Ikc101 Letter to the Editor
Why is there such a difference still?
Dear Editor
Throughout reading articles published in your newspaper in the past few years and also in the broader media in Australia, I have become quite irritated that Australian Indigenous communities are still being treated with disrespect and wrongness by our government. All human beings should be treated as equals and have equal rights to the basic necessities such as quality health care. However we still fail to give our Indigenous communities the respect that they deserve, after all the heart ache we the non-indigenous Australians have caused them in the past it is only fair that we treat them with the utmost respect.
Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner stated at a meeting in Brisbane, Australia that "it is an uncontested fact to say that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples do not have the same health outcomes as non-Indigenous Australians." (Gooda, 2010) There is significant evidence that shows that the Indigenous Australian communities are continuing to suffer of overall ill health, as they experience a lower level of access to primary health services. These services are made readily available for the general population of Australia, however not for the traditional owners of the land we live on. (AIHW, 2012) There is also evidence to demonstrate that Indigenous Australians that were born between the years of "1996-2001 are estimated to have life expectancy at birth of 59.4 years for males, and 64.8 years for females." This is roughly 20 years less than the average non-Indigenous Australian. (AIHW, Indigenous life expectancy, 2012) These services should be made readily available to everyone in this great country we call Australia, as these services are basic human rights. Are we, the Australian population not supposed to live in "a fair society where individuals and groups are free, equal and empowered" (Gooda, 2010). How is our society fair and equal when basic
Dear Editor
Throughout reading articles published in your newspaper in the past few years and also in the broader media in Australia, I have become quite irritated that Australian Indigenous communities are still being treated with disrespect and wrongness by our government. All human beings should be treated as equals and have equal rights to the basic necessities such as quality health care. However we still fail to give our Indigenous communities the respect that they deserve, after all the heart ache we the non-indigenous Australians have caused them in the past it is only fair that we treat them with the utmost respect.
Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner stated at a meeting in Brisbane, Australia that "it is an uncontested fact to say that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples do not have the same health outcomes as non-Indigenous Australians." (Gooda, 2010) There is significant evidence that shows that the Indigenous Australian communities are continuing to suffer of overall ill health, as they experience a lower level of access to primary health services. These services are made readily available for the general population of Australia, however not for the traditional owners of the land we live on. (AIHW, 2012) There is also evidence to demonstrate that Indigenous Australians that were born between the years of "1996-2001 are estimated to have life expectancy at birth of 59.4 years for males, and 64.8 years for females." This is roughly 20 years less than the average non-Indigenous Australian. (AIHW, Indigenous life expectancy, 2012) These services should be made readily available to everyone in this great country we call Australia, as these services are basic human rights. Are we, the Australian population not supposed to live in "a fair society where individuals and groups are free, equal and empowered" (Gooda, 2010). How is our society fair and equal when basic