Over at vexnews.com is an interesting, but slightly salacious article showing that in the Northern Territory politicians and journalists are almost joined at the hip.
I have links in my Indigenous News Updates to the news Alison Anderson had resigned from the Labour Party and vexnews.com throws some light on what may have occurred behind the scenes.
You wonder how anything in Indigenous Affairs will ever improve.
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The anaemia rate of aboriginal children in the region had nearly trebled in two years according to figures produced by Sunrise Health Service in an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald. The last eighteen months of data collection were during the “intervention“.
If this is the case it reflects very poorly on the Intervention (now called the Northern Territory Emergency Response) as it was originally all about saving the kids.
But this may not be the case across all of remote Northern Territory. The ABC has Dr John Boffa from Congress (and an advisor to AMSANT) quoting data from the ‘Growth Assessment and Action Database’ which collects data on Aboriginal children from across the Territory. The data showed that across the Territory until April 2008 the anaemia rates for children had not changed and were remaining steady at 25%. Note this data is six months older than the data produced by Sunrise.
This figure of 25% is disturbing in itself. Even worse is the first year of the intervention was spent collecting all this data again, despite it already existing. They could have actually been helping kids and families. Two years in to the intervention and they are only now realising that they have a snowball’s chance in hell of providing some of the extra services required.
John Boffa says “local data needs to be analysed carefully”. There may well be valid reasons why a large area is suffering. It may be the shops not providing good food or the Basics Card (quarantined money used only for food. Money is obtained using a swipe card in selected stores) not working.
This trebling in anaemia needs to be investigated and extra resources provided long term in most areas to educate and constantly represent and work with families to correct it, and also to set up systems to prevent it. However that requires will. I am unsure that exists at a government level despite the nice words.
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- No education gap, just bad schools in remote areas of the Northern Territory. gaps in literacy is not race but location http://bit.ly/RX199
- Indigenous literacy gone from fix the problem in 4yrs to half fix the problem in ten years . Is a remote area problem http://bit.ly/xLQor
- Territory’s Education Department has inadvertently created an underclass. http://bit.ly/23xfO
- Centre for Independent Studies labels the Northern Territory’s education system a ‘failure’ Are their ideas better? http://bit.ly/4EzzTP
- Making remote schools work just takes commitment. – everything in remote does. The government has to lead http://bit.ly/45gdS
- Gap between indigenous & other children in basic education requirements increases the longer they are at primary school http://bit.ly/1abOXa
- Childcare centres to fly the Aboriginal flag & teach youngsters about reconciliation and racism -govt plan http://bit.ly/AyCg6
The Indigenous News Updates are sourced from news and other articles from around the country that I have posted on Twitter.
An updated page with news links related to the death of Mr Ward who died being transported 400km in a prison transfer vehicle with no failed air-conditioning during summer can be found here
If you like this post and what else you see on the blog please subscribe by RSS feed (the orange button) or by email. Visit my subscription page.
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- Discriminatory components of NT Intervention must be fixed now that Australia has supported UN Indigenous Rights http://bit.ly/gtGIX
- Last year Britain’s racial equality chief summed up Britain’s television as “hideously white” Is Australia the same? http://bit.ly/MISr
- Is the high homicide rate in Northern Territory not given full attention because many victims are Aboriginal people,? http://bit.ly/XQ7p
- Australian Constitution allows laws to be passed based on race http://bit.ly/XDWk
- Aboriginal people in custody who have to be moved long distances should be transported by air http://bit.ly/QpOsF
- RACISM in Adelaide’s schools and universities is stopping Aboriginal people getting a good education http://bit.ly/17xOP
The Indigenous News Updates are sourced from news and other articles from around the country that I have posted on Twitter.
If you like this post and what else you see on the blog please subscribe by RSS feed (the orange button) or by email. Visit my subscription page.
Tagged as:
aboriginal. indigenous,
Australia,
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custody,
discrimination,
homicide,
Indigenous Rights,
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racism,
UN,
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