Policy, Power and Politics: A Critical Analysis of NSW Aboriginal Health Plan of 2013-2023

Running head: POLICY, POWER AND POLITICS
Policy, Power and Politics
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1POLICY, POWER AND POLITICS
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Policy Analysis................................................................................................................................4
Demonstrate an understanding of policy issues...........................................................................7
Evidence of critical discussion and analysis................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
One of the most ancient populations in the globe is the Aboriginal community. The
resilience of the community people develops the framework for the structure of the policies for
the effective development and improvement of the overall health of the aboriginal group of
people in Australia. The word ‘Aborigine’ is a Latin word meaning to be a native and to be
descended. Most of the aboriginal people live in the rural or remote areas (Liaw et al., 2015).
According to the surveys and the researches only a small percentage about 24.6% of the total
aboriginal people lives in the urban cities. The rest resides in the regional areas and the rural or
remote areas. Furthermore, it has been found that the life expectancy rates and the mortality rate
of the community people are lower as compared to the other populations in the country. On an
average, only 4% of the indigenous population lives more than 65 years and the research
conducted in the community revealed that most of the population aged below 15 years 9 (Gwynn
et al., 2015). The average mortality rate is generally 12 years less than the non-indigenous group
of people in the country. The higher rates of chronic diseases like mental health issues,
cardiovascular diseases, cancer, respiratory problems, diabetes and other deep injuries contribute
to the higher death rates among the community people. Furthermore, there lie multiple factors
responsible for the degrading status of the health of the aboriginal people. The data report of
2008-2009 by the Australian government stated that most of the population suffers from
disabilities and long-term health issues leading to high level of psychological distress (Lin,
Green & Bessarab, 2016). Domestic violence and sexual violence ’s, some of the basic
behavioral factors like alcohol and drug abuse, high body mass, smoking contributes to the
degrading cultural system in the aboriginal community. There lies a direct relationship among

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the health gap between the aboriginal people and the factors contributing to the socio-economic
inequalities.
The survey of 2011 by the government of Australia identified that more than 175,431
people belonging to the aboriginal community reside in New South Wales. It constitutes about
2.5% of the total population of the people living in Australia. By the year 2031, it has been
estimated by the Australian government that the rate and the number of Aboriginal people will
raise by 1 million in the continent. The number constitutes around 3.95% of the total population
of Australia (Sutherland et al., 2017). It is essential to improve and appreciate the social and
economic determinants of Aboriginal health like the factors of historical contributions,
employment, education, cultural and social capital, racism, housing, environmental factors for
the closure of the gap in health status among the aboriginal and the non-aboriginal population in
the country.
The NSW Aboriginal Health Plan of 2013-2023 aims equity of health for the aboriginal
group of people. The goal of the plan is to work in partnership with the Aboriginal community
people for the achievement of the highest level of health care required for the individuals and
families of the aboriginal community. The reason for the choice of the policy of NSW Aboriginal
Health Plan of 2013-2023 is because the plan not only constitutes measures to address the
physical wellbeing of the aboriginal population but also refers the emotional, social and cultural
wellbeing of the community people (Brown et al., 2015). The policy recognizes the importance
of the achievement of potential by the aboriginal population for the total well-being of the
community in the country. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan of
2013-2023 was formulated to provide a dominant framework for building links with some of the
major activities related to commonwealth health. The policy furthermore identifies the areas for