Issues and agendas to push

Dr Kelvin Kong said, when identified as Australia’s first Aboriginal surgeon: “The ideal day will be when it's not special - when there are thousands of Indigenous doctors.” (Sunday Telegraph, November 12, 2006.)

The affable Kevin Rudd continues to outshine opposition leader Brendan Nelson in the popularity stakes. In every poll presented since his National Apology address the PM has consistently recorded impressive figures greater than 70 per cent while his opposite lags well behind in unfamiliar single-figure territory.

His latest vision to bring together 1,000 of the best minds to the nation’s capital on April 19-20 to debate innovative ways of addressing Australia’s future challenges appears to have resonated well with the broader community.

Although the concept stumbled slightly when the he erred by nominating only one woman (actress Cate Blanchett) as session leader for one of the 10 summit topics, Rudd does appear largely to have made all the right calls on this and other issues of national significance in his first 100 days in office.

In the past week Dr Kelvin Kong stepped down from his role of session leader for the Indigenous session due to family health concern and was replaced by respected academic Dr Jackie Huggins. Dr Huggins inclusion has been warmly received by all Australians, especially Indigenous and female leaders respectively.

Now that the important and somewhat controversial session leaders have been identified, including Dr Huggins, belatedly for the Indigenous session, I anticipate more fervent monitoring of the next stage - the selection of the 100 delegates for each session - will be observed to ensure gender equity is evident.

At the home page for Australia 2020 Kevin Rudd he talks about the complex challenges that Australia is facing and the “need to get the best ideas we can from all Australians - business people, experts, community leaders - and just ordinary Australians”.

Dr Huggins, Chair of the Indigenous session, will have her hands full trying to maintain some semblance of order with 100 disparate Indigenous leaders and aspiring leaders who will bring to the table an myriad of issues and agendas to push.

I just hope that when she down to finalise the 100 Indigenous delegates to participate in this forum that she will not just select a predominance of the usual suspects.

I propose to Dr Huggins that she allocate 20 per cent of available positions to the “usual suspects” and allocate the balance to new players - those generally not invited to state or national conferences but work tirelessly within their community for their people - who can add to the national debate.

I also hope that she would secure an equitably representation of our youth, women and elders to be involved in the forum to address critical issues facing our people today.

To make it a bit easier for Dr Huggins I’ll provide my list of names of the 20 as a guide, most of whom I fully support while with others I have concerns about their politics: so she can do a cut and paste and then move on to the harder task of selecting 80 new names to come to the table with fresh ideas to complement established views.

My list of the 20 “usual suspects” comes from my observation from the past 12 months of media coverage identifying outstanding service and/or active participation at the national level on Indigenous issues and are as follows: Mick Dodson, Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue, Professor Marcia Langton, Pat Dodson, Marion Scymgour MP, Sam Watson Jn, John Toshie Kris, Mark Bin Baker, Professor Larrisa Berhrendt, Grace Smallwood, Noel Pearson, Cathy Freeman, Michael Mansell, Klynton Wanganeen, Tom Calma, Linda Burnie MP, Anthony Mundine, Pat Turner, Galarrwuy Yunupingu, and Dennis Eggington.

 Many people have asked me who Dr Kelvin Kong (PDF 340KB), the original session leader, is and what special skills the government thought he possessed for the onerous task he was given.

The 34-year-old told The Sunday Telegraph in November 2006, when he made history by becoming Australia’s first Aboriginal surgeon, that he hopes to inspire more Indigenous people to pursue careers in medicine and other academic arenas.

"I feel like a bit of an accidental hero because I don't like the limelight at all," he said. "The ideal day will be when it's not special - when there are thousands of Indigenous doctors."

Dr Kong credits his mother, Grace Kinsella, a registered nurse, for inspiring him and his 36-year-old twin sisters to become doctors.

I’ve not met Dr Kong but going on his initial media interview and what I’ve subsequently read of him I have a sense that he possesses fine attributes of benevolence and ambition. His palpable pride in his Indigenous heritage makes him an ideal role model for the younger generation and a popular choice as the 2020 Forum Indigenous session leader.

I wish him and his family all the very best as they tackle a family health issue together.

I also wish Dr Huggins and the 100 specially selected Indigenous delegates the very best for a robust and fruitful debate which hopefully will contribute to long term policy formulation that will enhance living standards of all Indigenous Australians.

The Australia 2020 Summit goals for the Indigenous session include:

• how we forge a new partnership with between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia to overcome disadvantage and provide practical pathways to the future;
• the role of targeted programs and interventions such as the Northern Territory Intervention and the Cape York Welfare Reform Trials in achieving change in remote communities;
• how we might promote economic development in remote Australia to provide Indigenous community members with the opportunity to be economically independent;
• improving access to mainstream programs by Indigenous Australians; and
• promoting and preserving Indigenous culture, languages and traditions.

Many cynics might argue that the 2020 Forum will be nothing more than a glorified yarning circle (talkfest) that will achieve no real outcomes other than providing the government with an opportunity to say they’ve consulted.

I don’t embrace that ideological notion but rather adopt the glass is half full credence with an open and positive mind. We need fresh ideas and any change in government policy that might emanate from this forum is a change in the right direction as far as I’m concern.

If I did have any trepidation about the specific goals of the Indigenous session it would be that it is narrow in scope with an over emphasis on issues pertaining to the Northern Territory, Cape York Peninsula and remote communities generally.

The majority of Indigenous Australians living in rural and urban areas were overlooked by the previous government - loss of CDEP (work for the dole) and CHIP (housing) to name a few programs - with the money being redirected into the above mentioned areas.

I hope that we will not be overlooked by the new Labor administration when they sit down to carve up the Indigenous financial pie during budgetary deliberations in the coming months.

While not wanting to detract from the urgency of the plight of our Indigenous brothers and sisters in those communities it is necessary for governments, and the media, to be reminded from time to time that Indigenous people do live in greater numbers south of the boomerang-shaped line that runs from Townsville across to Port Hedland and loops down to include Alice Springs.

In fact the 2001 ABS figures show that 8.8 per cent of our population lives in remote areas and 17.7 per cent live in very remote areas. Add in an additional 5 per cent for the communities not identified as remote or very remote, above the boomerang line, including the cities of Darwin, Cairns and Townsville and you still only have a total population base of no more than 31.5 per cent.

In reality we’re talking about less than a third of the Indigenous population receiving two thirds of the budget and as much as 95 per cent of the headlines from the national media.

We’re all very aware of the old saying that the squeaky wheel gets the most oil - and thanks to the media no one would argue that the squeak in the Indigenous wheel has certainly been heard the loudest above the boomerang line in recent years.

We, as a discrete race of people, are today a product of old experimental social programs that have failed us dismally and are clearly evident in the social indicators produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The social indicators speak for themselves: of a population of 458,500 we’re dying 18 years younger than our non-Indigenous counterparts (men at 59 and women at 65); cardiovascular diseases (heart diseases, strokes) are 2.2 and 3.0 per cent higher than non-Indigenous people for women and men respectively, mental health problems affect 30 per cent of our population; and hospitalisations recorded for injury due to assault were 7 and 13 times higher for Indigenous males and females respectively - just to name a few.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission has identified poverty as the main link to poor health. For example:

• poor education and literacy are linked to poor health status, and affect the capacity of people to use health information;
• poorer income reduces the accessibility of health care services and medicines;
• overcrowding and run-down housing is associated with poverty and contributes to the spread of communicable disease;
• poor infant diet is associated with poverty and chronic diseases later in life; and
• smoking and high-risk behaviour is associated with lower socio-economic status.

Research has also demonstrated that poorer people also have less financial and other forms of control over their lives.

I believe the number one goal for the 2020 Forum Indigenous delegates is to come up with concrete strategies to address the issue of Indigenous poverty.

As delegates warm to the challenge of the forum I implore them to be practical in their goal setting and to show compassion for their people in much the same way as Dr Kelvin Kong demonstrated on being identified as Australia’s first Aboriginal surgeon: “The ideal day will be when it's not special - when there are thousands of Indigenous doctors.”