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Executive summary

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This page was first created in February, 2015

 

The Campaign Steering Committee welcomes the absolute gains in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life expectancy from 2005-2007 to 2010-2012. Over that five-year period, life expectancy is estimated to have increased by 1.6 years for males and by 0.6 of a year for females. But a life expectancy gap of around ten years remains for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when compared with non-Indigenous people.

Both the modesty of the gains, and the magnitude of the remaining life expectancy gap remind us why the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) Closing the Gap Strategy and the target to close the life expectancy gap was needed. It remains necessary today. But we must also keep in mind that closing the life expectancy gap requires time. The Closing the Gap Strategy was operationalised in July 2009 and the latest data we have is from 2012-2013. This is too short a time to adequately assess the progress of this Strategy in achieving outcomes.

Instead, the Campaign Steering Committee look to reductions in smoking rates, improvements to maternal and child health outcomes and demonstrated inroads into the impact of chronic diseases as evidence that the Closing the Gap Strategy is working.

The findings of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey (NATSIHMS), the largest biomedical survey ever conducted among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, are critical. The survey identified high levels of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with undetected treatable and preventable chronic conditions that impact significantly on life expectancy. Armed with this data, the Campaign Steering Committee believes the nation now has an enhanced ability to make relatively large health and life expectancy gains in relatively short periods of time.

To do this, there needs to be a much greater focus on access to appropriate primary health care services to detect, treat and manage these conditions. And the evidence is that Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) provide the best returns on investment in terms of providing both access to health services and the quality of those services.

As such, this report affirms the need to keep on track with the Closing the Gap Strategy and, with patience, many indicators suggest improvements to life expectancy will be seen in time. Any reduction in effort or momentum will squander the investment we have made as a nation up until now.

The comparison between the life expectancy of Maori peoples and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is illustrative. In 2010-12 an increase of approximately four years has been reported for the Maori life expectancy over the previous decade. But this occurred after two decades of effort in New Zealand. This demonstrates that substantial change is possible but it takes sustained and continuous effort.

The Campaign Steering Committee emphasises the need to ensure that potential changes in Commonwealth-State relations do not have the unintended effect of undermining the Closing the Gap Strategy. While recognising that all jurisdictions have a responsibility to contribute, the Campaign Steering Committee firmly supports the Australian Government’s continuing leadership role in an overall national approach.

The Campaign Steering Committee recognises the value in the new Indigenous Affairs priorities of the Australian Government: education, employment and community safety. But there are concerns. In particular, a clearer connection between the Indigenous Advancement Strategy and the Closing the Gap Strategy will enhance both policies. Employment, education and community safety are drivers of improved health and wellbeing. However, good health is equally important to employment, education and community safety. Further, the health sector is the biggest employer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and increased investment in health services will result in increased employment.

The Campaign Steering Committee is also concerned that hard won Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health gains could be negatively impacted by proposed measures contained in the 2014-15 Budget. Potential cuts to the Tackling Indigenous Smoking programme are of particular concern and could hinder the significant progress made in reducing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking rates in recent years. Investment in early prevention activities saves on the provision of complex care into the future. These programmes also address and have started to make inroads into primary prevention, particularly in healthy eating, nutrition and physical activity.

The development of the Implementation Plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan (Health Plan) will be pivotal in our shared efforts to close the gap. It provides an opportunity to increase the quality and efficiency of services, address service gaps by building on the existing capacity of ACCHS, and to expand the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce.

The Campaign Steering Committee remains steadfast in its belief that the road to closing the health gap is embodied in the Close the Gap Statement of Intent signed by the Australian Government and most state and territory governments. The Close the Gap Statement of Intent commits parties to genuine partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ensuring appropriate evidence based health services, strengthening the ACCHS sector, effective planning and the use of targets, and addressing the social determinants of health.

The Close the Gap Campaign Steering Committee recommends:
  1. That the findings of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey (NATSIHMS) are used to better target chronic conditions that are undetected in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. In particular, access to appropriate primary health care services to detect, treat and manage these conditions should be increased. Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services should be the preferred services for this enhanced, targeted response.
  2. That the Australian Government should continue to lead the COAG Closing the Gap Strategy.
  3. That the Australian Government revisit its decision to discontinue the National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee.
  4. That connections between the Indigenous Advancement Strategy and the Closing the Gap Strategy are clearly articulated and developed in recognition of their capacity to mutually support the other’s priorities, including closing the health and life expectancy gap.
  5. That the Tackling Indigenous Smoking programme is retained and funding is increased above current levels to enable consolidation, improvement and expansion of activities until the gap in the rates of smoking between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people closes.
  6. That proxy indicators are developed to provide insights into the use and availability of health services on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and life expectancy outcomes.
  7. The National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing provides the basis for a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and social and emotional wellbeing plan. This is developed and implemented with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy 2013 and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Drug Strategy implementation processes in order to avoid duplication, be more efficient, and maximise opportunities in this critical field.
  8. That Closing the Gap Targets to reduce imprisonment and violence rates are developed, and activity towards reaching the Targets is funded through justice reinvestment measures.
  9. That the Implementation Plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan include the following essential elements:
    • Set targets to measure progress and outcomes;
    • Develop a model of comprehensive core services across a person’s whole of life;
    • Develop workforce, infrastructure, information management and funding strategies based on the core services model;
    • A mapping of regions with relatively poor health outcomes and inadequate services. This will enable the identification of services gaps and the development of capacity building plans;
    • Identify and eradicate systemic racism within the health system and improve access to and outcomes across primary, secondary and tertiary health care;
    • Ensure that culture is reflected in practical ways throughout Implementation Plan actions as it is central to the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;
    • Include a comprehensive address of the social and cultural determinants of health; and
    • Establish partnership arrangements between the Australian Government and state and territory governments and between ACCHS and mainstream services providers at the regional level for the delivery of appropriate health services.