AMA Budget Submission Indigenous Health

Friday 28 Janauary 2005

AMA BUDGET SUBMISSION - INDIGENOUS HEALTH

TONY EASTLEY: Yet another report on the state of Indigenous health in Australia has painted a grim picture.

The Australian Medical Association has described as shameful the report's findings.

The report examines the performance of State, Territory and Commonwealth governments in health, education, justice, community and emergency services and it comes up with the bleak assessment of life for Aboriginal Australians.

The Federal Government says it will boost funding for Indigenous health in the next budget but doubts whether the AMA's suggestion of doubling the current spending will have much effect in the short term.

Hamish Fitzsimmons reports.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: The report, prepared by the Productivity Commission's Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, looks at government spending on public services.

It examines performance in education, justice, community services and housing, but this year, the report scrutinises services to Indigenous Australians.

It found that compared to non-Indigenous Australians, Aboriginals are still significantly over represented in the prison system, are less likely to finish school but the health of Aboriginal Australians remains in stark contrast to the non-Indigenous population.

Aboriginal Australians are 19 times more likely to die from heart disease, 15 times more likely to die from diabetes, 14 times more likely to die from pneumonia and 12 times more likely to die from assaults than the non-Indigenous population.

The Australian Medical Association says there needs to be a $400-million funding boost to improve Aboriginal health.

AMA head Dr Bill Glasson describes the current situation as shameful.

BILL GLASSON: It's unacceptable and I keep saying it is un-Australian. And I think the time is ripe now, both with this report and I suppose with the Prime Minister now signalling even himself, that he really wants to bring up the health status of our Indigenous population.

It's time for all of us to get behind the changes that are required, inject the funding that's required and I suppose bring on board the Indigenous population to provide, the solutions that we need at the coalface.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: The Federal Health Minister, Tony Abbott, says there's no magic wand that will dramatically improve Indigenous health and doubts a sudden increase in spending as the AMA is suggesting would be the cure.

TONY ABBOTT: It's easy to spend the money in this area. It's not necessarily easy to get good results and what the Government is doing is trying to spend money in carefully targeted ways, in communities where people are prepared to work with the Government, both State and Federal, to try to ensure that we really do get the kind of better outcomes that these communities need.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Will the Federal Government look at the AMA's proposal to spend an extra $400-million on Indigenous health?

TONY ABBOTT: I think you can be confident that there will be a further significant increase in Indigenous health spending in the upcoming budget. The Government has substantially increased Indigenous health spending in just about every budget since 1996.

But I don't think it's realistic to suddenly more than double Indigenous health spending and think that you are suddenly going to get results, which are twice as good. I just don't think the world works that way.

TONY EASTLEY: The Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott speaking to AM's Hamish Fitzsimmons.

Ends