One of the most important figures in Australian Aboriginal rights advocacy visited Mount Isa this week.
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Pat Anderson AO opened the Are Your Remotely Interested conference at the Centre for Rural and Remote Health on Tuesday afternoon.
Her impressive resume includes a Human Rights Medal, a NAIDOC lifetime achievement award and she is an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Ms Anderson was one of the drivers behind the historic Uluru Statement from the Heart, which proposed a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament, a Makarrata Commission (treaty) and truth-telling.
The proposal was rejected by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who said it would fail at a referendum – despite polling showing it had support.
Ms Anderson told health professionals in Mount Isa this week that constitutional recognition is needed to close the health gap in Australia.
“We need an enduring structure that gives us a voice in the stewardship of our own health, something that goes beyond election cycles and forces politicians to talk to us,” Ms Anderson said.
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Ms Anderson said the constant attempts to deal with Indigenous disadvantage in Australia is not working for one main reason.
The plans are coming from non-Indigenous people based in Canberra.
And a new “fix” is devised with each new government.
“There is a lot of energy being expended but little has been achieved,” Ms Anderson said.
“Aboriginal people are not recognised as experts in their own lives.”
She said constitutional recognition would provide a sound foundation for addressing the social and economic determinants of health and wellbeing.
A lot of money is being spent trying to close health gaps in Australia.
Direct government expenditure per person was $44,886 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in 2015-16.
That is about twice the rate for non‑Indigenous Australians.
Ms Anderson said government needs to do a better job at empowering Indigenous Australians – rather than throwing money at programs that are not rooted in evidence.
“Unless they share power and engage with us, it is not going to make a difference,” Ms Anderson said.
“We need to have a national conversation about these things because it is a bit stuck at the moment. We seem to have tried everything else and it has not worked.”
Last month the Australia Medical Association vowed to push for Indigenous constitutional change after endorsing the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
