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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 7 Hansard (6 June) . . Page.. 2038 ..

MS MacDONALD (continuing):

an older, healthier Australia, statistics for indigenous Australia are glaring at us by comparison. The average age of Australians is about 35; the average age of an ACT Aboriginal is 19. The Australian and ACT Aboriginal population is young, but instead of celebrating youth, they are literally facing an unhealthy future.

Other facts to emerge which highlight the importance of this issue are terribly disturbing. Half of all indigenous males die by the age of 49 years. For women it is 59. This compares to 75 and 82 for the non-indigenous population. Only 39 per cent of indigenous families live in homes that they own or are purchasing. This compares to 71 per cent of non-indigenous families. In 1998 the ABS reported that the average weekly income of an indigenous person in the ACT was $306; for a non-indigenous person it was $432. The unemployment rate for indigenous people in the ACT is over 15 per cent.

This shows that, whilst we can talk about improving health services to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, we need to adopt a holistic approach. We all know that poor health does not occur in a vacuum. Poverty, poor housing, unemployment and poor education, as well as problems of substance abuse and violence, all play a major role in the poor health of our indigenous community. We cannot address health problems in isolation from these broader factors.

Despite tremendous advances in the treatment and knowledge of heart disease, it is a rampant killer in indigenous communities. The disease of alcoholism is still in epidemic proportions, afflicting indigenous peoples at rates well above those for the rest of the population. Diabetes, suicide, depression and other concerns, like petrol sniffing and chroming, are at incidence levels that would warrant crisis status in any other population. Trauma, poisoning, injury, hepatitis C, HIV and diseases preventable by childhood immunisation are also occurring at much higher rates in the indigenous population.

The issues raised in this matter of public importance will not even be the tip of the iceberg. My 15 minutes and the supporting 45 is almost patronising when the needs relating to Aboriginal health are considered. Health issues in every area need addressing, which is why this government has pumped millions of extra dollars into ACT health services and resolved the nurses dispute as a priority. But, quite simply, indigenous health problems occur at such disturbing rates that it is important to consider them in isolation.

The old Canberra Sorry Day Network, now known as Journey of Healing (ACT), has done a wonderful and professional job of preparing a progress report on the Bringing them home report that I mentioned a few moments ago. To those members who have not had the opportunity to devote some time to reading the report, which landed on our desks in the last few days, I would urge you to set aside a small part of your day to familiarise yourself with it.

The Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service in Ainslie is one such indigenous specific health centre getting results. Indigenous people are often reluctant to use mainstream health facilities, but Winnunga provides the sort of environment and understanding that is needed across the ACT and Australia.

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