Indigenous Men call upon governments to address Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Male Health Issues and Condemn the Australian government’s intervention in Northern Territory

Thursday, October 4, 2007

More than 200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men gathered in Adelaide at the Hyatt Regency on 1-2 October for the 4th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Male Health Convention and now call upon Australian governments to address male health issues as a matter of urgency.

Representatives of the group highlighted the discrepancy and barriers that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males face under current policies Australia wide. Recommendations from the two day gathering include:

All local, state/territory and commonwealth governments promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Male Health and Wellbeing as a priority and as a matter of urgency;
The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) draft a position paper on the relationship between oral health and male health issues;
Local, state/territory and commonwealth governments identify funding for the purpose of increasing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male health workforce; and
Spaces be identified within Health Clinics for male health services and meetings.

Convention delegates also condemned the Australian Government's intervention into Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and the labelling of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males as sexual predators. Sexual abuse has no place in historical nor modern day Aboriginal culture and societies.

Keynote speakers at the convention included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and National Race Discrimination Commissioner - Tom Calma; Assistant Secretary, Office of Aboriginal Health, Family & Social Policy, NT Department of Health and Community Services – Dr Shane Houston; Chairperson, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation – Henry Councillor; WuChopperen Aboriginal Health Service, Cairns – Dr Mark Wenitong; and Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation – Jimi Peters Jnr. The Master of Ceremonies was Professor Peter Buckskin.

Keynote speakers addressed: • National Strategies that Impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health • New Policies & Programs Impacting on Male Health • Indigenous Male Sexual Health • Priorities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health to Consider for Future Initiatives • Workforce Development Issues to Ensure a Gender Balance in ATSI Health Services

The 40th Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, which gave Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the right to vote for the first time, was addressed by keynote speakers in view of “... what has it meant, and what could it deliver for Aboriginal male health and wellbeing in the next 40 years?”

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