Greens Kalgoorlie Candidate
Robin Chapple
Media Release 15 November 2007

As Dr Christine Jeffries-Stokes rightly says "A $23 a week tax cut won't help much with the cost of vegetables, fuel and rent out here, it won't get a doctor for towns like Leonora, and broad band is not much good if you can't even get a phone – or can't find a house to live in.
 
Whilst I have dealt with the cost of living issue by calling for an updating of the Zone Tax allowance, it is appalling that neither party has recognised that the Aboriginal people in the seat of Kalgoorlie still have :
 
The shortest life expectancy of Aboriginal people.
The highest infant mortality rate
The highest suicide rate
The highest rates of sexually transmitted disease
The poorest living conditions coupled with the most expensive cost of living
The most expensive petrol
The poorest education facilities
The poorest health services
The highest rates of kidney disease and diabetes – preventable diseases if you can get good, fresh food
The highest rate of childhood Type 2 diabetes in the world!
 
To add insult to injury with the removal of CDEP, the federal government now make an administrative charge of $1.01 on every "chuck in" allocation, further removing money for sustenance in basic health and responsible money management.
 
The Greens believe it would be far more preferable that rather than provide a tax break which most aboriginal people wont get, that we spent some of that money on:
 
Increasing resources in both community-controlled health services and mainstream services, through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Framework Agreements and Aboriginal Regional Health Plans.
 
Funding a 10 year Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing plan, with a focus on appropriate housing and infrastructure, and with a component providing training and resources for ongoing maintenance, to address unmet need.
 
Making Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's health a funding priority, with a focus on community-controlled health services and additional community-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child-care services.
 
Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community initiatives and networks to address family violence and abuse, resource Aboriginal Women's Legal Services, establish safe houses in communities, and support initiatives to reduce substance abuse. and
 
Ensuring that there is effective policing in remote communities negotiated with community elders, including infrastructure to ensure a live-in police presence, and ongoing funding for successful community night-patrol programs. 

Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people policy is available at www.greens.org.au