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key indigenous australian issues
| home | news lSurplus could help black health: Calma
By Chris Munro 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. Mr Calma's call followed the announcement of a budget surplus of $17.3 billion for the year, a figure that could bridge the estimated half-billion annual shortfall in black health 34 times over. "With this surplus, and future large surpluses more than likely, the federal government has a golden opportunity to set an ambitious path towards closing the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people," Mr Calma said. The Commissioner said the new $2.5 billion investment in a new Health and Medical Investment Fund - which the government promises will enable investment in new buildings and hi-tech equipment through direct deals with states and private hospitals - should be replicated for Indigenous primary health care. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has recently called for all tenders for the new fund to be independently assessed by an expert panel that have an intimate knowledge of hospitals and medical care, a suggestion that could be easy applied in a mirrored-fund for Aboriginal health, Mr Calma said. Calma reiterated the shortfall figure estimated by the AMA. "It has been estimated that [up to] an extra... $500 million per year is needed to ensure that Indigenous Australians have the same access to primary health care as other Australians, a similar investment of surplus funds could meet this need in perpetuity," Mr Calma said. President of the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association (AIDA), Mark Wenitong strongly backed Mr Calma's call. "[AIDA] and the AMA came up with the shortfall estimate of between $450 million and $500 million in Indigenous health, that is nothing in the scheme of things, these are resources that are totally do-able. "There just doesn't seem to be any will on the government's behalf to act on this," Mr Wenitong said. AIDA is the peak national body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors and medical students and has been fighting for more funding and infrastructure in Indigenous health, especially in remote communities. Mr Wenitong believes the roadblocks thrown up by the government when it comes to releasing funds stems from the lack of career structure in remote Australia for health workers. "One of the key things is that there's no career structure. You don't actually get anywhere, it's a bit of a limiting step in some regards," he said. "There's a lot things we could invest in as a nation with budget surpluses, but this is clearly one of the key things Australia has to address as a nation to move forward." Meanwhile, an irate Mr Calma also called for a small amount of the massive surplus to be put towards Indigenous housing. While the initial outlay may seem immense, the sums involved are relatively small compared to the surplus itself. "It is a matter of great disappointment that in such a wealthy nation, which has generated huge surpluses every year for the past decade, that there is no recognition of the enormous health challenges facing Indigenous peoples who have barely shared in these gains," Commissioner Calma said. Ensuring that Indigenous Australians can enjoy the highest attainable standard of health and an adequate standard of living was one of the prime motivators for 90 percent of Australians to support the 'yes' vote in the 1967 referendum, in what proved to be a hollow gesture. "Forty years on, it is time that we as a nation finally deliver on this promise of a better deal for the First Nation peoples of this country," Mr Calma said. Source: The National Indigenous Times related links:
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