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Indigenous doctors urged to take on leadership role Australia

1 June 2004 - Aboriginal leader Lowitja O'Donoghue has told an international health conference in far north Queensland that Indigenous Australians are at a dangerous point in history.

Speaking at the Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress in Cairns, Ms O'Donoghue said the abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) has brought Indigenous people to a crossroad.

She says the 50 Indigenous doctors and more than 70 medical students in Australia will be needed to provide leadership and a voice for the next generation.

"I wanted the doctors in particular to know that really they're part of the leadership group and it's important that they also help us in this process," she said.

"They'll be part of it. They're through university and they're now of course qualified, and so on. They've got to do their job."

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