Penelope Monger 

There is a stark and disturbing difference between the life expectancy of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have a life expectancy some 17 years less than other Australians. It is this difference that instigated the Close the Gap campaign.

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Launched 18 months ago, Close the Gap aims to work with the State, Territory and Federal Governments to reduce the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation.

One of the founding organisations of the campaign is the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO). In March of this year, the national chair of NACCHO, Dr Mick Adams, welcomed the statement of intent signed by the Australian Government, as it committed to long-term action to bridging the gap between health standards of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

However, at its Annual General Meeting last week, members of NACCHO expressed some disappointment in the action taken by the Rudd Government in this area to date. Dr Mick Adams says, “We are still struggling with limited resources to address a burden of disease in our community that is three times higher than in the general community”.

“After almost a year in office we are yet to see practical measures from this government to help our services meet the level of need we already have in our community.”

This disappointment has been further fuelled by a discussion paper released last week by the Australian National University (ANU), in which researchers estimate it may take a century to close the gap on a range of socioeconomic indicators, including life expectancy.

By the authors’ own admissions, the paper “focuses only on national trends” to “make some crude estimates” of when the gaps might be closed. But their findings are nonetheless bleak and suggest there is no quick-fix solution; indeed that ‘reducing disparities’ is a more achievable goal than ‘closing the gap’.

NACCHO and other organisations involved in Close the Gap are disappointed with the findings and remain hopeful that closing the gap on life expectancy is still achievable within a generation.

The paper from ANU suggests that fundamental changes to policy and process will be needed to positively affect any outcomes. Similarly, Mick Adams says the Rudd Government needs to act now on its statement of intent.

“We could do so much more to raise the health of our people with a level of resources to match the level of need,” says Mick.

One area where the Government shows signs of acting is in regards to the Northern Territory Intervention. Last month it released a report into the Intervention and said the relationship between government and Aboriginal people affected by the intervention needed to be ‘recalibrated’.

This acknowledgement of the need for change has been welcomed with caution by Indigenous leaders around Australia, including the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) executive secretary, Graeme Mundine.

“While all these things are signals that things can improve, my fear is that too much has stayed the same,” says Graeme. “The fundamental relationship and attitude to Indigenous people has not changed.” 

Mr Mundine also says that the release of the report in the midst of uncertain economic times is a reminder of the need to provide relief for the poor. 

“It is important that we do not lose momentum for continued social, economic and cultural development.  We know that when times are tough, it’s the poor who suffer most. 

“While it’s great to give surety to the financial system, we also need to address underlying structural weaknesses in our economic system and pay more attention to ending poverty, in particular for Indigenous people.”

The ‘poverty’ Graeme speaks of includes not only financial, but the lack of appropriate health care and health outcomes for Indigenous Australians; it is time to Close the Gap.

Unpack the issues...

Read more

• Prospects for 'Closing the Gaps' (ANU Discussion Paper)
• White 'gatekeepers' part of indigenous problem
• Aboriginal leader tells of 'yawning chasm'

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