Commission Calls for Action on Indigenous Health

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission urged both the Federal Government and Opposition to make the rapid improvement of Indigenous health standards and life expectancy a top national priority.

The call was made as the Commission issued National Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week resources for parishes and schools.

The resources were prepared in collaboration with the Archdiocesan Murri Ministry Team and Brisbane Catholic Education.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that both the Coalition Government and Labor Opposition should make a commitment to act swiftly to bring the health standards and life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians into line with those of their fellow citizens.

“The recent Budget allocated increased funding to Indigenous health initiatives, but it is not enough to bring about rapid progress,” Mr Arndt said.

“The improvement in health standards and life expectancy in recent decades have been too slow,” he said.

“None of us should accept for a moment that some of our fellow citizens have a life expectancy seventeen years lower than the Australian average,” he said.

“The health standards for Australia’s Indigenous people are equivalent to those of people in some of the poorest nations on Earth,” he said.

“Our Archdiocesan Murri Ministry Team faces this reality on a weekly basis as they are constantly called on to provide support to Indigenous families preparing funerals for their loved ones who have died in their forties and fifties,” he said.

“The Australian Medical Association is not a radical organisation and it has clearly stated what needs to be done and what sort of funding is required” he said.

“They believe that rapid change is possible and we want our leaders to listen to them and to act urgently,” he said.

“We should not be satisfied with our leaders saying that change can only happen gradually,” he said.

“The Commission is encouraging Catholics to join with other Australians in advocating urgent action on Indigenous health,” he said.

“National Reconciliation Week begins on Pentecost Sunday, May 27, which is also the fortieth anniversary of the referendum which recognised Indigenous Australians as citizens,” he said.

“This is an opportune time for the Australian people to say with one voice that Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders deserve the same health standards as everyone else and they should not have to wait decades for it to happen,” he said.

“We encourage parishes and schools to use the resources in our National Reconciliation Week Kit to make a concerted effort to convince our leaders that this is a matter of the highest national priority,” he said.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.