In 2008 The Federal Government of Australia made a commitment to closing the disparities gap between the Australian government and Indigenous people. This movement was outlined in Prime Minister Rudd’s 2008 Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples speech. In Prime Minister Rudd’s speech, he outlined several initiatives known as the Close the Gap Approach, that he believed would reset the relationship between Australian governments and Indigenous peoples as well as lower the disparities between them (Rudd, 2008). The approach has reduced Indigenous Australians to a range of numbers, to be monitored and amended by government set targets without the inclusion of Indigenous input (Pholi, Black & Richards, 2010). In the past 10 years, several
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The Closing the Gap approach outlined seven key disparities that the Rudd Government aimed to fix within a 10-year period. However, six of the seven measures outlined are not on track of success due to a magnificent cut in funding (Higgins 2018). Soon after the commitment was made to the Closing the Gap approach over $530 million was cut from the Indigenous Affairs federal budget. Employees from the National Congress of Australians First Peoples expressed their frustration to the government and the lack of support that the Indigenous people have been receiving. In addition, no one who was responsible for the cuts in funding was taking the time to hear the voices of the Indigenous people that were being directly affected (Higgins, 2018). One leader in an Aboriginal community suggested that the administration in charge of policy reform needs to shift from the Department of Prime Minister and the Cabinet to a national Aboriginal body in order to maximize change but the suggestion was ignored (Holland, 2018). Instead of involving the voices of the affected, a system for applying for grants was introduced. The process of the application was very competitive which lead many Indigenous people unmotivated and lowered the participation of the Indigenous community with the government even …show more content…
This shows terrible progress to Prime Ministers 10-year goal of lowering life expectancy plan. From 2005-2007 the life expectancy for Indigenous females was an estimated 72.9 years while the life expectancy for non-Indigenous females was an estimated 82.6 years. This is nearly a 10-year difference (Hoy 2009). For Indigenous men, the average life expectancy for men is an estimated 67.2 years which is 11.5 years lower than non-Indigenous Males (Anikeeva, Katterl & Bywood 2012). Preventative health care services can help extend life expectancy by addressing life threatening issues before they arise. However, Indigenous Australians have lower rates of preventative health care services but longer primary care visits due to dealing with more health related issues than non-Indigenous Australians encounter (Anikeeva, Katterl & Bywood, 2012). A great difference is noted in location in regards to mortality rates in that those who live in remote areas experienced higher levels of diseases and death. This is due to the lack of health care accessible and the lack of quality healthcare that is able to treat diseases (Anikeeva, Katterl & Bywood 2012). Indigenous Australians have nearly no participation when it comes to addressing life expectancy issues. A member of
The Closing the Gap approach outlined seven key disparities that the Rudd Government aimed to fix within a 10-year period. However, six of the seven measures outlined are not on track of success due to a magnificent cut in funding (Higgins 2018). Soon after the commitment was made to the Closing the Gap approach over $530 million was cut from the Indigenous Affairs federal budget. Employees from the National Congress of Australians First Peoples expressed their frustration to the government and the lack of support that the Indigenous people have been receiving. In addition, no one who was responsible for the cuts in funding was taking the time to hear the voices of the Indigenous people that were being directly affected (Higgins, 2018). One leader in an Aboriginal community suggested that the administration in charge of policy reform needs to shift from the Department of Prime Minister and the Cabinet to a national Aboriginal body in order to maximize change but the suggestion was ignored (Holland, 2018). Instead of involving the voices of the affected, a system for applying for grants was introduced. The process of the application was very competitive which lead many Indigenous people unmotivated and lowered the participation of the Indigenous community with the government even …show more content…
This shows terrible progress to Prime Ministers 10-year goal of lowering life expectancy plan. From 2005-2007 the life expectancy for Indigenous females was an estimated 72.9 years while the life expectancy for non-Indigenous females was an estimated 82.6 years. This is nearly a 10-year difference (Hoy 2009). For Indigenous men, the average life expectancy for men is an estimated 67.2 years which is 11.5 years lower than non-Indigenous Males (Anikeeva, Katterl & Bywood 2012). Preventative health care services can help extend life expectancy by addressing life threatening issues before they arise. However, Indigenous Australians have lower rates of preventative health care services but longer primary care visits due to dealing with more health related issues than non-Indigenous Australians encounter (Anikeeva, Katterl & Bywood, 2012). A great difference is noted in location in regards to mortality rates in that those who live in remote areas experienced higher levels of diseases and death. This is due to the lack of health care accessible and the lack of quality healthcare that is able to treat diseases (Anikeeva, Katterl & Bywood 2012). Indigenous Australians have nearly no participation when it comes to addressing life expectancy issues. A member of