The Wire

Federal Labor Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has announced a new $115 million plan towards tackling Indigenous health should his party win the upcoming Federal Election on May 18th.

This includes focusing on preventing youth suicide by hiring support teams of pediatricians, child psychologists, and Aboriginal Health Practitioners and reducing the number of Indigenous children that are diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease across 25 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Labor says the package is about ensuring that First Nations people, who face a life expectancy gap of ten years less than non-Indigenous Australians, have “the right to grow old”.