Less reporting, more action needed on indigenous health
Today the Council of Australian Governments released the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report, the second in a series of reports from COAG which will detail the effects government policy is having on Indigenous health. The first report, released in 2003, was highly critical of the state of Indigenous health, and the 2005 report is much the same. The Chairman of the Inter-Governmental Steering Committee Gary Banks has acknowledged that most of the statistics found in the report show little or no improvement, and that the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is still wide, and in some case, widening. And while the report is being touted as a clear step on the road towards improving Indigenous health, many view the report warily and believe it will be largely ignored by State and Federal governments. Charles Gregory reports.