Training to cure her people’s ills
Andrew Trounson; 12/5/08
Shirley Godwin knows all about Aboriginal mistrust of the medical system. It was in a West Australian hospital shortly after her birth 41years ago that she was separated from her indigenous mother and placed with foster parents in Victoria. But now Ms Godwin is one of the shockingly small band of just over 100 indigenous medical students whose ambition is to help overcome that historic mistrust of health professionals. Like the majority of her indigenous colleagues, she wants to use her skills to tackle the massive health disadvantages in Aboriginal communities.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23681315-5013404,00.html
Young Aborigines hope to fix an unhealthy imbalance
Nick Miller; 12/5/08
As a teenager in Darwin, Ryen Biggle hadn’t heard of a single Aboriginal student going to university, let alone studying medicine. But he is now part of a small group of indigenous students at Melbourne University’s medical school. “It’s pretty daunting,” Mr Biggle, 18, says. “No one on my mother’s side of the family ever went to uni. “But she always told me if I worked hard enough then uni could be an option, and I should always believe I could make it. It was a dream of mine.”It was particularly challenging because there are only 125 indigenous medical practitioners in the country. On a per capita basis there should be almost 1000.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/young-aborigines-hope-to-fix-an-unhealthy-imbalance/2008/05/11/1210444243793.html
Work for dole entrenches welfare: secret advice
Patricia Karvelas; 12/5/08
Secret advice prepared for the previous government warned that the reinstatement of work for the dole, since implemented by Labor, would undermine the Northern Territory intervention. The advice, prepared for Howard government employment participation minister Sharman Stone, warned that the ALP’s plan to reinstate the Community Development Employment Project scheme would entrench welfare dependency in Aboriginal communities. “Labor’s policy undermines the Territory emergency response and entrenches indigenous peoplein welfare dependency,” says the advice from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations dated October 15. The note warns that although CDEP had played an important role in many communities, it had resulted in people living off welfare for years and had established false economies in many communities across Australia.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23681314-5013404,00.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, Education, health, Welfare