Qld: Indigenous health gap exposed

AAP General News (Australia)
12-04-2008
Qld: Indigenous health gap exposed

By Gabrielle Dunlevy

BRISBANE, Dec 4 AAP - Queensland's indigenous children are twice as likely as other
kids to die before the age of five.

The inaugural Queensland Closing the Gap report for 2007-08, released on Thursday,
revealed there was a 17.7 year gap in life expectancy between indigenous and non-indigenous
men, and 19.4 years for women.

Indigenous children are 2.1 times more likely to die before reaching the age of five
than non-indigenous children.

Among those dying before the age of five, 80 per cent were aged under one.

Indigenous Queenslanders are much more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, including
diabetes, for which they are four times more likely to be admitted to hospital.

The report also measured disadvantage in employment, housing, child protection and justice.

In the area of education, over one-third of indigenous Year 12 students do not gain
an OP (overall position) score or vocational qualification.

The unemployment rate is 23.5 per cent for indigenous people, compared to 4.5 per cent
for other Queenslanders.

Aboriginal Partnerships Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr said this could not continue.

"This report ... demonstrates our preparedness to tackle hard issues like alcohol misuse
and welfare dependency and to be transparent in progress," she said.

Both the state and federal governments were making significant investments in indigenous
reforms, she said.

Meanwhile, the third quarterly report on key indicators in indigenous communities for
the period July to September 2008 delivered mixed results.

Notably, Woorabinda had the greatest drop in hospital admissions for assault, with
only one hospital admission in the September quarter compared with 11 in the June quarter.

The community went dry on July 1.

AAP gd/pjo/jfm/de

KEYWORD: INDIGENOUS HEALTH

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