Category: Vol 6 No 1 January 2006 – March 2006

The following information has been adapted from a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) media release (released 15 February 2006)

The South Australian Government has announced the construction of the nation’s first rehabilitation clinic for petrol sniffers.

The $1.2 million project will involve residential facilities and counselling services for petrol sniffers in remote Aboriginal communities in the state’s north. The rehabilitation of sniffers is an important part of a broader effort to combat petrol sniffing.

For further information: view HREOC media release (released 15 February 2006)

The following summary has been adapted from a media release for the Hon Tony Abbott MHR, Minister for Health and Ageing (view media release).

Dr Penelope Allbon was recently appointed as the new Director of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The AIHW is the national agency responsible for collecting and producing health and welfare-related information and statistics.

Dr Allbon’s most recent government appointments were as Chief Executive of ACT Health and ACT Commissioner for Housing. For the past three years she has run her own consultancy, working with clients such as AusAID, the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, the Statistical Information Management Committee and the Solomon Islands Government.

For further information: view media release

The following summary has been adapted from media releases issued by the Australian Government, The Australian newspaper and the National Indigenous Times.

The Hon Mal Brough MP has been sworn in as the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs. The Prime Minister, John Howard, announced that as of 27 January 2006 the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination would be moved to the Family and Community Services (FACS) portfolio due to the potential synergies with other FACS programs. Aboriginal issues have been brought into the political and administrative mainstream by combining Indigenous Affairs with FACS in the new Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs portfolio. The Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs portfolio has been renamed Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Mr Brough will replace outgoing senator Kay Patterson, while also taking over Amanda Vanstone’s role as Indigenous Affairs Minister.

Mal Brough was a former army office and served in posts around Australia as well as representing the army in Hong Kong, Canada and Papua New Guinea. He resigned with the rank of Captain in 1988 to pursue business interests in the private sector, in the telecommunications sector, and in small business. He entered Federal Parliament as the first Member for the Queensland seat of Longman in 1996, and held the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business from 2000-2001. He moved on to be Minister for Employment Services and in October 2003 the portfolio of Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence was added to his list of responsibilities. He has been Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer since July 2004.

Mr Brough said as employment services minister he paid a great deal of personal attention to Indigenous affairs and believed in the further mainstreaming of Aboriginal affairs. He stated ‘I just want to see as much done as possible to give opportunities to Indigenous Australians like every Australian deserves’. He also requested that critics of the amalgamation of FACS with Indigenous Affairs should wait before passing judgment on the level of attention the Government would pay to Aboriginal issues.

For further information

Department of Families and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
View website

Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination
View website

House of Representatives, Parliament of Australia
View information

Media releases and news items

The Australian
Switch puts focus on Indigenous issues
View news item (HTML) (25 January 2006)

National Indigenous Times
Brough breaks Vanstone’s hold on black affairs
View news item (HTML) (Issue 97, 2006)

Prime Minister of Australia
Ministerial changes
View media release (HTML) (released 24 January 2006)

Eckermann A, Dowd T, Chong E, Nixon L, Gray R, et al. (2005)
Binan Goonj: bridging cultures in Aboriginal health.
2nd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone
(RRP $39.95) ISBN 0729537714

The second edition of Binan Goonj: bridging cultures in Aboriginal health has been released. This book examines the processes and practices that underlie the poor health of Indigenous peoples in Australia, and suggests practical strategies to improve Indigenous health and wellbeing.

Extensively adopted as a teaching text across Australia, this updated and revised edition provides coverage of essential Aboriginal health topics in an accessible manner.

For further information: view Elsevier publication page

Image has been reproduced with the kind permission of Elsevier Australia.

The following summary has been adapted from the NACCHO website and an ABC media release

Mr Henry Councillor was elected Chairperson of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) at a conference for NACCHO members held in Alice Springs on 7 September 2005. NACCHO is the national peak Aboriginal health body representing 134 Aboriginal community controlled health services (ACCHSs) across Australia. The conference was held for members to consider the way ahead and determine their priorities for improving Indigenous health outcomes.

Mr Councillor, who also held the position of Chair in 2003, takes over from Dr Naomi Mayers (who is now Deputy Chairperson). During his long association with NACCHO Mr Councillor has been an advocate for the organisation, for its members, and for initiatives with potential to positively impact on the health of Aboriginal people.

Mr Councillor is a Jungual man of the Jaru people. His family comes from the Mt Dockwell area southwest of Halls Creek in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. His long involvement in Aboriginal health commenced with the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Council Inc. (KAMSC) over 20 years ago. In 1995 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of KAMSC. He has worked also with the Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service, the Yura Yungi Medical Service at Halls Creek, and the East Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service. In 2003 he was appointed Chairperson of the Western Australia Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (WACCHO), and he is presently an active member of the Aboriginal Health Council of WA (AHCWA) that has recently replaced WACCHO. He has actively participated in a range of local, state and national committees.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Councillor said that Aboriginal health and services are an integral part of the health of the nation, and cannot be ignored. He stated, ‘I will be focussing on building relationships with key agencies and organisations and on lobbying government and other sectors to increase the resources and capacity of the Aboriginal community controlled health organisations to further improve health outcomes’.

Referring to the recent release of a report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, he said that ‘Progress in health has been unsatisfactorily slow’. He added ‘All sectors should be mindful of the roles and/or influence they can have on change in the delivery of improved health care for Indigenous peoples. Everyone can potentially contribute’.

Mr Councillor also aims to:

• Promote within the Aboriginal health sector, and to mainstream Australia, the many success stories both from NACCHO and from individual ACCHSs.

• Achieve greater recognition for Aboriginal health workers as a profession, including appropriate salary and career structures and the introduction of national competency standards.

• Broaden access to Section 100 medications to include all ACCHSs including those in rural and metropolitan areas.

It is expected, according to the NACCHO constitution, that Mr Councillor will be Chairperson for the next two years.

For further information view:

NACCHO
View website

ABC
HEALTH: NACCHO calls for shared focus on Indigenous health outcomes
Source: NACCHO
View media release (HTML) (released 7 September 2005)