PM delivers report on closing the gap

class=”intro” style=”MARGIN: auto 0cm”>Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised free health checks for Indigenous people in urban areas to detect disease early, and will appoint a director-general to cut through red tape in remote areas to help close the 17-year gap in life expectancy. In his first progress report on closing the gap since last […]

Gov rolls out school attendance program

The Rudd government is hoping to boost school enrollment and attendance in some Indigenous communities by introducing a controversial new program linking school attendance to welfare quarantining. A trial of the program is being rolled out in the Northern Territory and will require parents on welfare from six remote Aboriginal communities to tell Centrelink where […]

New health services announced

Australian families will have access to a whole range of new health services – including a $150 voucher for teen dental care, a free health check for kids about to start school and a guide to kids’ health and development for parents under a new initiative announced by the Federal Government. New health services include: […]

Brough calls for independant review

Former federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough has joined the chorus for an independent review of how the Northern Territory Government spends federal grants. Accusations the NT Government annually misspends hundreds of millions of dollars meant for remote and regional Aboriginal communities, on Darwin centric projects, has been denied by Territory Treasurer Delia Lawrie. Brough […]

Mobile schools may help solve education crisis

Mobile pre-schools may help solve the Indigenous education crisis in the Northern Territory, says Darwin researcher, Dr Nick McTurk of Charles Darwin University. Workable solutions are needed to address appalling rates of literacy and numeracy among Aboriginal children, but they must rely on strategies that mesh with the social and cultural needs of Indigenous people, […]

New bill waters down Howard lease scheme

A bill was passed in federal parliament yesterday that will water down the Howard Governments controversial 99-year lease scheme for Aboriginal communities. The lease scheme was introduced by the coalition in the hope it would stimulate economic development in Northern Territory townships. The Tiwi Island township of Ngui however was the only community to sign […]

Protests mark intervention anniversary

The first anniversary of the Northern Territory intervention has been marked by protest in nine Australian cities. Among the protests was a call for the Federal Government to invest $1 billion to help fix problems in Aboriginal communities, and for a new national Aboriginal advisory body to be established. In Canberra, representatives from the Aboriginal […]

AMA opts out of NT intervention

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has opted out of the Northern Territory intervention and blasted the federal government for relying on altruism to prop up the initiative. The news comes as Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT accused the AMA of profiting by about $150,000 under its current contract with the federal government, which expires on […]

Intervention review board unveiled

Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin has this afternoon unveiled the board that will review the controversial Northern Territory emergency intervention. Chair of the review board will be Peter Yu, a prominent West Australian Indigenous leader. Mr Yu was the long-time director of the Kimberley Land Council and has been a prominent rights campaigner for […]

Budget delivers $332.8 million toward Indigenous health

The Australian Government is investing $334.8 million towards closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation. Measures include $101.5 million extra funding for maternal and child health services. By addressing health issues early in life, these interventions can deliver significant progress in closing the gap. These initiatives include: an additional […]

SNAICC Chairperson blasts budget

SNAICC Chairperson, Muriel Bamblett, AM, said today that, “after raising expectations that they would do whatever it takes to the close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children the government has not made the necessary commitments to early learning and childcare. We need to close the gap between the pre election promises and the progress.” […]

New welfare card comes under fire

A welfare debit card is expected to be unveiled in Treasurer Wayne Swan’s first budget tonight and will contain only a portion of a family’s welfare payment. The card will restrict purchases to necessities such as food and clothing in a $17 million scheme aimed at cracking down on negligent parents. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd […]

Amend intervention legislation, says Calma

Indigenous leader Tom Calma has revealed a 10- point plan for the Government to improve the intervention in the Northern Territory after claiming the legislation must be substantially amended. In his fourth annual Social Justice Report, the Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice says that while he supports the intentions of the […]

Permit changes to be reversed in NT

After the permit system was scrapped as part of the coalition government’s controversial intervention into NT Aboriginal communities last year – draft laws reversing the changes will be introduced into Parliament this week. Under legislation introduced by the coalition last year, anyone would have been able to access common areas of Indigenous communities without a […]

WA welfare trial announced

The Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Ms Jenny Macklin has today announced that the West Australian government will join with the federal government in imposing welfare payment management in selected Indigenous communities in and effort to combat parenting and behavioral issues. As part of the trial, funding will be provided to establish parent responsibility teams to […]

Nelson criticises baby bonus

Opposition leader Brendan Nelson has called for the baby bonus introduced by the previous Howard Government in 2004 to be withheld in Indigenous communities. Introduced as a means to boost birth rates, the bonus is set to increase to $5000 on July 1. Speaking at the National Press Club, Dr Nelson has stated his belief […]