WGAR News: 996 Aboriginal deaths by suicide - another shameful Australian record: The Stringer

Newsletter date: 17 October 2013

Contents:

* SNAICC News: Culture is Life campaign update
* Culture Is Life campaign: The Elders Report
* Culture Is Life campaign: Promoting community led solutions to Indigenous youth suicide
* The Wire: New mental health app for indigenous communities [Suicide prevention; featuring Professor Helen Christensen and Joe Tighe]
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: 996 Aboriginal deaths by suicide - another shameful Australian record
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: 996 deaths by suicide - one in 24 die by suicide
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Macklin said we will take child suicides seriously
* Background to Suicide and Self-harm in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Communities

* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Town with life expectancy at 37 for its men

* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Carpetbaggers, mercenaries and corruption rip off Aboriginal peoples

* The Stringer: Unfinished Business [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disabilities; featuring photojournalist Belinda Mason]

* NACCHO health news: How to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal youth: a new report
* NACCHO health news: 1,000 doctors to talk Aboriginal health, Ehealth and cheeky docs at Darwin health conference
* Bundaberg NewsMail: Report shows indigenous Aussies are more prone to cancer

* Kelly Briggs, The Guardian: Australian feminists need to talk about race

* The Wire: Remote broadcasters network in the desert [Featuring Daniel Featherstone, Angela Bates, G-Man and Bernard Namok]

* Amy McQuire, Tracker: Fiona Nash to oversee Indigenous health: Scullion

* SNAICC NEWS: CULTURE IS LIFE CAMPAIGN UPDATE

- Campaign Update

SNAICC News: Culture is Life campaign update
http://www.snaicc.org.au/news-events/fx-view-article.cfm?loadref=32&id=1232
11 Oct 13: "The Culture Is Life campaign aims to raise public awareness of the issue of Indigenous youth suicide and is calling for national support. The campaign supports community-driven responses to youth suicide and has been embarking on a journey across the country to develop an Elders Report on Indigenous Youth Suicide. Through this campaign, 32 Elders across Australia have been interviewed, sharing their ideas to help prevent Indigenous youth suicide. Key themes currently emerging from the campaign's community engagement include the need for bi-cultural education, the strengthening of family and communities, homeland support and Elder-led cultural healing. ... "

* CULTURE IS LIFE CAMPAIGN: THE ELDERS REPORT

- Elders Speak

Culture Is Life Campaign: Promoting community led solutions to Indigenous youth suicide: The Elders Report
http://www.cultureislife.org/#!elders-speak/cw9
"One of the initial actions of the Culture Is Life campaign is the development of the Elders Report on Indigenous Youth Suicide. We are travelling across the country, gathering vital messages from senior Elders about the solutions needed to solve the youth suicide crisis. Once completed, the report will be sent (in video and written form) to relevant Government agencies, service providers and the philanthropic sector, to push for more appropriate community driven solutions to improving wellbeing in Indigenous communities in Australia. Below is a selection of excerpts of Elders featured in the report. We will be updating these as more come in. ... "

* CULTURE IS LIFE CAMPAIGN: PROMOTING COMMUNITY LED SOLUTIONS TO INDIGENOUS YOUTH SUICIDE

- Homepage

Culture Is Life Campaign
http://www.cultureislife.org/
"The rate of youth suicide in Indigenous Australia is now one of the highest in the world. Indigenous Elders are calling for support to help them heal their communities. This is their campaign. Please watch the campaign video, read on, donate if and when you can, and share with your social networks."

* THE WIRE: NEW MENTAL HEALTH APP FOR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES [SUICIDE PREVENTION; FEATURING PROFESSOR HELEN CHRISTENSEN AND JOE TIGNE]

- Audio

The Wire: New mental health app for indigenous communities
Produced by Eliza-Jane Mann
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=10922
11 Oct 13: "Indigenous Australians may soon have access to a self-help app. It's the latest move targeting mental health and suicide prevention in rural communities. ...
Featured in story:
* Professor Helen Christensen - Executive Director, The Black Dog Institute
* Joe Tighe - Project Manager, Alive and Kicking"

- Related Video

NITV News: Self-help app to assist Aussies with depression
By Lindy Kerin
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/10/10/self-help-app-assist-aussi...
11 Oct 13: "Sydney researchers have developed a new online tool for young Indigenous Australians to help combat the alarming rate of suicides in the community. ... The Black Dog Institute's new self-help app is being trialled in the remote Kimberley town of Broome. The app was developed by researcher Fiona Shand, with the help of members from the Broome community, a region with worrying rates of suicide. "We know for example that in the 18-30 age group, the risk of a completed suicide, compared to their non-Aboriginal peers, is about 4-5 times higher, ... "

* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: 996 ABORIGINAL DEATHS BY SUICIDE - ANOTHER SHAMEFUL AUSTRALIAN RECORD

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: 996 Aboriginal deaths by suicide - another shameful Australian record
http://thestringer.com.au/996-aboriginal-deaths-by-suicide-another-shame...
13 Oct 13: "Australia’s Aboriginal peoples are suiciding at the world’s highest rates. Standalone, racially Aboriginal peoples endure horrific statistics unparalleled by the rest of Australia and more voices are rising to highlight and address what they see as criminal neglect by Australian governments. In collating data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there have been 996 reported Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides between 2001 to 2010. A horrific statistic where one in 24 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people die by suicide." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: 996 DEATHS BY SUICIDE - ONE IN 24 DIE BY SUICIDE

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: 996 deaths by suicide - one in 24 die by suicide
http://thestringer.com.au/996-deaths-by-suicide-one-in-24-die-by-suicide/
9 Oct 13: "Australia’s Aboriginal peoples are suiciding at the world’s highest rates. Standalone, racially Aboriginal peoples endure horrific statistics unparalleled by the rest of Australia – horrific high incarceration rates impute racialised imprisonment, horrific high homelessness rates impute racialised neglect, and the horrific high suicide rates impute not only racialised neglect but criminal neglect. ... There were 996 suicide deaths across Australia, reported, between 2001 to 2010, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples. It is a horrific statistic, one in 24 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders peoples die by suicide." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: MACKLIN SAID WE WILL TAKE CHILD SUICIDES SERIOUSLY

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: Macklin said we will take child suicides seriously
http://thestringer.com.au/macklin-said-we-will-take-child-suicides-serio...
4 Oct 13: "Empowerment and pride are a formula that works positively to the betterment of the human condition, and to individual freedoms. Where empowerment and pride are lacking, communities and individuals languish in both dysfunction and malfunction, with the worst culminating in suicide. This explains in part the world’s highest suicide rates which are found among the world’s Aboriginal peoples. With the worst rate found among Aboriginal peoples in Australia - especially among youth. Australia’s Aboriginal youth is seven times more likely to commit suicide than non-Aboriginal counterparts." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

* BACKGROUND TO SUICIDE AND SELF-HARM IN ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER COMMUNITIES:

Last updated: 9 October 2013

http://indymedia.org.au/2013/08/13/background-to-suicide-and-self-harm-i...

* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: TOWN WITH LIFE EXPECTANCY AT 37 FOR ITS MEN

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: Town with life expectancy at 37 for its men
http://thestringer.com.au/town-with-life-expectancy-at-37-for-its-men/
10 Oct 13: "In the Northern Territory, Aboriginal males can only expect to live to 52 years of age, this is the average life span of the NT’s Aboriginal males. Thirty per cent of the NT’s population comprises of Aboriginal peoples, and therefore this statistic bespeaks of en masse neglect, it is a racial issue. Recent academic research has found that the Kimberley’s Aboriginal people are ageing faster than the rest of population, "old at 45 years". Homelessness is sky-high among remote Aboriginal peoples, and urban, and Aboriginal youth are enduring spates of suicides at world the world’s highest rates." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: CARPETBAGGERS, MERCENARIES AND CORRUPTION RIP OFF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: Carpetbaggers, mercenaries and corruption rip off Aboriginal peoples
http://thestringer.com.au/carpetbaggers-mercenaries-and-corruption-rips-...
15 Oct 13: "Western Australia has the nation’s highest median income - per capita it is the richest State in the Commonwealth of Australia yet it has the highest homelessness rate in the nation, and Aboriginal peoples bear the brunt of it. The majority impoverished in Western Australia are Aboriginal peoples - who have not benefited from the mining boom and who come last when the State puts together its budget. In the meantime Western Australian Aboriginal peoples endure the nation’s worst incarceration rates and whose youth are enduring spates of suicide - the world’s worst." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

* THE STRINGER: UNFINISHED BUSINESS [ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER DISABILITIES; FEATURING PHOTOJOURNALIST BELINDA MASON]

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: Unfinished Business
http://thestringer.com.au/unfinished-business/
10 Oct 13: "As with every other horror statistic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are hit with disproportionately high rates of disabilities than the rest of the population. In September, the Geneva-end of the United Nations launched and hosted a photographic essay about disability among remote and urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to coincide with the UN hearing for the first time about First Peoples’ disabilities, their challenges and the ways forward. Australian photojournalist Belinda Mason compiled a photograph essay from right across Australia titled "Unfinished Business" and it was launched at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, ... " By The Stringer

See:

WGAR News: Belinda Mason, The Guardian: Unfinished Business: portraying disability in Indigenous Australia [Photographic Essay] (14 Sep 13)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2013/09/12/wgar-news-a-call-for-better-support-a...

* NACCHO HEALTH NEWS: HOW TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF ABORIGINAL YOUTH: A NEW REPORT

- News

NACCHO health news: How to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal youth: a new report
[NACCHO: National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation]
http://nacchocommunique.com/2013/10/14/naccho-health-newshow-to-improve-...
14 Oct 13: "Australia can break the impasse in combating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage by identifying and emulating elements of success, instead of constantly focusing on failures to deliver meaningful change. This is the key finding of a landmark report into the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous youth, released at a UNSW research symposium on October 10 2013."

Download 132 page Report here: http://www.naccho.org.au/download/aboriginal-health/IYSEWB_ResearchRepor...

* NACCHO HEALTH NEWS: 1,000 DOCTORS TO TALK ABORIGINAL HEALTH, EHEALTH AND CHEEKY DOCS AT DARWIN HEALTH CONFERENCE

- News

NACCHO health news: 1,000 doctors to talk Aboriginal health, Ehealth and cheeky docs at Darwin health conference
[NACCHO: National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation]
http://nacchocommunique.com/2013/10/15/naccho-health-news-1000-doctors-t...
15 Oct 13: "The Northern Territory is the only place on track to Close the Gap by 2031 and for this to continue we need to continue to grow our General Practice workforce," NT Doctor
"Approximately 1,000 medical professionals from across Australia will be in Darwin for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Annual Conference are set to make a difference to health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people , GP13, on 17–19 October. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is a primary focus of the GP13 program with the aim of ensuring all general practitioners and their practice staff provide culturally and clinically appropriate healthcare to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients."

* BUNDABERG NEWSMAIL: REPORT SHOWS INDIGENOUS AUSSIES ARE MORE PRONE TO CANCER

- News

Bundaberg NewsMail: Report shows indigenous Aussies are more prone to cancer
http://www.news-mail.com.au/news/report-shows-indigenous-aussies-are-mor...
14 Oct 13: "INDIGENOUS Australians are at greater risk of receiving a cancer diagnosis and 50 per cent more likely to die from cancer than non-Indigenous Australians, a new report has found. The study, released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and Cancer Australia earlier this month, shows indigenous cancer patients have higher rates of new cancer cases and cancer deaths than non-indigenous Australians. Cancer Council Queensland spokeswoman Katie Clift said the report highlighted the urgent need for closer collaboration between health agencies and Indigenous communities."

* KELLY BRIGGS, THE GUARDIAN: AUSTRALIAN FEMINISTS NEED TO TALK ABOUT RACE

- Analysis / Opinion

The Guardian: Australian feminists need to talk about race
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/11/australian-feminist...
11 Oct 13: "Aboriginal and Australian women of colour are being left behind in the fight for a place at the table. Australian feminists must join the fight for racial diversity ... A few months ago, the hashtag #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen trended worldwide on Twitter. It was used by women of colour to voice their frustrations about mainstream feminism. I followed the discussion very closely, and at times found myself occasionally yelling "yes!" whenever I read a remark that resonated with my experiences as an Aboriginal Australian woman." Kelly Briggs, a shrewish screaming harpy Gamilaroi lady living in rural NSW

* THE WIRE: REMOTE BROADCASTER NETWORK IN THE DESERT [FEATURING DANIEL FEATHERSTONE, ANGELA BATES, G-MAN AND BERNARD NAMOK]

- Audio

The Wire: Remote broadcasters network in the desert
Produced by Annie Hastwell
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=10917
10 Oct 13: "The fifteenth National Remote Indigenous Media Festival wound up this week after a 6 day meeting at Ntaria, or Hermannsberg, west of Alice Springs. About 150 participants workshopped media skills, discussed industry issues and watched the latest videos being produced in remote communities from the desert to the Torres Starit. Major funding bodies also came along to encourage broadcasters and film makers working alone to contribute content to national networks.
Featured in story:
* Daniel Featherstone, general manager, Indigenous Remote Communication Association
* Angela Bates, NITV news
* G-Man, General manager, CAAMA
* Bernard Namok, Top End Aboriginal Broadcasting Association"

* AMY MCQUIRE, TRACKER: FIONA NASH TO OVERSEE INDIGENOUS HEALTH: SCULLION

- News

newsTracker: Fiona Nash to oversee Indigenous health: Scullion
http://tracker.org.au/2013/09/fiona-nash-to-oversee-indigenous-health-sc...
19 Sep 13: "NATIONAL: Indigenous health will come under the responsibility of junior health minister Senator Fiona Nash in an Abbott government, newly appointed Indigenous affairs minister Nigel Scullion has said. AAP reported yesterday that Indigenous health would be moved into Prime Minister & Cabinet, despite no specific reference to the area in either PM&C, the department of health or ministerial responsibilities." By Amy McQuire, a Darumbal and South Sea Islander woman, editor of Tracker

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