Page 1890 - Week 06 - Thursday, 5 May 2005
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on a low income, such as self-funded retirees, and people working for minimum wages, often on a casual basis, who are often earning little more than those on income support but facing much higher costs. In the social plan, this government has stated a commitment to assess policy and programs for their impact on poverty, but we see little evidence of that here.
The Greens recognise that there are unprecedented levels of growth in demand for acute health services and that it is important to respond to this by an expansion in hospital beds, elective surgery capacity and quality infrastructure. Yet the demand for acute health services is not likely to abate until we have an effective and accessible system of primary health care, health promotion and early intervention services. This budget fails to address issues of access to GPs for people living on low incomes, an issue that could be addressed through the development of accessible community health services that bulk-bill, as recommended by community groups.
Other significant gaps include the failure to respond to calls for increased palliative care services and expanded drug and alcohol programs. In particular, the need for additional drug and alcohol programs generally and the need for services that respond to specific groups, such as young people with dual drug and alcohol and mental health issues, has been raised by peak groups in the community sector, citing continued growth in demand for such services and more and more evidence of the negative health and social impacts of failing to assist people experiencing alcohol and drug issues.
I was disappointed not to see more in the budget for indigenous health generally and, specifically, to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander illegal and problematic drug use. Later today, if there is enough time, I will have the chance to raise this issue as a matter of public importance. The June 2004 report I want to be heard—an analysis of needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander illegal drug users in the ACT and region for treatment and other services, produced by the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health and the Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service, found there was a need for new and expanded services in the ACT to address this issue. This was consistent with broader recommendations such as the State of the Environment Report, released in March 2004, which recommended that “the ACT government implement programs aimed at reducing gaps in health outcomes for Aboriginal people”.
I want to say at this point that the ACT government is doing some really good work in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. It is cooperating with the Australian government on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues. It continues to provide support to Winnunga Nimmityjah and to the Gugan Gulwan Aboriginal Youth Corporation. It also has put in place a range of other measures to support better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There were also two initiatives in the last budget: outreach workers for Gugan Gulwan and a feasibility study into a bush healing farm. I am looking forward to finding out more about the status of this particular feasibility study. I was pleased to see the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dental health program in the budget, but it was a surprise not to see additional and extra resources to indigenous health generally or any initiatives specifically to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander illegal and problematic drug use.
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