Social Justice Report 2005

Media Release

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Thursday, 16 February 2006

Indigenous rights watchdog challenges governments to commit to health equality within a generation

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma, has issued a challenge to Australian governments to address Indigenous health inequality and inequality of opportunity through a new campaign outlined in this year"s Social Justice Report.

"There is no greater challenge to the Australian values of decency, fairness and egalitarianism than the inequality in health status between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the non-Indigenous population," said Mr Calma.

Tabled in federal Parliament on Tuesday, the Social Justice Report 2005 considers progress in achieving improvements in the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and sets out a human rights framework for achieving health equality within a generation.

Commissioner Calma said the major underlying cause of health inequality in Australia is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, in both remote and urban centres, do not enjoy equal access to primary health care or the same standard of infrastructure necessary for health (such as safe drinking water, healthy food sources, healthy housing and effective sewerage systems).

" The failure of the policies and programs over the past 20 years to achieve significant improvements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status, yet alone reduce the inequality gap, reveals the failure of governments to commit to an urgent plan of action which is funded to meet its outcomes. The Indigenous health campaign I am proposing directly addresses these two failings," Mr Calma said.

"The campaign recommends that governments commit to achieving equality of health status and life expectation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people within 25 years. This proceeds from governments committing to achieve equal access to primary health care and health infrastructure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within 10 years.

"The goal of health equality and equality of opportunity should be supported by targets and benchmarks over the short and medium term, which should be negotiated, with the full participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and committed to by all Australian governments."

This campaign seeks to place time-frames on the goal and aims of the National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and the commitments of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to overcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage. It provides a long-term vision for government focussed activity.

"As a nation, we have never been as well placed to turn the current health crisis faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples around. In part, this is because the necessary commitments and mechanisms for whole-of-government coordination are now in place to achieve this. With new agreement making processes, we have an unprecedented opportunity to engage and empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to overcome existing health inequalities," Mr Calma said.

The Social Justice Report also examines the implementation of the new arrangements for Indigenous affairs, in a post-ATSIC environment. It also comments on a range of other reform processes impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, such as: changes to the Community Development Employment Program scheme; reforms of the federal Act governing Aboriginal associations and councils; as well as reforms to heritage protection, land rights and native title.

For further information about the Social Justice Report 2005, including chapter summaries, facts sheets and media releases visit: https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice

Media contact: Paul Oliver (02) 9284 9880 or 0408 469 347