The Australian Greens have put their support behind ANTaR's 'A Better Way' campaign, launched today.

The campaign aims to highlight that there is a better way to work with Aboriginal people than the coercive and stigmatising approaches still continuing under the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) and related Aboriginal policies.

"We can clearly see that the increased levels of funding and investment in the NTER and the COAG 'Close the Gap' commitment have not resulted in significant improvements in those communities that need them most," said Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert today.

"To make a real difference on Indigenous health we need to tackle the underlying social issues that determine poor health outcomes, particularly poverty and housing. We need to significantly increase funding in Aboriginal community health services, and ensure community control of their own affairs."

"To succeed in the long‐term it is absolutely essential to have genuine community engagement and ownership of these programs and initiatives. Community consultation is the first recommendation of the Little Children are Sacred report, and one of the key criticisms of the top‐down approach taken by the Federal Government is that they have failed to consult and failed to learn from the past," said Senator Siewert.

"ANTaR's campaign hits the nail on the head - pointing to countless examples of community-run success stories that the government could support and assist."

"So far, the Rudd Government's approach to Aboriginal Australia has not met the promise of the Prime Minister's National Apology, which is fast fading into political history. We cannot let that happen," she concluded.

For more information or media inquiries, please call Tim Norton on 0418 401 180