Indigenous leader and lifestyle coach Jeff Morgan, who after experiencing homelessness and spending more than 18 years in maximum security prison turned his life around by embracing important lessons from his crimes and accepting accountability and changing his mindset. Experiencing abuse as a young man and growing up in Redfern, Sydney, Mr Morgan has seen the impact of domestic violence both personally and within communities.

He now travels the country delivering well-being and mindset programs, believing that if things are going to change with domestic violence there is a genuine need for role modelling and facilitating honest conversations. Mr Morgan said he wanted the Wellington domestic violence forum to be a place where residents could sit with a “taboo” topic and have “courageous” conversations so they could learn new skills, ideas, tips, or tools to change their outlook on domestic violence.

“You plant the seeds, and you nurture it and all of a sudden you’re creating more leaders and you’re building on resilience throughout the community,” he said. Mr Morgan said forums like this were important not only for the adults but to educate the next generation. “Everything is around your habits, and I know after 18 years in jail as a bank robber, my habits were about survival initially and that evolved into a life of crime,” he said. “Then that one courageous conversation helped me tap into a different version of myself and one I couldn’t see before. Mr Morgan urges people to go to events and forums like this one to listen and learn as much as you can.

The above has been taken from an article Wellington Aboriginal Corporation Health Services hosts domestic violence forum published in the Daily Liberal yesterday, 29 May 2023.

Lewis Bird, Leteisha Peckham, Ursula Honeysett, Jay Forrester, and Jeffrey Morgan. Photo: Belinda Soole. Image source: Daily Liberal.

New culturally appropriate PCOS resource

A prominent women’s health organisation says there is an “unmet need” for culturally appropriate information around Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in remote Central Australian communities. PCOS is a condition caused by a hormone imbalance which results in painful or irregular periods, excessive facial or body hair, weight gain, challenges with fertility and in many cases insulin resistance.

Jean Hailes CEO Sarah White said while PCOS generally impacted one in 10 women, among Indigenous women that rate was as high as one in six. She said this was compounded by research showing Indigenous women were more likely to forego general health appointments or not engage with their GP around the issue. “There’s been a lot of research which says Aboriginal women feel like they face more barriers in terms of seeing a doctor or being heard by a health professional,” she said.

Working alongside Alukura Women’s Health Service on behalf of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, a team from Jean Hailes has been engaging with Arrernte communities around Alice Springs to produce culturally sensitive resources around PCOS. She said they found information around PCOS and periods in general were missing in ways communities could relate to or understand, or were culturally appropriate.

“For Aboriginal women it was very much understanding the language they used to describe symptoms, the resources are also badged very clearly as being women only because these are issues that are only acceptable to discuss in front of other women and not with men,” she said. Released in late 2022, the resources are now in their third print run in less than six months.

She said the organisation was receiving orders from “all over Australia” including Queensland and Victoria, with the resource opening up conversations nationally. “I think uptake from around Australia demonstrates there is very much an unmet need in terms of having resources that are culturally appropriate,” she said. “A lot of women think that periods should just be painful, we rarely talk about women’s health issues, one of things we can do with these resources now is bring these issues into the open.”

To above was extracted from an article New resource tackles ‘unmet need’ for culturally appropriate information on PCOS published in The Chronical on Saturday 27 May 2023.

cartoon drawing of ATSI woman with acne looking in the mirror

An illustration featured in the resources, which Ms White says is helping more women discuss PCOS and women’s health in general. Picture: Illustration by Coolamon Creative 2022. Image source: The Chronicle.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Key Date – Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June 2023

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The dates for NRW remain the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2023, Be a Voice for Generations, encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise, and urges all Australians to use their power, their words and their actions to create a better, more just Australia for all of us.

For the work of generations past, and the benefit of generations future, let’s choose to create a more just, equitable and reconciled country for all. Reconciliation Australia’s research shows large community support for the next steps in Australia’s reconciliation journey, including the Voice to Parliament, treaty making and truth-telling.

You can learn more about the history of NRW here and read more about what Reconciliation Australia CEO Karen Mundine has to say about the NRW 2023 theme here.

May 26 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: National Sorry Day 2023

National Sorry Day 2023
Trauma and poor mental health linked
Butt Out Boondah tackles youth smoking
Darwin, Broome, Port Hedland will be uninhabitable
GYHSAC videos amplify public health message
Sector Jobs
Key Date – National Palliative Care Week 2023

The image in the feature tile is of recently named 2023 Canberra Citizen of the Year – Wiradjuri woman Katrina Fanning AO PSM. The image appeared in today’s ABC News article Today is National Sorry Day, but many Indigenous Australians say they’re still being asked: ‘Why should I apologise?‘.

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly. The content included in these news stories are not necessarily NACCHO endorsed.

National Sorry Day 2023

Australia marks National Sorry Day on 26 May each year, remembering and acknowledging the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed as children from their families and communities, otherwise known as the Stolen Generations. Children were taken because of official laws and government policies at the time, which aimed to assimilate the Indigenous population into the non-Indigenous community. The children were renamed, forced to stop speaking their native language, and were told their parents no longer wanted them. The policies were in effect right up until the 1970s, and many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are still searching for lost parents and siblings today.

The first National Sorry Day was held 25 years ago, commemorating one year after the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in federal parliament. The report found the forced removal of Indigenous children had caused lifelong impacts on Stolen Generations survivors and their families. Ten years later, in February 2008, then-prime minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; saying sorry to the Stolen Generations.

Former rugby league star and proud Wiradjuri woman Katrina Fanning says National Sorry Day is about having empathy. “Where there’s parts of our history where there’s tragedy, where there’s struggle, I feel emotions for those people,” she said. Ms Fanning said providing support to others should not be limited to people you had personally wronged. “I haven’t caused a drought, I never fought in a war, but I have empathy for the situation that fellow Australians went through and the sacrifices they made to make this country a better place.”

Ms Fanning said she felt a sense of sadness for those who did not acknowledge the Stolen Generations or want to say sorry, as they weren’t able to understand the shared history of Australia. “They don’t understand that this whole community of people exemplify what it is to be Australian, with resilience and toughness and dignity and pride,” she said. “I feel like they’re missing out on the fabric of Australia, not the other way around.” Ms Fanning said her family had been subject to similar comments about not wanting to apologise, but they tended not to react. “They lived at a time where reacting would have them arrested, have them banned from town, have them banned from school,” she said. “I see a simmer in them. I see something that they’ve had to carry, and a burden that they’ve had to shoulder for a very long time.”

To view the ABC News article Today is National Sorry Day, but many Indigenous Australians say they’re still being asked: ‘Why should I apologise?‘ in full click here.

Trauma and poor mental health linked

The link between exposure to trauma and increased risk of poor mental health is well established. Where trauma is unacknowledged, it can result in the re-traumatisation of later generations. The colonisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the oppressive practices that followed has resulted in a legacy of unaddressed intergenerational trauma. This prolonged and continuing exposure to trauma and risk factors places Indigenous Australians at a heightened risk of mental ill-health.

A paper Intergenerational trauma and mental health recently released by the Australian Government Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) aims to define the link between intergenerational trauma and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ mental health and to identify current best-practice policies and programs to address this issue.

You can view the AIHW paper Intergenerational trauma and mental health in full here.

Butt Out Boondah tackles youth smoking

Butt Out Boondah, the Tackling Indigenous Smoking team of Grand Pacific Health, is urging young mob in Cooma, Yass, Queanbeyan and Goulburn to take a stand against tobacco use and vaping ahead of World No Tobacco Day, which is being held on Wednesday 31 May 2023. Butt Out Bondah focuses on educating Indigenous communities in the aforementioned areas about the dangers of Tobacco smoking and e-cigarettes to help in bridging the health gap.

The program addresses the pressing concern of vaping among young people in these communities, which is mistakenly seen as a safer alternative to smoking tobacco. Butt Out Boondah’s Strategic Coordinator for Aboriginal Health, Iona Marsh said World No Tobacco Day provides an opportunity to emphasise the detrimental effects of smoking and vaping.

“The concerning reality is that Indigenous young people in regions like Cooma, Goulburn, Yass and Queanbeyan are often unaware of the hazardous substances they are inhaling, and it is our duty to equip them and their parents with the knowledge and tools necessary to make informed decisions about their health,” she said. To raise awareness, the program actively engages with local primary and high schools, educating school-aged children about the dangers associates with smoking and vaping.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Butt Out Boondah tackles Indigenous youth smoking and vaping ahead of World No Tobacco Day in full click here.

Butt Out Boondah promotion stand in school grounds under a tree

Butt Out Boondah is encouraging First Nations peoples to take a stand against tobacco use and vaping ahead of World No Tobacco Day Photo: Butt Out Boondah. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Darwin, Broome, Port Hedland will be uninhabitable

Three major economic centres, Darwin, Broome and Port Hedland, are set to become uninhabitable by the end of the century, with global temperatures on track to warm by 2.7C. The destinations are just three of many in the northwestern section of Australia facing “niche displacement” in the next 70 years. New research by The University of Exeter, published in the science journal Nature Sustainability this week, calculates the human cost of climate inaction based on current insufficient policies and government inaction. Two billion people will be living with unprecedented mean average temperatures (MAT) above 29C, the report states.

MAT >29C is the point at which wellbeing scientifically declines, labour productivity and cognitive ability shrinks, negative pregnancy outcomes are produced, and mortality rates soar. 20% of Australia — about 374,977 Australians — will be impacted in this way by a 2.7C temperature increase, the report calculates. They would join a third of the world’s population, including in South-East Asia, India, Africa and South America. In Darwin, a 3C warmer world would mean that, for 265 days of the year, temperatures would soar higher than 35C. At 40C, humidity increases and temperatures become lethal, according to the Australian Academy of Science.

The University of Exeter report also explains the effects of a “wet-bulb temperature” — where temperature and humidity are combined. In temperatures above 28C (WBT) the body struggles to cool itself by sweating, and fails to do so in temperatures above 35C (WBT), which can be fatal. By limiting global warming to just 1.5C — which is the aim of the Paris Agreement — 80% of those globally at risk of rising temperatures would remain in their climate niche. But a 1.5C increase will still unleash severe and irreversible effects on people, wildlife and ecosystems, scientists warn.

To view the 7 News article Three Australian regions that will become unlivable within a lifetime due to climate change in full click here.

GYHSAC videos amplify public health message

Gurriny Yealamucka Health Services Aboriginal Corporation (GYHSAC) has just released a deadly public health promotion music video produced for GYHSAC by Saltwater People. The video’s message, in Language, encourages kids to keep their bodies and minds strong. The tune and accompanying music video are not only catchy but have an important health literacy message for all young mob out there.

The video was a project involving the GYHSAC Public Health team and several outside groups, including:

Singer / Songwriter / Producer Normey Jay
Patrick Mau – One Blood Hidden Image Entertainment Group (the first Torres Strait independent record label operating out of the Torres Strait Islands)
Yarrabah State School
David Mundraby – Local Language Translation

GYHSAC have thanked these groups and the incredible Yarrabah kids for their willingness to work with the GYHSAC Public Health team to help create a positive public health message, and assist GYHSAC to amplify the positive message to community and the wider social media world.

You can view the 3-minute Bina-N Wanggi music video below as well as the 1 minute Bina-N Wanggi Behind the Scenes video, which gives you a look behind the scenes of the filming and production of the music video.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website Current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Key Date – National Palliative Care Week 2023

As part of National Palliative Care Week 2023 (21–27 May) NACCHO has been sharing a range of information and resources specifically developed for for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and professional workers. The term palliative care refers to person and family-centred care provided for someone with an active, progressive, advanced disease, who has little to no prospect of cure and who is expected to pass on, and for whom the primary goal is to optimise the quality of life. Palliative care identifies and treats symptoms which may be physical, emotional, spiritual or social. Due to a person’s individual needs, the services offered can be diverse. The term end-of-life care refers to the last few weeks of life in which a patient with a life-limiting illness is rapidly approaching passing. Of note, sometimes these terms can be used interchangeably or have different definitions.

When providing person-centred care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it is important to ask the person who they would like involved in discussions about their health care as they may have decision makers or spokespersons who should be involved in all discussions and decisions regarding that person’s care. The time surrounding the end of someone’s life is precious and needs to be respected and approached in a safe, responsive and culturally appropriate manner. It is important that a person has the option to decide where they will pass, if possible. This may include a choice to be on Country, at home or in a hospital at the time of passing.

A collaboration between Palliative Care Australia and the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet with funding from the Australian Government have developed the Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care portal. The portal is designed to assist the health workforce who provide care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their families and communities. It seeks to support both clinicians and policy-makers in accessing resources, research and projects on palliative and end-of-life care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The above information has been extracted from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet’s webpage Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care, available here. In the video below you can hear Aboriginal Community Support Worker, Chris Thorne talk about his personal experience with a family member and the value and importance of having an advance care plan in place.

May 24 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: ACCHO’s partnership delivers great outcomes

ACCHO’s partnership delivers great outcomes
The system is the real “terror” in youth justice
Drinking fountains alone won’t fix water issues
Victoria’s budget includes health funding boost
Copper detected in Yarrabah’s health clinic’s tap water
Sector Jobs
Key Date – National Palliative Care Week 2023

The image in the feature tile is of Senior Lawyer John Cattanach and Aboriginal Community Engagement Officer Belinda Foley standing in front of the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative building. The photo appeared in a Victoria Legal Aid article Creating stronger connections to community in partnership with Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative published yesterday, 23 May 2023.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Partnership with ACCHO delivers great outcomes

Geelong Senior Lawyer John Cattanach has always wanted to be part of positive change for First Nations peoples. He says closer ties between Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) and the local Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative to support First Nations people with legal needs – a model being replicated across other regional offices – is helping him achieve that goal. He and Aboriginal Community Engagement Officer Belinda Foley are both based in our Geelong office and regularly receive referrals through the co-operative in a partnership they established in March last year. The co-operative is a holistic service that provides health, family, community and cultural services to First Nations peoples in the Geelong, Bellarine and Colac region. The partnership with VLA links First Nations peoples to early support from Belinda and John to prevent escalating legal issues, as well a culturally sensitive service that responds to their individual needs.

John is a Marrithiyel man whose mob is located five hours southwest of Darwin, and Belinda is a Central Arrernte woman on her mother’s side (Alice Springs). Both grew up in community (Wadawurrung Country). Their background is crucial for the important work they undertake through the co-operative. In addition to providing practical assistance to First Nations peoples, John and Belinda derive great satisfaction from being connected to their community. “Growing up, I saw firsthand how our mob is treated by police, and I knew I wanted to be a part of the change and the healing,” said John. “From a legal standpoint, I am a lawyer who seeks to keep police accountable, and achieve the best outcomes for our mob. And from a First Nations perspective, I’m here to help Indigenous clients who present with a broken or wonky spirit, and help nurture that spirit so it becomes strong once again.”

Belinda is also proud of the difference the clinic has made in the community and to the Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative, “I’m delighted that this clinic has been able to provide a service to more than 100 clients in under 12 months,” she said. “It has given our First Nations community a safe environment, passed our knowledge to the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative to use in their service delivery and provided comfort to First Nations peoples in that they know a specialist legal service is available to support them.”

To view the Victoria Legal Aid article Creating stronger connections to community in partnership with Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative in full click here.

external view of Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative building

Image source: City of Greater Geelong website.

The system is the real “terror” in youth justice

In an opinion piece published today in the National Indigenous Times, CEO of the National Justice Project, Adjunct Professor George Newhouse says “It’s the WA Government and not “terrorists” that are the cause of the troubles in Banksia Hill youth detention centre. How can the WA Premier Mark McGowan get away with describing a group of kids with disabilities as “terrorists”? Especially when we know that many of them grew up in the care and control his own State’s Child Protection system. Most of these so-call “terrorists” are in Banksia Hill on remand. Tragically, children are often held in Banksia Hill because they have nowhere to go if they were released. They could and should be supported in a group home or a purpose-built boarding house instead of prison.

So, who are these children? It’s a fact that around 89% of the kids in Banksia Hill have been found by the Telethon Foundation, one of Australia’s leading children’s’ health research organisations, to have a severe neurodevelopmental impairment, and over one third of the children were found to have been suffering from Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD). These are significant impairments. But to deflect attention away from his own government’s abject failure to protect children in State “care”, Premier McGowan launches an attack on them. He wants us to believe that the problems are caused by a few ‘rotten apples” and not his own government’s systemic failures. Failures that have been obvious for decades.

During a recent visit to the facility, Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said: “These are children in need of care and treatment for complex disabilities and serious mental health problems.” Allegations that the children are “monsters” or “terrorists” have been slammed by the former President of the Children’s Court of WA, Denis Reynolds who said: “The Premier and the Minister are saying these are bad, bad children behaving badly, ignoring deliberately any reference to [their] unlawful treatment. It’s the treatment in that place that is causing the behaviour and that’s what we want to stop.”

To view the National Indigenous Times article The system is the real “terror” in youth justice in full click here.

ATSI male youth holding sign 'Close Down Banksia Hill Detention Centre', Aboriginal flag in the background

Photo: Giovanni Torre. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Drinking fountains alone won’t fix water issues

Water plays a significant role in Aboriginal culture. Respect for and understanding of water has enabled Aboriginal people to thrive for millennia in very hot and remote places. The impacts of colonisation including introduced species of plants and animals, farming and overuse of rivers and ground water, compounded by global warming, has dramatically reduced water access and quality, and in some places threatened the water supply. Recent coverage of the quality of drinking water in Walgett, NSW, again highlights that clean, safe drinking water is not a right in Australia. Walgett residents say the water is unsafe to drink and they’re backed by scientists from the George Institute who report an urgent need to address drinking water quality.

The reasons for poor or limited water supply vary. They include river flows and environmental health issues, infrastructure, and insufficient skilled, credentialed staff available to conduct water quality checks. But understanding the causes is one thing. Taking active steps to address them is another. When clean, safe water doesn’t flow to communities, they are more likely to drink sugar-sweetened beverages. A 2020 study, available here, visited three remote schools with high proportions of Aboriginal students. Initial results, gathered in 2014, found 64% of children regularly drank sugary drinks. Some 5% thought drinking water was “unhealthy”. In some places in Australia that’s true at least some of the time.

The availability of safe drinking water impacts tooth decay, obesity and diseases like diabetes. Australia has drinking water quality guidelines but they are not mandatory.

When cold, filtered water fountains were installed in 2018 that 84% of children at those same schools drank water every day. The percentage who regularly drank sugary drinks shrank to 33% in the intervening four-year period. A follow-up study found towns of lower socioeconomic status were less likely to have access to community drinking water and more likely to have a high Aboriginal population. So, Aboriginal people are particularly disadvantaged by this issue. It also found that in many towns the cheapest drink is soft drink.

To view The Conversation article Drinking fountains in every town won’t fix all our water issues – but it’s a healthy start in full click here.

young ATSI girl drinking from water fountain

Image source: Government News.

Victoria’s budget delivers health funding boost

Yesterday three Victorian Ministers released a joint media release Doing what matters for patients and healthcare workers. They said the Andrews Labor Government is doing what matters: giving our healthcare system – and the dedicated workers who care for Victorians – a $4.9b boost in the Victorian Budget 2023/24. This Budget will deliver on every promise we made to Victorians at the election – with more healthcare workers, new services, the latest equipment and new and upgraded hospitals across the state. That’s on top of more than $54b we’ve invested in our healthcare system – as well as the workers we need to run it – since coming to government in 2014.

Of particular relevance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is:

$153m to establish 20 new comprehensive women’s health clinics, an Aboriginal-led clinic and a mobile health clinic, nine new women’s sexual and reproductive health hubs, scholarships to expand the women’s health workforce, an inquiry into women’s pain management and 10,800 extra laparoscopy surgeries
$2.5m to establish an LGBTIQ+ suicide aftercare service, continue Strong Brother Strong Sister for young Aboriginal Victorians in Geelong and deliver Youth Live4Life for young regional Victorians
$256m to support a health‑based response to public intoxication, continue the life-saving North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room and expand our Naloxone and Pharmacotherapy programs
$35.1m to Aboriginal community health organisations to deliver 100,000 extra additional Aboriginal community healthcare appointments
$86m to increase the time newborns spend with maternal nurses, help mums struggling with breastfeeding, support new dads – and expand our Early Parenting Centre network with a new centre in Northcote and an Aboriginal-led centre in Frankston

To view the Victorian Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Ambulance Services and Mental Health Gabrielle Williams and Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers Lizzie Blandthorn’s joint media release Doing what matters for patients and healthcare workers click here.

group of Strong Brother Strong Sister participants & staff holding Aboriginal flag

The Strong Brother Strong Sister program will receive funding under the 2023–24 Victorian budget to continue to operate. Image source: Strong Brother Strong Sister Foundation website.

Copper detected in Yarrabah health service’s tap water

Staff at an Aboriginal community health facility near Cairns have been offered bottled water and precautionary blood tests after tap water at the service was found to contain elevated levels of copper. Testing of the Yarrabah Health Facility’s mains water in March detected the presence of high levels of copper. It’s understood the issue is isolated to the clinic and has not affected the quality of the drinking water in the wider community. Tropical Public Health Services director Richard Gair said investigations into the facility’s plumbing system were ongoing. Meanwhile, bottled water was being provided to staff and visitors.

“The health service has engaged an expert hydraulic engineering firm to investigate the plumbing system within the facility and make recommendations,” Dr Gair said in a statement. He said senior officers from the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service, including experts in environmental health and medical doctors, had met twice with staff at the Yarrabah Health Service in May to answer questions and share with them plans to address the water quality issues.

“Any staff who work within the health facility, including Gurriny Yealamucka and Queensland ambulance staff, have been offered a precautionary blood test for elevated copper levels,” Dr Gair said. “The testing is free and voluntary. The drinking water elsewhere in Yarrabah community complies with the Australian drinking water guidelines.”

To view the ABC News article Water at Yarrabah Aboriginal community health precinct found to have elevated copper levels in full click here.

Users of the Yarrabah community Aboriginal health facility are on alert. Photo: Brendan Esposito, ABC News.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Key Date – Palliative Care Week 2023

During this year’s Palliative Care Week (21–27 May 2023) NACCHO is showcasing some of the amazing programs and resources available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Gwandalan Project is one such program that supports palliative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. ‘Gwandalan’ is a word from the Darkinjung and Awaba language meaning rest, peace or resting place. For this project, the Gwandalan word represents the spiritual aspect of the palliative and end-of-life journey, with the hope that the spirit is at rest and peace as a result of good palliative care and a ‘good death’.

Education and training materials for the Gwandalan Project aim to support relationships between service providers, frontline staff and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities through cross-cultural education and the sharing of knowledge. This will be achieved through the provision of education and training to support increased capacity in those who care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples during their palliative and end-of-life journey. The Gwandalan Project does not address clinical palliative care content but rather, supports the provision of culturally safe and responsive palliative care by upskilling frontline staff to contextualise care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and deliver services in a way which supports a good ‘finishing up’.

Access to all Gwandalan education and training materials, listed below, is free of charge, thanks to funding by the Australian Government under the Public Health and Chronic Disease Care Grant, National Palliative Care Projects.

eLearning Modules – a series of engaging eLearning modules to support frontline staff to deliver culturally responsive palliative care
Workshops – face-to-face workshops across Australia to learn about delivering culturally safe palliative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
Webinars – a series of interactive webinars on various aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander palliative care which expand on the learnings from the Gwandalan online modules

You can find more information on the Gwandalan website here.

Image source: Gwandalan website.

May 23 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Stan Grant steps down as Q+A moderator

Stan Grant steps down as Q+A moderator
Bowel cancer: Just Get Screened
Birthing healthy, strong babies on Country
Supporting the Uluru Statement from the Heart
Mental health crises linked deaths in police ops
Sector Jobs
Key Day – National Palliative Care Week 2023

The image in the feature tile is from an article Stan Grant: Q+A presenter cites ‘poison’ of the media as he steps away from ABC show published earlier today in The Guardian.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Stan Grant steps down as Q+A moderator

Last night at the end of the ABC Q&A program presenter Stand Grant explained why he was stepping away from his role as moderator:

“Sometimes, we need to just take time out. Sometimes, our souls are hurting and so it is for me. I’ve had to learn that endurance is not always strength. Sometimes, strength is knowing when to say stop.

“And to those who have sent messages of support, thank you so much. But I’ll be OK. Please, send that support and care to those of my people, and all people who feel abandoned and alone, who are wondering whether they have a place in this country and who don’t have my privileges.

“To those who have abused me and my family, I would just say – if your aim was to hurt me, well, you’ve succeeded, and I’m sorry.

“I’m sorry that I must have given you so much cause to hate me so much, to target me and my family, to make threats against me. I’m sorry. And that’s what yindyamarra means. It means that I am not just responsible for what I do, but for what you do. It’s not just a word. It is sacred. It is what it means to be Wiradjuri. It is the core of my being. It is respect. It is respect that comes from the Earth we are born into. From God. Baiame. If I break that, I lose who I am.

“I am down right now, I am but I will get back up. And you can come at me again, and I will meet you with the love of my people. My people can teach the world to love. As Martin Luther King Jr said of his struggle, ‘We will wear you down with our capacity to all love’.

“Don’t mistake our love for weakness it is our strength. We have never stopped loving and fighting for justice and truth – the hard truths – to speak in our land.

Yindyamarra Winanganha means to live with respect in a world worth living in. And we in the media must ask if we are truly honouring a world worth living in.

“Too often, we are the poison in the bloodstream of our society. I fear the media does not have the love or the language to speak to the gentle spirits of our land. I‘m not walking away for a while because of racism – we get that far too often.

“I’m not walking away because of social media hatred. I need a break from the media. I feel like I’m part of the problem. And I need to ask myself how, or if, we can do it better.

“To my people — I have always wanted to represent you with pride. I know I might disappoint you sometimes but, in my own little way, I’ve just wanted to make us seen. And I‘m sorry that I can’t do that for a little while. To my family – I love you. And to my mum and dad, Balladhu Wiradjuri Gibir Dyirrimadalinya Badhu Wiradjuri Mandang Guwu. Good night.

You can view Stan Grant’s speech on video by clicking this link.

Stan Grant speaking on Q+A Monday 22 May 2023

Stan Grant’s impassioned Q+A speech last night. Image source: The Guardian.

Bowel Cancer – Just Get Screened

Bowel cancer is a preventable cancer and if caught early it can be successfully treated in more than 90% of cases. We know that more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participating in bowel cancer screening means that more cancers will be prevented or detected early, and more lives will be saved.

Next month is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month so in preparation, we are getting in early to remind people between the ages of 50–74 to complete a bowel cancer screening test. It is quick, easy to do and can be done in the comfort of your own home.

Birthing healthy, strong babies on Country

Professor Yvette Roe leads a collaborative partnership that is transforming maternity care to promote the best start in life for First Nations children. The partnership is translating the successful Indigenous Birthing in an Urban Setting study (IBUS) into rural, remote and very remote settings.

First Nations mothers are 3–5 times more likely to die in childbirth than other mothers. Their babies are almost 2 times more likely to die in their first year, often because they were born too soon (preterm). Changing this is a priority for closing the gap in First Nations health outcomes. Closing the Gap Target 2 is ‘Children are born healthy and strong’.

Yvette led the IBUS to help close the gap in Brisbane. The exemplar Birthing in Our Community service reduced First Nations preterm births from 14.3% to 8.9%. There were other improvements:

more First Nations women were seen in early pregnancy
women needed less intervention during birthing
more mothers were breastfeeding
fewer babies were admitted to neonatal units.

‘We saw all these amazing clinical outcomes that we have not seen before in Australia,’ Yvette says. ‘The Birthing in Our Community service also saw a cost saving of $4810 for every mother-baby pair to the health system, compared to standard care.’

To view the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care article Birthing healthy and strong babies on Country in full click here.

tile: image of Professor Yvette Roe & text ' Medical Research Future Fund - Professor Yvette Roe, Co-Director, Molly Wardaguga, Research Centre, Charles Darwin University

Image source: Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Supporting the Uluru Statement from the Heart

The Board of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) has reconfirmed its strong support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its recommendations regarding the establishment of a constitutionally enshrined ‘Voice to Parliament’ alongside a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling.

At its meeting in Katherine on 12 May, the AMSANT Board considered current circumstances impacting on the recognition and achievement of the Statement’s objectives. “Our Board Directors are strongly of the view that the Uluru Statement from the Heart provides the nation a precious opportunity to begin to resolve our unfinished business and to achieve fundamental change for our people”, said AMSANT Acting Chair, Rob McPhee. “The vision and goodwill that has been offered to the nation through the Statement requires and deserves our trust.”

The AMSANT Board emphasised its strong endorsement of the First Nations-led process that culminated in the National Constitutional Convention at Uluru in May 2017, bringing together First Nations delegates from across Australia to meet and to form a consensus position on the form that constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should take.

To view AMSANT’s media release Supporting the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full click here.

Photo: Richard Milnes, Alamy. Image source: The Guardian.

Mental health crises linked to deaths in police ops

Almost half the people involved in critical incidents with NSW police over the past five years were experiencing a mental health crisis, while the number of Indigenous people killed and seriously injured doubled last financial year, according to a new report.

The NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission’s (LECC’s) 5-yearly report into “critical incidents” included seven recommendations including an urgent call for better mental health training for officers. A critical incident is a police operation that results in a death or serious injury. The commission looked at incidents from mid–2017 to mid–2022, of which 12% involved First Nations people. Thirteen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died, while six were seriously injured. Between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022, six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died, while two were seriously injured. That represented at least double the numbers for each of the four years prior.

The report also warns of significant delays to internal investigations of critical incidents. The delays are caused by police practice to wait for the conclusion of criminal or coronial court proceedings before commencing critical incident investigations. “This process can take years,” the report said. “The chance to swiftly improve policies and practices is being missed.”

To view The Guardian article Mental health crises linked to almost half of all deaths or serious injuries in NSW police operations in full click here. You can also read a related ABC News story Man shot dead by police after reports of stabbing in Brisbane suburb of Grange here.

shoulders of NSW police showing NSW Police badge

The NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission five-yearly report into critical incident investigations shows 12% involved First Nations people. Photo: Dean Lewins, AAP. Image source: The Guardian.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Key Day – National Palliative Care Week 2023

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) says National Palliative Care Week, running from 21−27 May, is a good time to have important conversations about death and dying with loved ones. The AMA welcomes this year’s National Palliative Care Week with the theme: ‘Matters of Life and Death’ and its special focus on the palliative care workforce and volunteers who support patients and families living with a life-limiting illness.

AMA President Professor Steve Robson said “Death, dying, and bereavement are all unavoidable and integral parts of life, but we struggle with them. Even for health care professionals, reflecting on and discussing death with patients and their families can be profoundly confronting and difficult. We need to be able to have open and frank discussions and be educated about death and dying, so we can normalise and encourage discussion on these topics, both in the medical profession and in the wider community.

“There is a lot to understand about the role and purpose of palliative care, advance care plans, non-beneficial treatment, caring and bereavement. We could all be better prepared if we took the time to look into these issues and what it means for families. National Palliative Care Week is the perfect time to do this.”

The National Palliative Care Week website, available here, profiles a range of health professionals and volunteers highlighting their experience and life lessons in supporting patients and their families with life-limiting illnesses.

The AMA’s Position Statement on End-of-Life Care and Advance Care Planning 2014, available here, lays out what good quality end-of-life care should look like.

You can view the AMA’s media release Matters of life and death should be discussed and normalised in full here and a video on Advance Care Plans especially for mob below.

May 17 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Raising awareness about LGBTQI+ discrimination

Raising awareness about LGBTQI+ discrimination
Fears for increased incarceration as legal services cut
Connecting to Country strengthens culture
Aboriginal health leader kicks goals
Federal budget support for Central Australia’s youth
Cash incentive offered to find health workers
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is from the Yarra City Council’s Celebrating IDAHOBIT webpage, published on 17 May 2021.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Raising awareness about LGBTQI+ discrimination

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, Achim Steiner has released a statement to mark International Day against Hoomophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) – 17 May. In the statement Mr Steiner said “Deeply-embedded homophobic and transphobic attitudes and social norms leave many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) people extremely vulnerable to discrimination. Far too often, LGBTQI+ people are singled out for hate-motivated violence, or even murdered. Many are mistreated and even disowned by their own families. This has led to LGBTQI+ people, of all ages and around the world, being among those left furtherest behind as countries pursue the [17] Global Goals [agreed to by world leaders in 2015].”

To view the UNDP article International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) in full click here.

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) says brotherboys, sistergirls and other LGBT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience a number of significant and intersecting points of discrimination and marginalisation in Australia. The AHRC Resilient Individuals: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Intersex Rights report considered the intersecting issues of racism, homophobia and transphobia faced by these communities, with participants involved in consultations for the report raising a range of issues including: Little investigation into the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, experiences of racism, discrimination and isolation and the gap between Aboriginal specific service provision and service provision that accommodates for broader LGBT populations

You can read the AHRC article Brotherboys, sistergirls and LGBT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in full here.

You can also read about the 2021 Edith Cowan University (ECU) research which found that 73% of Indigenous LGBTQIA+ participants had experienced discrimination. The study, Breaking the Silence, was led by Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Braden Hill, a Nyungar Wardandi man and head of Kurongkurl Katitjin, ECU’s Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research. “For many of the participants there was a great sense of pride in being Indigenous and LGBTIQ+, however, the experience of discrimination, particularly racism, was a major concern,” said Professor Hill.

You can view the National Indigenous Times article Over 70% of Indigenous LGBTQIA+ experience discrimination, new research finds in full here. and also watch Professor Hill, one of four panelists, who came together at the PRIDE@AGSM Network Event: Queer Aboriginal Voices Matter to discuss inclusion of LGBTIQ+ First Nations People through their work, research and authentic leadership, below.

Fears for increased incarceration as legal services cut

There are concerns innocent people will end up in jail as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services are cut across the country, leaving more people to represent themselves in court. Queensland and NSW legal services have withdrawn from 23 locations due to what they say are increasing workloads and a lack of funding.

Atherton Courthouse, where Ngadjon-jiman man Terry Murray helps First Nations people navigate the legal system, is among them. Mr Murray, who works as a court support officer, said he had felt more pressure since lawyers from Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service had withdrawn from the Far North Queensland court. “Clients always ask questions and legal advice and if you don’t have the answers to answer that, that also puts them in an impacted position,” Mr Murray said. “If we don’t have a legal service, they’re just going to sort of do the best they can [representing themselves].”

Aboriginal legal services in Australia receive state and federal funding, the vast majority of which being allocated through the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s department. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Legal Service (NATSILS) says demand has increased “up to 100% since 2018”, but Commonwealth funding had not kept pace. The peak body called for a $250m emergency package in the lead-up to the May budget, but the request was not granted, and state-based services have withdrawn in regional and metropolitan courts. 10 Queensland locations — including Brisbane and Cairns — will no longer have court-based support dedicated to First Nations clients.

To view the ABC News article Fears for increased First Nations incarceration grow as Indigenous legal services cut in full click here.

Aboriginal Legal Services CEO Karly Warner portrait against Aboriginal painting of crocodile

Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Karly Warner says Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services around the country are on a “slippery slope”. Photo: Patrick Begley, ABC News.

Connecting to Country strengthens culture

20 projects throughout the Kimberley, Pilbara, Mid-West, Goldfields-Esperance and Metropolitan regions will share in $469,384 through the Connecting to Country program. Connecting to Country is a competitive grants program that supports Western Australian Aboriginal people and organisations to undertake on-country activities that foster the intergenerational transfer of knowledge, preservation of culture and strengthening of communities.

The program aims to:

facilitate sharing of cultural knowledge and skills between generations, such as the preservation of language, stories and dance;
recognise Aboriginal cultural leadership within the Aboriginal community and support leadership development in young people;
contribute to stronger community mental health and wellbeing; and
strengthen, protect and maintain traditional ways of maintaining cultural knowledge.

To view the Government of WA’s media statement Connecting to Country strengthens culture and communities in full click here.

Image source: Government of WA Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries – Connecting to Country webpage.

Aboriginal health leader kicks goals

From a member of the first ever all-Aboriginal rugby league team to the first person employed in an Aboriginal identified position at Nepean Hospital, Clarke Scott has been a leader in both his football career and his career at Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District.

Working in community health for 16 years, Clarke helped break down barriers between clinicians and people in the community. “At Lawson Community Health Centre I helped to support people, and their families in their homes,” says Clarke. “On home visits, I would go along and help the community feel relaxed. Just having another Aboriginal person there really helps.” Clarke also ran Aboriginal Boys Cultural Mentoring Camps out of the Community Health Centre, ensuring young boys were connected to culture, and their responsibilities.

Up until 2022, Clarke was a valuable member of the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District Board. Having served two consecutive five-year terms, Clarke’s passion championing for health equality for the Aboriginal community continues to drive his career. Currently as Aboriginal Health Programs Manager, Drug & Alcohol Services, Clarke says it’s his toughest gig yet. “The stories behind the issues are devastating, helping to address those issues is the challenge for me. But I know it’s part of the job where I can make a difference,” says Clarke. He says having dedicated leadership in the Aboriginal Health team has made a significant difference to embedding change.

To view the NSW Government article Aboriginal health leader kicks goals in full click here.

Clarke Scott, Aboriginal Health Programs Manager, Drug & Alcohol Services. Image source: NSW Government webpage Aboriginal health leader kicks goals, 17 May 2023.

Federal budget support for Central Australia’s youth

Following the delivery of the 2023–2024 Federal Budget by the Treasurer last week, mixed reactions have been voiced across the nation regarding the adequacy of funding for the education sector. Ongoing issues with teacher workloads, skills shortages, and wage caps have been compounded by strong concerns surrounding a lack of action on improving equity and diversity across the education sector, which continues to position marginalised socio-economic groups in regional, remote, and Indigenous communities at a marked disadvantage.

In a joint statement released on 9 May, Federal Minister for Education, Mr Jason Clare announced that the Australian Government and NT Government are working together to deliver the next stage of the $250m landmark plan for a Better, Safer Future for Central Australia to improve community safety and provide more opportunities for young people. The Better, Safer Future for Central Australia plan includes funding for community and regional infrastructure; on-country learning to improve school engagement; enhancement of digital connectivity; justice reinvestment; strengthening community safety; a Youth Services Action Plan; up to five new Junior Ranger sites in Central Australia; effective governance to ensure successful service delivery; and improving First Nations health outcomes.

The Australian Government will invest $23.5m to support the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and their families in Alice Springs and surrounding communities. This includes $18.4m to the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress) to expand their existing Children and Youth Assessment and Treatment Services (CYATS). The funding to expand CYATS aims to meet current demand and increase the availability of early detection and intervention services for neurodevelopmental conditions, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Additionally, there will be $5m provided to Congress in 2022–23 to support the development of Health Hub in Alice Springs – combining the four current health services into one single centre.

To view the Education Matters article Federal budget supports young people in Central Australia in full click here.

yellow sign, silhouette adult holding child's hand & walking & text 'School Bus' by side of dirt road in outback

Image source: Educations Matters.

Cash incentive offered to find health workers

A program to attract interstate health workers to Queensland has been announced by Queensland Health. The Workforce Attraction Incentive Transfer Scheme will provide interstate and international medical practitioners with a payment of up to $70,000 to move to Queensland with $20,000 payments for other healthcare workers. Applicants can take their pick from one of more than 2,400 communities to work in. To qualify for the payments they must work there for more than 12 months.

Minister for Health, Yvette D’Ath said it had become necessary to think outside the square to lure doctors to the State. “Innovative policies like this means every dollar we spend works hard delivering the right care at the right time, in the right place,” Ms D’Ath said. She described the scheme as a win-win — “more quality healthcare workers in our unique regional and remote communities, more efficient use of resources and great career memories to be made”.

Healthcare workers eligible for this incentive are medical doctors and specialists, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce members, dentists, oral health practitioners and scientific officers.

To view the QLD PS News article Cash incentive offered to find health workers in full click here.

young ATSI boy having a hearing test in mobile medical van; male allied health professional & ATSI female health worker

Image source: Winter 2019 edition of UQMedicine Magazine – University of Queensland website.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

May 16 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Aboriginal healing, an alternative treatment option

Aboriginal healing, an alternative treatment option
New national approach to First Nations gender justice
Water rights top Indigenous talks agenda
Bowel Cancer Screening Kits available for ACCHOs
Cultural exchange targets suicide prevention
$18m for new SWAMS Aboriginal health hub
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is from the ABC News article Traditional Aboriginal healing methods share space with Western medicine in WA’s north published earlier today, 16 May 2023. Photo: Tallulah Bieundurry, ABC Kimberley. The caption for the image in the article is ‘The group of women travelled to Derby to run 3-day healing workshops.’

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Aboriginal healing, an alternative treatment option

Under gumtrees on Nyikina country in WA’s West Kimberley, the healing songs of elders singing rings out into the silent afternoon air. Painted red with ochre, made of powdered clay from the landscape, the group has gathered in the name of repair and recovery. The ancient ritual, performed by the traditional Aboriginal healing group Jalngangurru, involves physical touch to help manage conditions from headaches to joint pain.

Jalngangurru has partnered with the Derby Aboriginal Health Service (DAHS) and Emama Nguda Aboriginal Corporation to provide alternative health and well-being treatment options. The program started in 2019 after community leaders called for solutions following a spate of suicides in the region. It was one of various trial projects as part of the Kimberley Aboriginal Suicide Prevention Task Force.

Emama Nguda Aboriginal Corporation helped establish the program in Derby. Chief executive Ben Burton said calls for alternative medicinal practices were growing. Youth worker Brett Manado who was chosen by the men’s healing group to learn the ropes said the program could offer better coping mechanisms for young people dealing with trauma, “Mental health is a pretty big issue in Derby and this healing tackles that. Western medicine can often fall by the wayside. A lot of people suffer misdiagnosis from Western medicines. After clients come and get the healing you can see the relief they have on their face and they’re really taken aback by it.”

To view the ABC News article Traditional Aboriginal healing shares space with Western medicine amid youth suicide crisis in WA’s north in full click here.

ATSI healer with hands on back of ATSI youth

The healers use traditional methods such as singing, ochre, and massage. Photo: Tallulah Bieundurry, ABC Kimberley. Image source: ABC News.

New national approach to First Nations gender justice

Bold new approaches from First Nations Australian women for improving their future were unveiled at the historic Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) National Summit held in Canberra last week, including a new National Framework for Action and a new dedicated First Nations Gender Justice Institute at the Australian National University.

The summit, delivered by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), was most significant gathering ever of First Nations women. It was attended by over 800 First Nations women from across Australia with the aim to ensure Australia responds to the rights, health, safety, wellbeing and prosperity of First Nations women and girls. Delegates have issued a Summit Communique, available here, and a Youth Statement, available here, outlining their perspectives, calls to action and recommendations for Australian governments and other stakeholders to work with them to realise their vision for First Nations gender justice and equity.

The recommendations include:

Our voices, experiences and solutions to be centred in decision-making about our futures
The recognition that our cultures are foundational to societal and ecological health and wellbeing
The development of models for financial reinvestment through a First Nations gender lens
Placing care at the heart of policy design
Genuine and authentic collaborations to address and overcome systemic challenges
Policies for First Nations women to embrace our voices equally in all their diversity, including sistergirls and transwomen, non-binary people, children and people with disability.

The Communique also calls on governments across the country to commit to the development and implementation of a new National Framework for Action that will provide a ‘blakprint’ for delivering lasting change across relevant policies and programs of government, industry and service providers. Alongside the Framework, the new ANU First Nations Gender Justice Institute will contribute vital research, ideas, analysis and leadership to help continually shape the form, content and direction of advocacy for First Nations women and girls.

To view the AHRC article Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to ‘design’ their future with new national approach to First Nations gender justice in full click here.

Water rights top Indigenous talks agenda

Professor Peter Yu believes understanding and recognising Indigenous water rights are vital for the health, wellbeing and survival of this country’s First Peoples. “It’s really inseparable from our worldview about social, cultural and economic importance,” he said. The urgent need to improve Indigenous people’s access, control and say over water to improve their health, wellbeing and economic outcomes will be the theme of a roundtable at the Australian National University in Canberra this week. At the same time in Alice Springs, a separate community roundtable will examine how Indigenous people and communities can participate in and benefit from the clean energy transition.

Professor Yu, vice-president First Nations at the university, said recognising Indigenous people’s rights to water was vital to addressing historical injustices of exclusion and denial, and to advancing reconciliation, “This has been neglected space for a number of years now. We’re pleased that the government is moving towards engaging First Nations interests in a very serious way.

While First Nations Australians have access to more than 50% of the Australian landmass through native title and land rights, we have access to less than 1% of water allocations. That’s inequitable and doesn’t reflect the very serious nature of the obligations and imperatives that Aboriginal people have regarding water – not just from a cultural and social point of view, but also in terms of economic opportunities.”

To view The Canberra Times article Water rights and energy top Indigenous talks agenda in full click here.

ATSI soman with Aboriginal flag draped across shoulders standing on banks of a river

A 2020 Productivity Commission report into national water policy recommended a First Nations-led model of water reform. Photo: Richard Wainwright/AAP. Image source: The Conversation.

Bowel Cancer Screening Kits available for ACCHOs

Leading into Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (June) ACCHO’s are reminded that they can register and distribute Bowel Cancer Screening Kits to their community.

ACCHOs can register now to help their community members get screened for bowel cancer. Click here to register, order and issue kits.

For more information you can also visit the NACCHO website here.

Cultural exchange targets suicide prevention

Six young Indigenous Australians, including three from WA, will travel to Canada today for a new cultural exchange program focused on suicide prevention and wellbeing. The inaugural Anika Indigenous Cultural Exchange, funded by the Anika Foundation and the Poche Centre of Indigenous Health at the University of WA (UWA), will enable six participants aged 18 to 30 to spend two weeks in Winnipeg with Canadian First Nations youth and Elders. They will engage in cultural connection, discussion and knowledge-sharing related to Indigenous suicide prevention and wellbeing, and bring back new learnings to share with their communities.

In Australia the average rate of suicide among Indigenous people is twice as high as that recorded for other Australians. For youth aged 15 to 24, it is 3.5 times higher. UWA School of Indigenous Studies Professor Pat Dudgeon, who developed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project, said the Anika Indigenous Cultural Exchange represented a potentially life-changing opportunity for the young people chosen, “An important part of the cultural exchange is that they will have conversations about youth perspectives in suicide prevention. They will come back stronger and wiser, with a global appreciation of the issue. This is an important event for us. Indigenous youth are our future, and we are delighted to provide this opportunity for them.”

To view The University of WA article New cultural exchange targets Indigenous suicide prevention in full click here.

gathering at ceremony - 1st row - Anuty Roma Winmar; 2nd row (L to R): Michael Spratt, Jess Lister, Aunty Tjalaminu Mia, Pat Dudgeon, Aunty Alta Winmar

First row: Aunty Roma Winmar. Second row (L to R): Michael Spratt, Jess Lister, Aunty Tjalaminu Mia, Pat Dudgeon, Aunty Alta Winmar. Image source: The University of WA’s New cultural exchange targets Indigenous suicide prevention webpage.

$18m for new SWAMS Aboriginal health hub

Last Friday, Premier Mark McGowan was joined at the South West Aboriginal Medical Service’s (SWAMS) Forrest Avenue clinic by Bunbury MLA Don Punch and SWAMS chief executive, where he announced funding to boost the service’s capabilities. Speaking to a packed medical centre Mr McGowan said “One of the things we wanted to do with this Budget was to make sure we funded important initiatives for health across regional WA. Here in Bunbury we are contributing $18m to the SWAMS new facility to provide the right accommodation and support for this important medical service across the South West. The Commonwealth will be matching that money, so that’s a $36m commitment to health here in Bunbury to service both this community, and the South West community.”

The funds will go towards to building a new Aboriginal health hub in the South West. The purpose-built hub would improve access to services that best meet the needs of local Aboriginal people, including culturally appropriate care, which can lead to better diagnosis and treatment outcomes to provide a more comprehensive healthcare model.

SWAMS chief executive officer Lesley Nelson said the funding boost was “momentous” for the local Noongar people, “This is a very significant occasion for our Noongar people in the South West — this has been a vision for many years, which has been brought to fruition today. There’s been a lot of hard work over a long time. Bringing this to fruition is a momentous day for our Noongar people here in the South West. This opportunity will ensure we have the capability to accommodate many of the new technologies, many of the services that we can provide.

To view the Bunbury Herald article State Budget: $18 million boost to South West Aboriginal medical care in full click here.

You can also view WA Premier Mark McGowan’s and WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson’s joint media release $18.3 million to build new Aboriginal health hub in Bunbury in full here.

Premier Mark McGowan with SWAMS chief executive officer Lesley Nelson and Don Punch MLA

Premier Mark McGowan with SWAMS CEO Lesley Nelson and Don Punch MLA. Photo: Jacinta Cantatore, The West Australian. Image source: Bunbury Herald.

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