Maari Ma Health

MEDIA RELEASE

MAARI MA WELCOMES DOCUMENT LAUNCH BY FEDERAL MINISTER

The launch today of a strategic document aimed at improving child development and well being for Aboriginal children in the far west is the culmination of more than 18 months work by six government and non government agencies.

Health, Development and Wellbeing in Far Western NSW, A Picture of our Children, is being launched at Alma Bugdlie Pre-School by Senator, the Hon Mark Arbib, Federal Minister for Employment Participation and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Government Service Delivery.

Through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), all governments have pledged to develop and implement coordinated strategies to address the key causes and determinants of Indigenous disadvantage and close ’the gap’.

Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation, which is co-chair of the group that developed the strategic framework document, has been committed to working with other agencies to achieve this goal. Chief Executive Officer, Bob Davis, said the document’s launch by Senator Arbib is significant and welcome.

“The document is the result of a lot of hard work by many people whose common aim is to improve outcomes for Aboriginal children and I am very pleased it is being launched by government at this level.

“Senator Arbib’s presence is recognition of that work and underscores the importance and commitment the Federal Government has to improving outcomes for Aboriginal children in far western New South Wales.

Health, Development and Wellbeing in Far Western NSW, A Picture of our Children, contains local information and data on children in the region against those indicators the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have determined to be ‘key indicators’ of child health, development and wellbeing.

Mr Davis said while the document celebrates many of the areas where Aboriginal children have similar statistics compared to their non-Aboriginal counterparts, it also highlights the work still to be done.

“The document will assist all agencies working with children to collaborate, plan, resource and implement programs, and monitor changes made.

“The data will serve as a baseline which will be used to measure progress over time and we expect the collection of information will be repeated every five years.

“Maari Ma, together with all other agencies, believes that by implementing strategies and regularly monitoring key outcomes we will attain our goal to improve the health and well being of Aboriginal children in our region and close “the gap” that exists between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal children” he said.

Mr Davis thanked the Far West Aboriginal Child Development and Well-being Group working with Maari Ma to develop the document. They are the Greater Western Area Health Service, Aboriginal Affairs, Department of Community Services, NSW Police, Mission Australia and co-chair Department of Education and Training.

Maari Ma's letter to Members and Statutory Declaration