health news

Cherie Blair to act for Aborigines in nuclear case
23 January 2010 - SYDNEY — The barrister wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair will represent a group of Australian Aborigines suing the British government over nuclear testing on their land, a report said Saturday.

Police transport of juveniles dangerous
21 October 2009 - Police have admitted the transport of juvenile prisoners in WA is dangerous after a 17-year-old youth was driven 175km to Geraldton on Sunday in a paddy wagon's canvas-covered cage with no seatbelt in about 30C heat.

Indigenous health must be treated as a priority in health reform
28 July 2009 - The Close the Gap Campaign has welcomed release of the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission (NHHRC) Report and its recognition of Indigenous health as a priority issue.
Ian Thorpe: Australia’s dirty little secret
23 July 2009 - In a speech given at the “Beyond Sport Summit” in London on Thursday July 9, 2009, Australian Olympic legend Ian Thorpe dove head first into Australia’s failure to address the problems in its indigenous communities.
Debunker of myths
11 July 2009 - PETER Sutton has been immersed in grief. Recently he returned to his adopted Aurukun community on Cape York to attend a "housing opening" ceremony for a "sweet woman" allegedly slain by her boyfriend.

Roadblock on remote housing as progress stalls on indigenous response
4 July 2009 - NOT one of the hundreds of new houses promised in 2007 for remote communities as part of the Northern Territory intervention has been built.A day after Kevin Rudd declared that indigenous disadvantage was worse than previously thought, The Weekend Australian can reveal that layers of bureaucracy are strangling a $700 million plan to address poor and overcrowded housing.

World game offers endless opportunities for young indigenous people
3 July 2009 - Tomorrow, 180 indigenous teenagers will gather in Townsville to participate in the inaugural Indigenous Football Festival. Drawn from regions across Australia, the eight boys and four girls teams will enjoy a week of competition, coaching clinics and cultural workshops.

Gap dividing Aborigines growing
2 July 2009 - BBC - A national report on Aboriginal social and economic trends in Australia has shown their condition has deteriorated. In particular it showed that the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous citizens has grown wider in areas like child abuse and domestic violence.
Indigenous prisoners over-represented and overlooked: ANCD
25 June 2009 - A new report being released by the Australian National Council on Drugs has found that Indigenous people are over-represented in the prison system, but their drug and alcohol problems are not being treated effectively. The report recommends greater support to keep young Indigenous people in school and better access to diversion programs.
'Bad luck' NT court decision: white defendant, black victim
24 June 2009 - The plight of the Aboriginal person in the Northern Territory legal system is truly awful. That goes not only for Aboriginal people facing criminal charges, but those who are victims of crime as well.

No place for noble savages
8 May 2009 - Tony Abbott - AT some point in the early 1970s, official policy towards Aboriginal people shifted from integration and assimilation to self-determination. It reflected guilt about their dispossession and embarrassment at the destruction of their culture. Decent Australians wanted Aboriginal people to feel proud of their heritage and be able to pass it on to their children.

To really give rights to Indigenous people we must first Close the Gap
2 April 2009 - AHRC - The historic formal statement of support from the federal government for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples occurring this Friday should be backed immediately with a comprehensive national action plan to Close the Gap in health equality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma said today.

Suicide "emergency" still needs funding: Oxfam
4 February 2009 - A men's crisis centre will be set up to address the high Indigenous suicide rate in Narrogin. In a situation described by international aid agency Oxfam as an ongoing "emergency", Narrogin has had eight suicides - six of them Aborigines - and four attempted suicides by men aged 20 to 31 in the nine months to October last year

More Aboriginal children put into care now than during 'Stolen Generations'
4 January 2009 - The Telegraph (UK) - Aboriginal children in Australia's most populous state are being removed from their families in far greater numbers than during the Stolen Generations, it has emerged.

Rudd must reach out to close the indigenous health gap
30 December 2008 - Oxfam - A national strategy has to be shaped in partnership with Aboriginal groups. It has been a year of achievements for indigenous Australians. Parliament opened with a historic apology to the stolen generations and closed with the announcement of a $1.6 billion investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health over four years.

Health equality for Indigenous Australians a step closer: Close the Gap Coalition welcomes COAG funding
30 November 2008 - The Close The Gap coalition has congratulated the Council of Australian Governments on taking substantial steps towards making health equality for Indigenous Australians a reality.
Ending The Cycle Of Vulnerability - Australian Medical Association Indigenous Health Report Card 2008
27 November 2008 - The Australian Medical Association today released its seventh AMA Indigenous Health Report Card in Canberra - focusing on Indigenous children and the discrepancies in their health outcomes.
A century to close the health gap
12 November 2008 - KEVIN RUDD'S pledge to "close the gap" between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians on a range of socio-economic indicators could take more than 100 years to achieve, say Australian National University researchers.
Urgent action and funds needed to stem suicide tragedies
15 October 2008 - AHRC - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma says the West Australian community of Narrogin is in urgent need of culturally appropriate health services to help stem a disturbing pattern of suicide in the community.
Preventative health essential to closing the gap
10 October 2008 - ANTaR - The National Preventative Health Strategy foreshadowed today by Health Minister, Nicola Roxon could play a major part in closing the 17 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, according to Indigenous rights organisation, ANTaR.
Arnhem Land communities to connect to the world of high speed broadband
19 September 2008 - Telstra Media Release - Telstra, the Northern Territory Government and Rio Tinto Alcan today announced they had teamed up on a $34 million project to connect northern Arnhem Land to the nation's fibre optic backbone.

WA jailing too many Aborigines, says sociologist
5 September 2008 - ABOUT one in 10 Aboriginal men is in prison in Western Australia, and that figure could rise to one in five within five years.

Lawyer blames intervention for rash of Territory murders
5 September 2008 - THE principal lawyer for the Northern Territory's peak Aboriginal legal aid service says his organisation is dealing with an unprecedented number of murder cases, which he links to failures of the federal intervention.
NT Intervention a lemon: 28 medical specialists give their diagnosis
4 September 2008 - Dr Hilary Tyler, a medical specialist in Central Australia, writes: I am writing as one of 28 medical specialists working in Central Australia, who have made a joint submission to the Review of the NT Emergency Response.
PM's wife hosts Indigenous literacy function at The Lodge
26 August 2008 - Therese Rein will host a special Indigenous literacy function at The Lodge today.

Nulungu Lecture 2008
21 August 2008 - Patrick Dodson - Ladies and Gentlemen - Tonight I would like to begin by acknowledging and giving recognition to the generations of Yawuru people who have gone before us.

Rethinking indigenous policy
25 August 2008 - When Kevin Rudd delivered an apology to the "stolen generations" in February, he was making history. His commitment to acknowledge formally the experiences and suffering of Aboriginal people was a stark departure from the approach taken by his predecessor.
Plan sets goals for Aboriginal health
29 July 2008 - A BLUEPRINT to reverse Third World standards of Aboriginal health calls for fluoridation of drinking water in most Aboriginal communities by 2020.
Indigenous health blueprint presented to Government and Opposition
28 July 2008 - HREOC - The Close the Gap coalition today presented the federal government and Opposition with a set of National Indigenous Health Equality Targets to address the 17-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
National Indigenous Health Equality Council will help close the gap
9 July 2008 - HREOC - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, TomCalma, today welcomed the establishment of the National Indigenous Health Equality Council and the appointment of its members by the Minister for Health and Ageing,
The lives sent down the drain
5 July 2008 - Remote Aboriginal communities are still suffering from the almost incomprehensible neglect and incompetence of government.
The Good Will to 'Close the Gap'
3 July 2008 - An Indigenous baby boy born in Australia today should not expect to see his 60th birthday. If he is lucky, he might make it to 64. On the other hand, a non-Indigenous baby boy born somewhere in Australia today can expect to live until he is 81, getting to know not only his grand-children but possibly his great grandchildren.
Life’s a black and white divide
25 June 2008 - IT IS one of our most troubling national issues: the gap between the health of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Now, after decades of debate on how to fix it, researchers have discovered a confronting reality — the gap is getting wider.
Aboriginal health 'litany of shame'
25 June 2008 - Indigenous Australians' health was a ''litany of shame'', former health minister Neal Blewett said yesterday.
NT intervention Indigenous health checks 'nothing new'
20 June 2008 - It is a year this weekend since former prime minister John Howard and his Indigenous affairs minister Mal Brough declared the sexual abuse of Indigenous children in the Northern Territory a national emergency.
Aboriginal kids' health worse in NT: research
17 May 2008 - New research shows that health services for Aboriginal children in remote areas of the Northern Territory are relatively good, but that they have worse health than in other regional areas.
$10 Billion Health Fund must be used to close Indigenous health gap
14 May 2008 - Media Release ANTaR - A significant portion of the $10 billion Nation Building Health Fund announced by the Treasurer last night should be earmarked for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).
Indigenous health budget 'a bit short': AMSANT
7 May 2008 - The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance has described the Northern Territory budget for the next financial year as being 'light' on funding for health services in remote areas.
Statistics show little improvement in Indigenous life expectancy
29 April 2008 - New figures on Indigenous health and welfare indicate little improvement in mortality rates.
Indigenous Health Education Essential To Close The Gap, Australian Medical Students' Association
23 April 2008 - Indigenous health education in medical schools needs to be improved if we are to achieve the aims of "Close the Gap", the Australian Medical Students' Association warned.
The battle for Aboriginal rights
15 April 2008 - New Statesman UK - An apology from Kevin Rudd to Australia's aboriginals and a pledge about closing the life expectancy gap are steps in the right direction
Landmark housing project for NT Indigenous communities
12 April 2008 - A landmark joint housing program between the Australian and Northern Territory Governments will deliver vital construction, refurbishment and infrastructure developments, as well as jobs in 73 Northern Territory Indigenous communities and some urban areas.
Rudd pledges annual update on indigenous crusade
6 April 2008 - A Progress report by the Government on how it is closing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians will be made on the first working day of every parliamentary year, Kevin Rudd has pledged.
Historic signing of Statement of Intent between Australian Government and Indigenous peoples on health equality
20 March 2008 - Media Release - Historic signing of Statement of Intent between Australian Government and Indigenous peoples on health equality (the first from HREOC and the second from the Close the Gap coalition).

Reconciliation Australia applauds a new alliance to turn good intentions into measurable actions
20 March 2008 - Media Release - The signing today of a Statement of Intent to close the gap in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples marks another milestone along the road to reconciliation.

Utopia study outcome bucks trends
4 March 2008 - Self-determination and a traditional hunting lifestyle dramatically improve the health of Aborigines, according to a definitive study of a remote Northern Territory community. The death rate at Utopia, made up of 16 homeland communities in the desert north-east of Alice Springs, was strikingly low compared with other indigenous populations in the territory, the study found.

Attacking the great digital divide
4 March 2008 - IT is transforming the world. But is it leaving indigenous Australia behind? Cynthia Karena travelled to the Northern Territory to investigate the digital divide in our own backyard.Having to transport computer equipment in a tinny down the river so it can get to a remote indigenous school in the Northern Territory is just part of the challenge of bringing technology to remote communities.

Financial services sector unites around reconciliation agenda
26 February 2008 - media release - In an industry where competition rules, Australia’s four big banks along with credit unions and building societies are working side by side to make their own unique contribution to reconciliation.
Prime Minister Rudd's Apology To The Stolen Generations An Important Step, Australia
4 February 2008 - Medical News Today UK - The Federal Government's plan for a formal apology to the stolen generations - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who were removed from their families and communities as part of the assimilation policies of the governments of the day, is a welcome and long overdue move, according to the Australian Psychological Society.
Indigenous Health Education: Fostering A Fresh Approach, Australia
16 January 2008 - Medical News Today UK - The Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA) released a report urging stakeholders in medical education to recognize the importance of Indigenous Health in medical school curricula.
Northern Territory Intervention - Help Or Hindrance? Australia
9 December 2007 - Medical News Today UK - The Government's Northern Territory Intervention, aimed at improving health and living conditions in Indigenous communities, has been met with mixed reviews in a collection of articles published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.
Addressing extreme disadvantage through investment in capability developement
6 December 2007 - Ken Henry Secretary to the Treasury - Thank you to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), and to Dr Penny Allbon in particular, for organising this conference and inviting me to speak. The AIHW’s report ‘Australia’s welfare 2007’ is the eighth in a long standing biennial series published by the AIHW but is the first under the stewardship of Dr Allbon.
Northern Territory Indigenous Initiative Must Be Reviewed And Health Checks Extended Nationally
29 November 2007 - AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, urged the new Government to bring forward its promised review of the Northern Territory Indigenous initiative and look to extend the successful health programs nationally to benefit all Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders.
Indigenous Health Needs Significant National Solutions, Australia
15 Nov 2007 - Medical News Today UK - AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said that the health of Indigenous Australians has been forgotten in this election campaign.
Closing the Space Between Us - The Rights of Aboriginal Children
2nd November 2007 - Today we begin by remembering all the journeys of the Awabakal Ancestors with their children across this land around us. I thank the Traditional Owners and I honour the strength and the value of Aboriginal Culture. This is not, as some Culture War warriors would say, romanticising the past. We cannot understand the scale of the crisis threatening Aboriginal children today unless we have a clear understanding of what has happened to these children in the longer timelines of history.
New Government, New Hope For Indigenous Australians?
2 Nov 2007 - The "symbolic infrastructure" of the Howard Government in Australia needs to change in order for Indigenous Health in Australia to progress, says a Special Report in this week's edition of The Lancet.
Alcoholism in Australia: The wives who said time, gentlemen...
31 October 2007 - The Independent UK - On the banks of the Fitzroy river, in the remote Kimberley region of north-west Australia, stands the century-old Crossing Inn, a squat brick building with a facade adorned with paintings by local schoolchildren.
International Indigenous health leaders call for Improvement in the health of Australia's Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders
19 October 2007 - NACCHO Media Release - Late yesterday at the close of the 4 day international conference of the International Network of Indigenous Health Knowledge Development (INIHKD) in Rotorua the Network issued the Aotearoa Declaration.
Howard's Backflip on Indigenous Recognition is NOT the Key to Reconciliation
19 October 2007 - AHCSA Media Release - John Howard's decision to overturn more than a decade of resisting the recognition of Australia's Indigenous people is welcome news for many Indigenous Australians but it is not an apology says Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Health Council of SA Inc., Mary Buckskin.
National Close the Gap Day success
20 September 2007 - Media release Oxfam - National Close the Gap day on Tuesday 18 September was celebrated at more than 300 events across the nation – in all state capitals but also as far and wide as Cooper Pedy (SA), Mt Sheridan (the Gulf in Qld), Kununurra (WA), Wagga Wagga (NSW) and Launceston (Tas).
Surplus could help black health: Calma
6 September 2007 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma has called for some of the record federal budget surplus announced by the federal Treasurer recently to be spent on improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
Caritas applauds Indigenous communities doing it for themselves
Caritas Australia congratulates its Indigenous development partner Unity of First Peoples Australia (UFPA), for the dramatic impact its diabetes program has had in addressing this important Indigenous health issue.
A human rights based approach is vital to address the challenges in Indigenous communities
26 June 2007 - Media Release - The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) has welcomed the Australian Government’s announcements to act to protect the rights of Indigenous women and children in the Northern Territory and urges it to adopt an approach that is consistent with Australia’s international human rights obligations.
The Children of the Sunrise
25 June 2007 - Speech - As my television program ended one night and the debate on the future of Aboriginal Australians was moving to another phase of tension and uncertainty, Patrick Dodson leant across the panel desk and said in a quiet, measured tone to Mal Brough : “Minister, it is not fundamentally about policy it is about how you value Aboriginal people as human beings.”

A Statement from the Stolen Generations Alliance Malcolm Fraser, Lowitja O'Donoghue, Brian Butler
22 June 2007 - Media Release - The Prime Minister has declared a state of emergency in the Northern Territory to introduce arbitrary measures for Aboriginal Australians.

Holistic health approach
22 June 2007 - Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation welcomes the holistic health approach of the Commonwealth’s response to addressing Child Abuse in the Northern Territory, however does hold serious concerns on any draconian measures in land control and policing and implores the Prime Minister to be culturally sensitive in any approaches, forceful measures will not result in sustain positive change or participation by Aboriginal people.
Howard's plan is another 'Children overboard'
22 June 2007 - Media Release - The Northern Territory's peak Aboriginal health body has called the Prime Minister's plan to give sexual health checks to all Aboriginal children in the NT a racist, divisive and illegal act that would alienate people throughout the Territory and cause great social resistance.
The Awful Truth
14 June 2007 - It is widely known that before the 1967 referendum, Indigenous Australians were under the Flora and Fauna act.
Just what the doctor ordered: Federal AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua
3 June 2007 - Well, she's been described as feisty and outspoken, a Perth GP said to have both the personality and the political nous to put health back on the agenda in the lead up to the federal election.
Aboriginal health 'a hundred years behind whites'
2 May 2007 - The Independent UK - Health standards among Australia's Aborigines are as poor as those among the white population before the advent of penicillin nearly a century ago, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Aboriginal health '100 years behind' other Australians
2 May 2007 - The Guardian UK - The standard of health of Aborigines lags almost 100 years behind that of other Australians, with some indigenous people still suffering from leprosy, rheumatic heart disease and tuberculosis, according to a report for the World Health Organisation.
Worst in the world for indigenous health
1 May 2007 - THE health of Aborigines lags almost 100 years behind other Australians and they are the sickest indigenous people of all the wealthy nations, a report by the World Health Organisation says.
WHO slams Aboriginal health
30 April 2007 - The health of Aborigines lags a century behind other Australians, according to a new World Health Organisation report which condemns the Government's failure to apologise for the past.
British Lancet medical journal calls for defeat of Australian government
26 April 2007 - One of the world’s most respected medical journals, the British-based Lancet, has published an editorial calling for the defeat of Australia’s Howard government in this year’s federal election because of the damage it is inflicting on public health and medical research.
Fighting for a few more years
14 April 2007 - One man is ahead of the pack when it comes to improving the lives of his people, writes Margaret Smith.
Lift the death sentence on indigenous lives
9 April 2007 - In the past week, intense media attention has focused on the challenge Australia faces to close the gap in life expectancy between Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians. It's hard to believe, but impossible to deny, that indigenous Australians live nearly 20 years less than the rest of us.
Australians overseas can help ‘Close the Gap’ in Indigenous health
5 April 2007 - Australian Olympic gold medallists Ian Thorpe and Cathy Freeman have launched an Indigenous health campaign that aims to ‘Close the Gap’ in life expectancy between Indigenous Australians and the broader community.
A sickening lack of progress
4 April 2007 - If progress, albeit slow progress, is being made in Aboriginal health, as the federal Health Minister, Tony Abbott claims, it owes more to panic decisions made 35 years ago than to anything that has happened under the Howard or Hawke or Keating governments.

Olympians call to Close the Gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Health
4 April 2007 - HREOC - Olympic greats Catherine Freeman and Ian Thorpe have thrown their weight behind a major campaign launched in Sydney today which aims to close the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Catherine Freeman and Ian Thorpe urge Australia to close the gap on Indigenous health
4 April 2007 - Olympic champions Catherine Freeman and Ian Thorpe returned to Sydney's Telstra Stadium today to launch Australia's largest ever campaign to improve Indigenous health.
Australia ranked bottom of wealthy nations on Indigenous health
2 April 2007 - Oxfam Australia - Australia is ranked bottom of a league table of wealthy nations working to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal peoples, according to a new report published today (April 2) by National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and Oxfam Australia.
Organisations combine to achieve Indigenous health equality
19 March 2007 - A number of health organisations have gathered in Alice Springs ahead of a new Aboriginal health campaign to be launched next month.

Federal AMA passes vote of ‘no confidence’ in Northern Territory Government’s ability to run health
3 March 2007 - The AMA’s Federal Council yesterday passed a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the Northern Territory Government over its mismanagement of the Territory’s health care system.

Gaps Identified In Understanding Aboriginal Children's Health
8 February 2007 - (Medical News Today, UK) - Deakin University-Flinders University research team who reviewed all research on Aboriginal child health, development and wellbeing in Australia has found major gaps in knowledge, with significant implications for health service policy and delivery.
Govts accused of ignoring Indigenous health crisis
11 December 2006 - More than 30 of Australia's key medical and social welfare groups say Indigenous Australians are dying because of a lack of political will and action.
Beazley will stake his reputation on indigenous health care
4 August 2006 - Kim Beazley has promised to make Aboriginal disadvantage his personal responsibility if he is elected prime minister.
Bring the fever down
3 August 2006 - A health scourge among indigenous Australians demands a national response
Indigenous cancer patients in Australia fare worse than their non- Indigenous counterparts
2 June 2006 - (Medical News Today UK) - Indigenous cancer patients in Australia have a 30% higher chance of death from cancer than their non-Indigenous counterparts, according to a paper in this week's issue of The Lancet.
The many faces of violence committed against and within Aboriginal communities must be addressed
19 May 2006 - (Media release AIDA) - As a group of professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors we categorically defend our children’s right to be safe and protected. We urge our fellow Australians and Government to be constructive, careful and considered in responding to issues of violence against and within our communities.
Indigenous doctors' have positive impact on Indigenous health
18 May 2006 - The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA) congratulates the Australian Medical Association (AMA) on endorsing the AIDA Healthy Futures: Defining best practice in the recruitment and retention of Indigenous medical students Framework.
Aborigine health 'a scandal'
12 March 2006 - The Observer (UK) - Australia is lagging behind such nations as Canada and New Zealand in caring for the health of its indigenous people, says an Oxfam report. 'It's a national scandal,' the director Andrew Hewett said. Aboriginal people's life expectancy is still almost 20 years less than than other Australians.
Indigenous Health And Social Justice - HREOC Reports Valuable Contributions To The Debate, Australia
17 February 2006 - AMA (Australian Medical Association) President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, today welcomed the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) reports - Social Justice Report 2005 and Native Title Report 2005 - as valuable contributions in the ongoing debate to improve Indigenous health in Australia.
Inside Australia's third world
15 September 2005 - Children begging for food, chronic health problems, overcrowded houses - this is not some basket-case nation but the reality of Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. As world leaders gather in New York to discuss poverty, Lindsay Murdoch looks at the distress in our own backyard.
Aborigines dying faster than white Australians
26 August 2005 - Aborigines are dying at almost three times the rate of other Australians and have a life expectancy 17 years lower than the rest of the population, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in a report on Friday.
Australian Medical Association Indigenous Health Report Card focuses on low birth weight babies
22 May 2005 - Australian Medical Association (AMA) President, Dr Bill Glasson, has launched Lifting the Weight, the AMA's fourth report card on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
Poor Aboriginal health traced back to birth
20 May 2005 - Rueters (UK) - Chronic health problems suffered by Australia's Aborigines can be traced to birth, a new report found on Friday, saying indigenous babies were twice as likely as others to be born underweight.
Aborigines miss out on heart surgery
16 May 2005 - Aborigines are much less likely than other Australians to undergo artery surgery after a heart attack, despite being at higher risk of dying early from heart disease, a study has found.
Indigenous Australians miss out
11 May 2005 - Once in a generation opportunity missed for Indigenous health The Federal Government's budget has failed to take advantage of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the Third World health standards of Indigenous Australians, according to Australian aid agency Oxfam Australia.
Expert says Aboriginal infant mortality can be reduced with government help?
31 January 2005 - China Post (Taiwan) - The government must do more to combat infant mortality among Aborigines, whose babies die of unexplained causes at a rate six times higher than other Australian children, an expert on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) said Monday.
Call for election focus on Indigenous health
28 January 2005 - A peak body representing Aboriginal medical services (AMSs) across Western Australia has called for Indigenous health to be made a priority in the election campaign.
Parties urged to pledge more to Aboriginal health
4 October 2004 - TONY JONES: Economists have described this election campaign as the biggest orgy of promises and spending ever.
Aboriginal health needs $300m: AMA
May 26 2004 - The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has used the annual Sorry Day to renew its call for increased indigenous funding.
2004 Budget - real issues in Aboriginal Health forgotten
12 May 2004 - While welcoming the additional $40 million to continue the vital Primary Health Care Access Program (PHCAP), the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) the peak body of 128 Aboriginal Health Services across the country, said the Federal Government’s 2004-2005 budget failed to address the real health issues facing Aboriginal Australians.
An 'intolerable' sickness
February 21 2004 - A new indigenous health initiative might have been more appropriately launched this week in Redfern than at Government House but the Governor, Marie Bashir, pointed out that Aborigines were among the healthiest people in the world when the first governor stepped ashore down the hill.
Institutional racism in Australian healthcare: a plea for decency
5 April 2004 - There is no dispute that Aboriginal health in Australia is both poor and very much worse than that of non-Aboriginal people, and their life expectancy at birth is about 21 years less for men and 19 years less for women. Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males, 6.8% die in infancy, compared with 1% for the rest of the population. For females the figures are 6.7% and 0.8%. A large array of diseases are much more prevalent among Aborigines.1
Study: Australian Aborigines die younger than other indigenous populations
April 27 2004 - MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Australian Aborigines are dying much younger than indigenous people in the United States, Canada and New Zealand, a study by Canada's University of Western Ontario revealed Tuesday.
We can cut black death rate: expert
26 March 2003 - The death rate among indigenous Australians could be cut by as much as 30 per cent in 10 years with an adequate level of investment in health services, ANU Professor Ian Ring said yesterday.
Aboriginal treatment is racism: Professor Stanley
22 March 2003 - The appalling health and living conditions endured by many indigenous Australians was a denial of their human rights, says Australian of the Year Fiona Stanley.
Public Report Card 2003 - Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Time for Action
Australian Medical Association
6 March 2003 - One Year after the release of the AMA's first report card on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health not much has changed.
Fears for health of Aborigine children
26 December 2002 - Doctors in Australia's rugged Northern Territory say the number of malnourished Aboriginal children is rising sharply.
Aboriginal health ills still bleak
9 December 2002 - There was little or no improvement in Aboriginals' health between 1990 and 2000, according to a report in today's Medical Journal of Australia.
Aboriginal health 'scandalous'
24 May 2002 - A new report by the main doctors' group in Australia says the country has failed to improve the health of its 400,000 Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.
500 more doctors and 650 more nurses needed
June 25 2002 - Australia needs another 500 doctors and 650 nurses to tackle the woeful ill-health among indigenous people, according to a draft report to the federal Department of Health.
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