How To 'close the Gap' Faster
The Australian Medical Association today called on the Rudd Government to quarantine a significant proportion of the $10 billion Health and Hospitals Fund for 'closing the gap' in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, welcomed the spending on Indigenous health in the 2008-09 Budget but said the Health and Hospitals Fund should be used to address Indigenous health over the next generation - especially health infrastructure and workforce for primary health care.
"It was disappointing that only a handful of new Indigenous Health measures were announced and funded beyond the Government's election promises," she said.
"The Budget provided an opportunity for the Prime Minister, and his Health and Indigenous Affairs Ministers, to seriously take action on the commitments they made at the Close the Gap Summit in March this year.
A crucial commitment made at the Summit was to ensure primary health care services and health infrastructure bridged the gap in health standards by 2018.
Dr Capolingua said that through the 2007/08 Additional Estimates, $99.7 million was committed to expanding primary health care in the Northern Territory.
"Additional funding to address Indigenous health in the Territory is welcome. However, there are many Aboriginal people do not live in the Northern Territory, and their health needs require the same level of attention," she said.
The AMA believes that an ongoing annual commitment of $500 million is needed to achieve improvements in primary care for Indigenous people right across Australia.
Nation building has to take place on the right foundations, where all Australians have the opportunity to experience the fundamentals of a decent life, including good health," she said.
After all, the Government's 2008-09 budget Ministerial Statement 'Closing the Gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians, says:
"Looking to the future, we must make a sustained and determined effort to ensure that the fundamentals of a decent life — good health and nutrition, a safe and comfortable home, a high-quality education and the opportunity to participate in the economy through work — are shared by all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."
CONTACT: Kylie Butler 02 6270 5466 / 0417 652 488
Kylie Walker 02 6270 5471 / 0405 229 152