Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
Students name
Institutional affiliation

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
Introduction
The holders of most unique languages, wisdom, beliefs with a mix of rare
traditional knowledge of good maintenance of natural resources especially land are
almost always the natives of the location in discussion. They hold on to the ancestral
landmarks be it Ancestral waters, lands and territories as they view them as a
fundamental part of their cultural and physical survival.
Australia’s natives are two very diverse cultural groups, Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples, made even further diverse was the fact that over 250 language
groups spanning over the nation. (AIATSIS, 2018)
Differences between close the gap and closing the gap
Australian cultures practice a lop-sided load of infections and social drawbacks in
comparison to non-Indigenous Australians. Additionally, indigenous people experience
higher levels of discrimination and racism. To better health outcomes for natives, health
service facilitation needs to be open to cultural variances. People expect and access
better outcomes from services that are culturally safe and respectful. (Australians
together, 2016)
Close the Gap is an awareness campaign focused on terminating the health gap.
It is managed by several NGO’s, native health bodies and humanitarian rights
organisations. Using support gained from federal and state governments, Close the gap
set two health goals: achieving health equity and dropping mortality rates for children
below five within a ten-year span.
Closing the gap was COAG’s 2008 national manifesto to deal with Indigenous
inequality. It included the ‘Indigenous Reform Agreement’ which was committed to

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
narrowing the gap between native and non-native Australians within a given time frame.
(Oxford Academic, 2010)
In close the gap, the Prime Minister of the Opposition signed the close the Gap
Statement of Intent (March 2008) a yearly report that explains government progress
against the two health targets, including the impact of cultural and social determinants
on these health outcomes. He established the yearly National shut the Gap Day from
2007. Mobilised support from over two hundred thousand Australians through the said
pledge. (Australiahuman rights commission, 2013)
The Australian natives have a different population age structure to the rest of the
population where ages 0-25 are more than the non-indigenous in both male and female
charts while the opposite is observed from age 35 onwards owing to the high fertility of
the natives although they have a low life expectancy rate. While most of the Indigenous
people reside either in major cities, inner or outer regions of Australia, the comparison
with the non-natives that live in remote or very remote areas is much higher.
AHRC close the gap report 2018
In his report, the prime minister sighted several findings with the fifth being labelled as
the ‘funding myth’ about native’s health that has to be looked at as it hinders progress.
This was the notion that devoted health expenses being a way to waste taxpayer funds.
He claimed if the Australian government is serious about achieving health equality
within a age group, a restored Closing the Gap Strategy must include obligations in the
direction of rational and unbiassed levels of investment. More spending on natives’
health should not have been a shock. (Humanrights.gov, 2018)