(This post was updated with more tributes on 28 December, 2012, and 12 January, 2013. On January 14, details were added of a memorial service to be held in Tasmania on 20 January. See bottom of post). Some tributes to the late Professor Gavin Mooney and Dr Delys Weston have been left on a previous [...]
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Would more consistent, inclusive coverage of Indigenous health lead to better policy?
The relationship between media coverage and Indigenous policy making has been investigated in a comprehensive research project, whose findings were reported at a recent symposium at the University of Canberra. The findings suggest that a wider, more inclusive and more concerted media coverage of Indigenous affairs would have positive implications for policy and thus the [...]
READ MOREQueensland cuts are devastating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
The cuts to Queensland’s public health workforce are not only devastating for efforts to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; they undermine the work of individuals who have been striving to improve their skills, careers and futures. A conservative government “has just taken the bulldozer to one of its ideological cornerstones; [...]
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Pat Anderson delivers damning indictment of NT Intervention
Ms Pat Anderson, chairperson of the Lowitja Institute and co-author of the Little Children are Sacred inquiry’s report, has delivered a damning indictment of the NT intervention in a keynote address to an Aboriginal health research conference in Sydney this morning. I recommend reading her speech in full (PDF available here, titled “Research for a [...]
READ MOREThe PM’s report on Closing the Gap report has plenty of holes
As previously reported, the Prime Minister recently released a report investigating what progress has been made in achieving targets for reducing the gap in Indigenous disadvantage around: • life expectancy • mortality rates for Indigenous children under five • access to early childhood education for all Indigenous four year olds in remote communities • reading, [...]
READ MOREA dirty great wrap of recent public health news from Twitter
This post is for those who haven’t yet realised that Twitter is a fantastic source of public health news. And it’s also for those who might have realised this, but don’t have time for Twitter-trawling. Below are links to recent news and reports found via Twitter about: food tobacco control public health health policy the [...]
READ MOREWhat do Aboriginal men want for their health?
About 100 Aboriginal men recently attended a three-day male health summit hosted by the Sunrise Health Service at the Banatjarl camp south of Katherine. At the close of the summit last Thursday (July 2), they issued 22 recommendations. These include calls for: The Federal Government to immediately reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act with full integrity [...]
READ MORESome critical issues in Aboriginal health and education
John Greatorex, a Darwin-based academic who has previously worked as a teacher in north-east Arnhem Land for 30 years, has written the following detailed response to the Inside Story article on media reporting of Aboriginal health: “I remember when the NT Intervention was announced, many families rang asking why the government was sending the army [...]
READ MOREKerin O’Dea: some more stories you should know about
Following on from previous posts, Professor Kerin O’Dea, director of the Sansom Institute at the University of SA, has some more story tips: • We need much more sophisticated analysis of the state of Aboriginal health. At present it’s often reported as if the issues are the same for all Indigenous Australians. But some Aboriginal [...]
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