Indigenous Male Health Convention - Ross River via Alice Springs October 1999

Eighth Assembly First Session 12/10/99 Parliamentary Record No:19

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Topic : ADJOURNMENT

Subject :

Date : 20/10/99

Member : Mr. ELFERINK (MacDonnell)

Status :

Information :
Mr. ELFERINK (MacDonnell): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I rise tonight to speak of the first Indigenous Male Health Convention held on the 4th and 5th October this year. And I believe it is worth mentioning because of some of the very important resolutions that arose out of that conference. The Office of the Aboriginal Development, as well as the Northern Territory Health Department, assisted in running that conference and I congratulate both officers from OAD and Territory Health in their most excellent efforts.

The first Indigenous Male Health Convention at Ross River Homestead was attended by 150 indigenous males from throughout Australia. There were only two representatives missing from the following places: The ACT and Tasmania. For the first time, many indigenous males shared a great feeling of coming together to talk about health issues at a national level to ensure that their issues are going to be heard by others. They were also wanting to take stands in improving their own health situation. In fact, I can report to this House, there was a great exchange of cultural information amongst the men that attended those conferences and there was also an exchange of information that took place in ideas and methods of traditional preparation for the two main symbolic animals for indigenous people of Australia, the kangaroo and the emu.

I won't dwell a great deal on the actual conference itself, however, I do wish to read through the recommendations that flowed through from that conference, and these were the recommendations:

1. The newly established indigenous male and reference committee be appointed as a sub committee to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council as advisers to the Council and to the Commonwealth Health Minister on health and social issues regarding indigenous male health matters.

2. That the office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander of Health, the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care allocate appropriate funding to enable the newly established indigenous male reference committee to operate sufficiently in order to promote and attend to the issues affecting indigenous men's health.

3. That male health programs be established in the Territory Health Services, Offices of Aboriginal Health and Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health under the service, such as the community development and social health branch, to assist in providing an avenue to attend to indigenous male health matters.

4. That the state and Territory health services fully fund the concept
of staging annual indigenous male health conferences in their state or territories, and

5. They sought support from the third National Men's Health Conference, which was held in Alice Springs a few days later, and in addition to that, they called upon Michael Martin, the Deputy Secretary of Territory Health Services, to advocate on behalf of the indigenous men of Australia to have these outcomes and recommendations be endorsed and implemented by the federal Minister for Health.

The reason I think this is important was because of what happened a few days later at the National Men's Health Conference which was held in Alice Springs on the 6-8 October 1999, and I think it is worth reading into Hansard the presentation that was made from the Indigenous Men's Health Conference to the Men's Health Conference in Alice Springs 2 days later, and I read out a statement read by Mick Adams after a march from town to the launch of the National Men's Health Conference, and I quote it thus:

Statement of principle from the first National Indigenous Male Health Convention 4-5 October 1999.

Presented at the third National Men's Health Conference Alice Springs, 6-8 October 1999.

The first National Indigenous Male Health Convention was held at Ross River. It was attended by over 150 indigenous males from the Northern Territory and other parts of Australia.

This convention represents a new era for indigenous men. It has provided an opportunity for men to talk freely about men's issues and to evaluate the effects of the past, the disadvantage of men's health in the present, and the measures necessary to promote and ensure a healthier future. Dominant amongst men's issues are the impact of health which relates to the breakdown in social structures, traditional obligation and men's role in the family and relationship within the community.

A clear message from the convention was that indigenous men should take greater responsibility themselves to improve the status of men's health and play their rightful role as leaders, fathers, uncles, husbands and grandfathers. The convention recognises the need for redirecting resources to enable culturally appropriate and accessible services for men. The convention support a greater involvement of male Aboriginal health workers and male nurses and the development of male places for men's health care and support.

However, the strong feeling of the convention was that indigenous men should provide leadership and direction to achieve these outcomes. The National Indigenous Male Reference Committee has been formed with the mandate to develop holistic strategies that examine the multiple factors that determine men's health such as employment, education, high incarceration rates and the disempowerment of men generally.

That was read out by Mick Adams, the chairperson of the National Indigenous Male Reference Committee, 6 October 1999. I was present when he made that presentation and he spent a lot of time discussing the issues of responsibility, and what was clear from this particular convention was that the indigenous men who attended it wanted to adopt the responsibility for their own health themselves. This is a vitally important situation because no longer do we have this reliance that we so often see - oh well, the government can fix this problem, the government can fix that problem. At the end of the day, I believe it was acknowledged that the government can't fix all of these problems, and that the responsibility for men's health lies, by and large, with men.

The minister for Health was present when that message was read out, as was I, and the minister for Health stood up shortly afterwards and said the Northern Territory government was certainly willing to try and accommodate the principles that had been outlined. I therefore call on the Health Minister in this Chamber tonight to put his money where his mouth is basically and look at ways of accommodating a committee of men to look after men's health here in the Northern Territory because I believe it is vitally important issue. And I certainly hope that Michael Martin, the Deputy Secretary for Health Services, will remind the Minister of the recommendations that was directed at him, as I remind the Minister tonight of the words he said in opening that health conference. I believe that the possibilities that are engendered by this particular conference open up a new facet in health generally but certainly men's health, and that is these people are willing to pick up the ball and run with it themselves. Certainly they need direction, certainly they will need some assistance but I think it would be lamentable of this government to fail in picking up the ball or passing the ball to these people and then running in support.

(Mr Elferink's address continues about an unrelated issue)