Category: Vol 2 No 3 July 2002 – September 2002

On the 5^th of July, the Commonwealth Government, the West Australian Government, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and the Western Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (WAACHO) signed an agreement of cooperation designed to lift the health status of Indigenous people living in Western Australia.

The Agreement recognises the importance of a shared strategic agenda for improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Western Australia:

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to achieve equitable health outcomes, a co-operative, co-ordinated and sustained effort is required from the Commonwealth and State Governments, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, the Aboriginal community controlled primary health care sector represented by the Western Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (WAACCHO), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and the broader Australian community¹.

The Agreement is based on four national key commitments from the 1996 Agreements on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and six key domains of action articulated in the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Strategy (WAAHS).

The national key commitments call for:

• • increased level of resources allocated to reflect the level of need;
  • joint planning;
  • access to both general and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander specific health and health related services which reflect the higher level of need; and
  • data collection and evaluation.

The WAAHS key domains of action call for:

• increasing access to health services;
• reforming the health system;
• reconciling community control and empowerment;
• improving health information management;
• strengthening intersectoral collaboration on health; and
• improving health financing.

Signatories to the Agreement – Commonwealth Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson, West Australian Minister for Health, Bob Kucera, Chairperson of ATSIC, Geoff Clark, and Chairperson of WAACCHO, Henry Councillor highlighted the importance of the Agreement as a mechanism for: ensuring that priority health needs are met; facilitating joint responsibility and contributing to Indigenous self-determination.

The Western Australian Joint Planning Forum (JPF) and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council will be responsible for evaluating the implementation of the Agreement within their respective jurisdictions.

Full copies of the Agreement are available on request. Contact Ms Allison Bellottie, Joint Planning Forum Secretariat, ph: (08) 9222 4481, fax: (08) 9222 4378.

¹Extracts from the Western Australian Framework Agreement on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health reproduced with permission.

The 14th Australian Health Promotion Association Annual Conference was held in Sydney from the 16 – 20 June. The conference theme, ‘Made in the future’, a conference on leadership, capacity building, evidence and advocacy, highlights factors that are vital to successful Indigenous health practice and policy at all levels.

Of particular relevance to Indigenous health promotion practitioners was the National Indigenous Health Promotion Network Leadership Forum, titled Building vision and purpose: linking past events with present strategies to create a better future. The morning session enabled members to explore and discuss the development and focus of the Network: its activities, its directions and its purposes. The afternoon forum provided a structure for looking nationally at successes in Indigenous health promotion. Guest speakers provided examples of how strategic leadership and capacity building were working in their local areas.

The conference also provided the HealthInfoNet with an opportunity to share its work with health promotion professionals from around Australia. An Internet café, along the lines of those conducted at earlier conferences, introduced conference delegates to the HealthInfoNet‘s online services and technology, and its role in empowering Indigenous people by providing them with access to relevant, high-quality information and knowledge on Indigenous health.

The café, conducted by Bronwyn Gee and Sandy Angus from the HealthInfoNet, and Donna Daly from the Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal, offered delegates the opportunity to explore the HealthInfoNet site. New users were guided through its major sections and offered assistance to seek out material pertaining to their specific health interests. The café also provided a forum to showcase the latest edition of the Indigenous health promotion resources publication produced by the Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal. The publication was of particular interest to many health promotion practitioners attending the conference.

Another positive aspect of the HealthInfoNet café was the opportunity it offered to exchange information on creative and innovative programs and projects currently being implemented across the nation. Staff used the digital camera to take photos of many people involved in these projects, some of which are displayed here.

The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet would like to thank the Australian Health Promotion Association for their support of our initiative, and Hire Intelligence for the much appreciated sponsorship.

The first release of 2001 Census data occurred on Monday, June 17, 2002. This first release contains 2001 Census counts and selected key characteristics of persons, families and dwellings down to Statistical Sub-division level for each State and Territory in Australia. Comparative data from the 1996 Census are also included for comparative purposes, as are tables from the Basic Community Profile and reference maps.

The entire publication is available for purchase and provided in PDF format or alternately, the Main features from the publication are free of charge and provided in text format on the ABS website. Included in the Main Features is a brief summary of Indigenous specific findings:

‘The number of people who identified as being of Indigenous origin increased by 16.2% to 410,003 people in 2001, up from 352,970 people in 1996. The Indigenous population represented 2.2% of the total Australian population, up from 2.0% in 1996’.

Population distribution, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2001

The ABS publication Population distribution, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2001 uses the results of the 2001 Census of Population and Housing to describe the geographic distribution of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia.

See the Reports and publications page in this edition of the HealthBulletin for the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract of this publication.

The entire publication is available for purchase and provided in PDF format to download (for Ausstats subscribers only) on the ABS website. Or alternately, the Main features from the publication and various other related links are free of charge and provided in text format on the ABS website.

Indigenous profiles (IPs)

The section of the Census containing Indigenous specific data is titled ‘Indigenous Profiles (IPs)’. Links to this data can be found approximately half way down the ‘First release data‘ page on the ABS website.

‘First release IPs contains 12 tables providing detailed Census data for Indigenous people and includes comparisons with Non-Indigenous people. The data is based on where people were enumerated on Census night. IPs are provided in Compressed Excel spreadsheet format. You will need a decompression utility to open the file. Double click on the IP file attachment at the top of each page to download the results’.

The Indigenous Profiles provide numerical data that can be utilised for various purposes and as they are presented in a ‘raw’ format the data can be tailored to meet your specific needs (eg. comparing number of Indigenous 15 year olds attending high schools between states).

The Indigenous Profiles can be accessed either ‘by map‘ or ‘by name‘. Accessing by map enables you to navigate to your area of interest by using your mouse on a map of Australia. Just click on the map to navigate to lower levels. The area you have selected will be highlighted and the region will also be displayed at the top of the page. Hints or tips on using these maps are available by selecting Help. Alternatively you can search for your area/s of interest by name, organised into three lists – Main structure, Local government areas or Indigenous geography.

Once you have selected the area of your interest, simply click on the link to view, download or buy. Indigenous Profiles can be downloaded for free down to State and Territory level and can be purchased for other areas. You’ll be warned if there is any charge associated with the selected product and you will be prompted for credit card details.

The second release of IPs is scheduled for November 2002.