The Wire

The Pitjinjara lands in central Australia have seen a dramatic drop in instances of petrol sniffing, following a Federal Government initiative to roll out the non-sniffable Opal petrol. While this initiative has been welcomed, Health Minister Tony Abbott’s announcement today that he wanted teams of doctors to be in place in the North Territory to within the next week – as part of the strategy to counter child abuse – has raised some concerns. Kate Carnell, the CEO of the Australian General Practice Network, says it is essential any doctors without experience of remote communities gain cultural awareness training, before they are sent in to deal with the problem of child abuse.