Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Services

Julie Tongs Welcome to our final Winnunga Community Health Newsletter for 2024 Firstly, I wish to congratulate all those elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly at the recent election and while commiserating with those who were not successful nevertheless wish to thank them for their interest in and commitment to the Canberra community as evidenced by their nomination and campaigning for election. I also congratulate the Australian Labor Party for its success in the election and return to government. I look forward to working with it to advance the interests and address the severe, and on a national basis the worst, disadvantage endured by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Australia. An issue high on the Winnunga Nimmityjah list of priorities for this coming term of the ACT Government is the need for Winnunga Nimmityjah to begin planning for the expansion of our services throughout Canberra. While our current clinic is appropriately located in central Canberra the fact is that the Aboriginal community of Canberra is steadily growing, in fact according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics it is along with Queensland the fastest growing Aboriginal community in Australia, with a high and growing proportion of Aboriginal residents, many of whom do not own a car, living on the southern, western and northern fringes of Canberra. Consequently, I will be seeking governmental support for the early establishment of outreach GP clinics in Tuggeranong, Belconnen and Gungahlin. I extend my best wishes to Ngambri leader, Paul House and all the members of the First Nations Party, who by nominating for election to the ACT Legislative Assembly exhibited their commitment to their community and their determination to address the appalling outcomes experienced by a majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait residents of Canberra. It is a matter of continuing shame that in the ACT, across the full suite of indicators, whether it be health, housing, employment, education, incarceration, or children in out of home care that the ACT records, year after year, the worst outcomes in Australia. That neither Paul or any of the First Nations candidates were elected raises an interesting and very challenging question for the people of Canberra. Namely how is it that almost the entire 60 plus per cent of Canberrans who voted so proudly in the referendum for an Aboriginal voice to Parliament chose, when presented with an actual opportunity to vote an Aboriginal person into the ACT Legislative Assembly, i.e. a voice to parliament, they decided to not do so. NACCHO Australia Read all our stories here https://lnkd.in/dMtkyZ4w

Thank you Thomas for engaging with Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Services ( And listening 👂 to our concerns)

Julie Tongs CEO of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Service says she was stunned to read in the latest Closing the Gap Annual Data CompilationmReport from the Productivity Commission that Aboriginal people living in the ACT experience racial prejudice at a higher rate than is experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people anywhere else in Australia. The Productivity Commission reports that the latest available data shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience racial prejudice at a significantly higher rate than non-indigenous people with both the rate and the gap continuing to grow. The report reveals that across Australia the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 years and over who reported experiencing racial prejudice in a six-month period increased from 43% in 2018 to 60% in 2022. For the general community, the proportion reporting racial prejudice in the past six months rose from 20% to 25% over the same period. Stunningly, however, the Productivity Commission also reports that the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Canberra reporting they experienced racial prejudice in the same six-month period was 76%, the highest rate of any State or Territory in Australia. By way of comparison the rate reported in Tasmania was 30%. The Productivity Commission notes in its report that it is widely accepted that racism negatively affects the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, increasing risks of anxiety, depression, self-harm, asthma, higher Body Mass Index, smoking and death by suicide. Julie Tongs says the Productivity Commission’s exposure of the levels of racism,experienced by members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community of Canberra demands an immediate and forensic response from the ACT Government. Julie noted that she has been calling on the ACT Government for almost a decade to establish a Royal Commission style inquiry into all aspects of the lived experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents of Canberra. Julie Tongs insists that this latest revelation from the Productivity Commission that Canberra is the most racist city in Australia surely demands nothing less than a Royal Commission to ensure that this vile racist behaviour is addressed and eradicated.

Many Aboriginal communities have long held self-determination as the key to overcoming intergenerational disadvantages flowing from Australia's colonisation. It's not just First Peoples who use the phrase — the term self-determination is common throughout government policies and broader Australian society. And with the latest Closing the Gap data indicating only five of the 19 key targets are "on track", and four areas are widening, there has been a renewed push for more transformative action. In Victoria, conversations around the concept have sharpened in recent years as the state makes Australian history in its move towards truth and treaty processes. First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria co-chair Rueben Berg described self-determination as "not only the destination, but also how we will get there". But understanding the meaning of this phrase — and why many believe it is worth fighting for — can be tricky. We spoke to several First Nations people based in Victoria about what self-determination means to them. Self-determination means Aboriginal control over Aboriginal lives While different people might have a personal view on its meaning, in the context of Indigenous politics, self-determination is the principle that First Peoples should have control over their own lives. It is about First Peoples having the power to design and direct systems, to make decisions for themselves based on their own needs, wants, values and beliefs. The United Nations, in its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — which was formally endorsed by Australia in 2009 — describes self-determination as the right for Indigenous people to "freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development". The Australian Human Rights Commission explains self-determination as "the freedom to live well, to determine what it means to live well according to our own values and beliefs". To understand why this principle is so important, it's worth reflecting on Australia's history. There were distinct languages, cultures and lore — which had existed on the continent for more than 60,000 years. But colonisation displaced many of those existing structures, replacing them with systems that controlled and oppressed Indigenous people. Attempts to systematically erode Indigenous cultures involved "genocidal massacres", brutal punishments for practising culture, and the forced removal of children from their mob under the assimilation policy. The devastating impacts of these are still being felt today. Many believe self-determination is key to righting those wrongs of the past and remedying ongoing disadvantage. Read this full article here https://lnkd.in/gz8QQ2rY

@julie Tongs Welcome to the April edition of Our Winnnunge Community Heath containing my monthly editorial plus 10 contributions ( See contents index below ⬇️) An issue of growing importance, particularly to Winnunga Nimmityjah, is the funding formula applied by the ACT and Commonwealth Government to the provision of services to the Aboriginal community. Click on our Winnunga link to read our newsletter https://lnkd.in/g8YVHMyY

@Julie Tongs Happy #InternationalWomensDay 💜 This year's theme "Count her in. Invest in women. Accelerate progress." is a reminder to support women's advancement 🚀 Let's push for progress by backing women's health initiatives & amplifying their voices! #IWD2024 #internationalwomensday2024day

@Julie Tongs It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend and former Winnunga team member Thelma Weston For over 10 years Aunty Thelma worked full time into her 80’s here at the Winnunga using her skills to manage the needle exchange program. Aunty Thelma was a much loved, admired and well respected, not only in her workplace and amongst her clients, but in the wider ACT community and across Australia. Thelma Weston, a descendant of the Meriam people of the Torres Strait, is like no other. Her life is a story of survival, achievement, hope, love and celebration. Despite only having a limited education, Aunty Thelma trained as a nurse and became a fully qualified health worker. She had a long history of outstanding involvement and achievements in the community and has sat on a number of local and national committees and boards. Aunty Thelma was on the board of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association (NATSIHWA) and regularly traveled across Australia to attend board meetings. She is a wonderful example of a wise and caring Torres Strait Islander woman who has achieved much for her family and community. From her 2019 NAIDOC Elder of the year award Her life story isn't just one of achievement and celebration, it's also one of survival and loss. It hasn't been an easy ride for Aunty Thelma, she has not only lost her husband, but also three of her daughters to illness She is a breast cancer survivor and in 2017, Aunty Thelma was one of a few Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who came together nationally to share their stories and experiences as breast cancer survivors as part of a new video produced by Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA). Her son, Richard Weston interviewed her in 2019 https://lnkd.in/gH6HKqSV