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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (2 December) . . Page.. 4310 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

Secondly, the Australian Federal Police, ACT Region, in conjunction with the New South Wales Police in Queanbeyan have recently run two inaugural wilderness programs for indigenous young people as part of Project Saul. Six boys, whose average age was 14 years, attended the first program from 27 to 31 October 1997 and a mixed group of eight attended from 17 to 21 November 1997. In addition, three young indigenous inmates from Quamby, accompanied by an indigenous staff member, visited the first course program. The programs were supervised by police volunteers, who considered them very successful. As well as teaching bushcraft and survival skills, the aim of the program is to teach young people mutual respect and teamwork and to help restore self-esteem. An Aboriginal elder visited the program and spoke about cultural issues. At the end of the first course the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr Bill Stoll, presented certificates to all of those who completed the course. I am delighted to say that support for the successful Project Saul program is coming from many quarters. The Little Sisters of Mary at Calvary Hospital recently donated a four-wheel-drive vehicle and a Shell card to the project in recognition of the positive outcomes of Project Saul. Transport for the October program was by commuter bus recently donated to the Civic Youth Centre by the Snow Foundation for Youth Projects.

I am pleased to report a range of positive initiatives and outcomes in the health area. In June 1997 the ACT Department of Health and Community Care published "The Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the ACT". This document draws together available data to give as detailed an analysis as possible of the profile of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT and its surrounding region. It was developed in consultation with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Madam Deputy Speaker, a very important initiative by the Canberra Hospital was the allocation of a house in Gaunt Place, Garran, to be used to accommodate interstate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families who have a family member as a patient in the hospital and are in need of short-term accommodation. This year the Department of Health and Community Care plans to establish an Aboriginal youth alcohol and drug worker position in the community. The worker will develop the role by involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. In March 1997 the ACT Mental Health Service released a report on the needs of ACT indigenous people in relation to mental health services. The recommendations of the report include a number relating to the employment of Aboriginal mental health workers. Implementation of the recommendations is being considered in the context of the overall reform measures being introduced across the Mental Health Service.

I would like to outline a number of projects under way to improve indigenous people's access to mainstream health services. The ACT Maternity Services Advisory Committee is working in conjunction with the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Forum to improve the appropriateness of birthing options for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the ACT region. A cross-cultural project officer has been funded by a joint project developed under the ACT home and community care program,

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