The commitment today between the Government of Australia and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia to work towards achieving equality in health status and life expectancy was a monumental development welcomed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous health representatives and Australian civil society, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma said today.

“The signing of this Statement of Intent to develop long term plans of action to overturn existing inequities in health services is a major step towards reducing the 17-year life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians,” Mr Calma said.

“We welcome this Statement of Intent and the government’s willingness to work with experts and the close the gap coalition.

“There is still much work to be done and this Statement of Intent gives each key player an agreed framework to work within to ensure life expectancy and access to health services between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians are equal by 2030.

“The importance of consultation with experts in the field and partnership between government and non-government is central to this statement and cannot be over-emphasised,” he said.

Mr Calma also welcomed the announcement by the Australian Government today of $19 million over three years for a National Indigenous Health Workforce Training Plan and $14.5 million over four years to tackle high smoking rates in Indigenous communities. This was in addition to the $261 million in Indigenous health initiatives already promised.

Dr Mick Adams, National Chair of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) also welcomed the Statement of Intent.

“We welcome the commitment to ensuring that by 2018 there are primary health care services and health infrastructure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples which are capable of bridging the gap in health standards,” Dr Adams said.

The Statement of Intent signing was the culmination of the first ever two-day Indigenous Health Equality Summit held in Canberra from March 18-20 and attended by more than 100 experts across the Indigenous and mainstream health sector and related fields.

The Summit has developed working targets and benchmarks to be used to close the gap in Indigenous life expectancy by 2030.

Media contact:
Louise McDermott (HREOC) 0419 258 597
Gary Highland (ANTaR) 0418 476 940
Chris Hallett (NACCHO) 0407 704 788

Close the Gap is a coalition of some of Australia's leading health, human rights and Aboriginal organisations committed to working with Federal, State and Territory Governments to narrow the life expectancy gap between the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander population and other Australians within a generation.