Party pledges to First Nations health

With the Queensland election scheduled for Saturday October 26, Sector Leader contacted all top five political parties in Queensland — the ALP, LNP, Greens, One Nation and Katter’s Australia — seeking their election commitments to First Nation’s health in Queensland.

Note: Katter’s Australia party was contacted by Sector Leader, but did not supply a submission on its priorities.

---

The LNP recognises the important work of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organisation (ACCHO) sector and values the integral role these organisations play across Queensland’s health system. If elected in October, the LNP will continue to work in partnership with the ACCHO sector to deliver improved health outcomes for First Nations Queenslanders.

It’s no secret that Queensland’s public hospital system is in a state of disrepair, and it’s now widely acknowledged that Queensland’s health system is in crisis. It’s not the fault of the amazing people on the frontline trying desperately to keep to Queensland’s health system on the rails.

It is simply the result of a health system that has not been appropriately planned for, resourced, or run for nearly a decade.

As a result, under the current government, access to health services in regional, rural and remote Queensland have declined in recent years — with many Indigenous Queenslanders unable to access basic healthcare in their own communities.

From Opposition we have put a spotlight on State Government health failures in Indigenous communities under the current government, including in the Torres Strait, which are now being officially reviewed.

Every Queenslander, regardless of where they live, should have access to world-class healthcare services and we are very concerned about the failures we have seen in our Indigenous communities and across regional Queensland.

We acknowledge that many First Nation Queenslanders will seek out and choose to receive their healthcare with ACCHO organisations, where they are available. The LNP wants to leverage the rich expertise that exists within the ACCHO sector, and support the sector to help deliver the care that’s needed, particularly across regional, rural and remote Queensland.

The old adage that prevention is better than a cure remains true. Together, much can be achieved working across the areas of prevention and disease surveillance — the LNP sees this as a key opportunity to work together.

The benefits are twofold. It means improved health outcomes for First Nation Queenslanders by decreasing the incidence and severity of the conditions they may face. It also means that Queensland’s hospitals are freed up to treat those who are most ill, and most in need of care.

Respectfully and carefully, we’ll work to better integrate and connect the work done caring for Queenslanders across the public health system and ACCHO providers.

With that, the benefits are not just for the individual’s and community’s health and wellbeing. It stretches into improved educational outcomes, community cohesion, and social outcomes.

To close the gap on Indigenous health outcomes, we must ensure Indigenous Queenslanders have access to basic amenities.

In many discreet Indigenous communities, the things the majority of Queenslanders take for granted are simply not there. Clean and safe drinking water, secure housing, modern wastewater treatment, reliable access to communication technology and electricity — in some communities these things still don’t exist.

Easier access to healthcare is a priority for the LNP. Similarly, delivering the essential foundations for healthcare, including housing and clean drinking water are priorities. These critical foundations must be in place for these communities to prosper, and for the wellbeing of their population to thrive.

---

Decisions made by successive governments have resulted in massive health inequality in Queensland. Decades of underfunding of First Nations health, housing and community support services — as well as ongoing paternalistic attitudes of all levels of government — has led to poorer health outcomes for First Nations communities.

The Queensland Greens are committed to delivering better access to health services for First Nations people, and believe that a significant increase in funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organisations (ACCHOs) is essential to this.

We know that when First Nations people control the design and delivery of services that affect them, First Nations people are both more likely to access them and get better treatment outcomes. We also know that in a wealthy state like Queensland, the only barrier to ACCHOs getting the funding they need is the political will.

Nationwide, there is a shortfall in funding for ACCHOs of around $4.4 billion, which includes shortfalls in Commonwealth, State and Territory Government and non-government funding. As NACCHO writes “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience disease burden at 2.3 times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians, which translates into 2.03 times the cost-of-service delivery for non-Indigenous Australians”. ¹

Our MPs have seen firsthand how important the work of ACCHOs is in our local communities, and how their current underfunding is impacting their ability to meet the level of need. It’s also worth noting that the holistic support we have seen delivered by local ACCHOs often far exceeds the quality of support mainstream health services offer, and that the quality of mainstream health services could also be vastly improved if the government modelled them off ACCHOs.

One Nation acknowledges statistically significant gaps in health services and outcomes for Indigenous Queenslanders, primarily those who live in regional and remote communities. We don’t consider those gaps will ever be closed by treating Queenslanders differently based on their race or cultural background. We consider the gaps will be more effectively addressed by treating all Queenslanders the same regardless of race. Our commitments to the health of Indigenous Queenslanders are precisely the same commitments we extend to the health of all Queenslanders.

That being said, One Nation also acknowledges that accessibility to health services and preventative health for Indigenous people can be improved by integrating approaches that are more compatible with cultural backgrounds. Where there is clear evidence of improved health service delivery and outcomes for Indigenous Queenslanders with such approaches (and it does not involve significant additional spending of taxpayers’ money), One Nation would support them. Where there is no such evidence, we would advocate abandoning the approach and allocating resources to effective models. Indeed, Senator Hanson is keen to scrutinise Indigenous-specific health funding and the organisations which receive it to deliver services to ensure taxpayers’ money is not being wasted on ineffective health approaches and models.

One Nation’s principle in this regard is equal rights for all, and special rights for none.

Improving health services in regional, rural and remote Queensland

Dedicated health services for key demographics

One Nation will act to provide specialist care for senior Queenslanders through the establishment of dedicated seniors’ hospitals (similar to dedicated children’s hospitals) specialising in seniors’ healthcare.

We are also committed to improving maternal health care, primarily through the expansion of obstetrics services in regional areas so mothers can deliver new babies safely and much closer to home.

Statewide policies

One Nation’s Queensland health policy also includes specific commitments to reduce ambulance ramping, and to attract and retain more doctors and health practitioners in the state (with a particular emphasis on regional communities).

See: https://qld.onenation.org.au/health-policy

---

The Miles Government recognises the strength and resilience of First Nations peoples and is committed to creating a system of health care that is free of racism and where all people can enjoy long and healthy lives.