The AIPN wishes to express its strong support for the alliance of Indigenous leadership organisations which came together on Thursday 9th June 2016 to announce ‘The Redfern Statement’. This statement calls on all parties to tackle inequality and disadvantage facing Australia’s First People as a priority in the upcoming federal election.
In particular, the AIPN strongly endorses the urgent call for the next Federal Government to:
• Recommit to Closing the Gap in this generation, by and in partnership with COAG and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• Set targets and develop evidence-based, prevention and early intervention oriented national strategies which will drive activity and outcomes addressing:
– family violence (with a focus on women and children);
– incarceration and access to justice;
– child safety and wellbeing, and the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care; and
– increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access to disability services.
The plans for action outlined in the Redfern Statement are consistent with the AIPN Indigenous Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Position Statement, which draws attention to the unacceptable discrepancies between the health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia, in relation to injury:
• Injury is a leading cause of premature death amongst Indigenous Australians, particularly amongst those aged 1-34 years of age.
• Death due to injury accounts for around 15% of all Indigenous deaths.
• Injury is also major cause of disability to Indigenous people which is largely unmeasured and unnoticed.
• Indigenous injury has its greatest impact on the young and middle aged.
The Redfern Statement lays out a clear roadmap for Australia to meaningfully address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage.
For further information, and to read the media release visit Change the Record.
