Australia is one nation, yet its federal structure and Constitution have not encouraged laws creating a clear governance structure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, explains a team of experts on Croakey.
Aboriginal health
Federal Health Department silos a critical barrier to Aboriginal health reform
There was virtually no mention of Aboriginal health in the Federal Government’s major policy announcements on health and hospital reform, despite the fact that over half a million Australians receive comprehensive primary health care through such services, writes Garrie Gibson.
If PM wants to close the gap, why the silence on primary health care?
Next year in the Closing the Gap Report, we want to learn about what the government has been doing to show respect for Aboriginal people and their views and values, write Des Martin, CEO of the Aboriginal Health Council of WA and Gavin Mooney, a health economist
Violence in indigenous communities: tolerated and not disclosed
In some Australian Indigenous communities violence is so widespread there is an expectation that it is inevitable and is something to be tolerated and not disclosed, reads the grim conclusion to an Australian Institute of Criminology paper released this week, reports Richard Farmer.
Are Medicare Locals entrenching institutional racism?
In the current discussions on primary health care for the future in this country, the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector and its voice are being ignored, writes Professor Gavin Mooney.
Our black health gap: less spent on primary aboriginal health
Mainstream primary health services are failing indigenous Australians, according to the country’s peak doctors group, with services not delivering adequate care or value for money. Jane Vashti Ryan investigates some disturbing new figures.
Ten well-kept secrets about health in Australia
Dr Alex Wodak, president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, offers 10 well-kept secrets about the state of health in Australia.
Is it helpful to think about closing the gap as an economic, rather than ethical, issue?
The question of how much to pay for “closing the gap” in Aboriginal health ought to be debated more on ethical lines than on economic lines — but the two inevitably intersect, writes Professor Gavin Mooney.
Why indigenous Australians need their own pandemic plan
The recent death of an Aboriginal man who had tested positive to swine flu has raised concerns of the vulnerability of Indigenous people to disease pandemics, writes Dr Sophie Couzos.
Indigenous Health: interested anyone?
You could argue that Indigenous health is our most important issue. So why isn’t the media picking up on it? asks Dr Ruth Armstrong.
Why the NT Intervention might be good news
In an ideal world we would not have workforce shortages anywhere in Australia. But we do. And just maybe the NT Intervention is an effective short term way of recruiting new blood, writes Dr Sue Page.
NT Intervention a lemon: 28 medical specialists give their diagnosis
We are not aware of any evidence that supports the health related components of the NTER, writes Dr Hilary Tyler.
Meanwhile … The intervention arrives in Utopia
The army arrived in Utopia last week. They have come to check the children but they should have asked me or one of the other doctors who has recently worked in the community first. It could have saved the interventionalists a lot of time, writes Simon Quilty.
NT intervention: kids grilled on housing standards
Aboriginal kids as young as six are being asked to give environmental health assessments of their houses—and their interrogators are not housing experts, but the doctors and nurses carrying out the medical checks, writes Anna Lamboys.
How think tanks are misleading us on Aboriginal children’s health
The recent Commonwealth intervention in the Northern Territory includes a raft of components which appear to have little connection with protecting children, writes Dr David Scrimgeour.
Not a single voice in support of intervention
During a three-day conference here on Indigenous health, the message has come loud and clear from doctors, lawyers, researchers, public servants, economists and Aboriginal leaders. Not a single voice has been raised in defence of the Federal Government’s plans for the NT.
Champion of ‘caucasian’ health meets the locals
Gulkula in north east Arnhem Land will once again this weekend host Garma, the Territory’s leading Aboriginal festival of culture and ideas. This year’s theme: Indigenous health: real solutions for a chronic problem. But there’s a Caucasian in the woodpile.
30 years of reports into Aboriginal Australia
We’re constantly told about the numerous reports over recent decades highlighting the state of Aboriginal Australia that have been ignored or filed away. Here’s Crikey’s list …
