The Australian Greens have recommended that the Federal Government postpones changes to the Better Access program to ensure the ongoing delivery of services to patients.

Senator Rachel Siewert, Chair of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry into Commonwealth Funding and Administration of Mental Health Services has made a series of recommendations in her additional comments to the Committee's majority report.

Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.  While delivering the recent Lionel Murphy Lecture, Attorney-General Robert McClelland described the over-representation of Aboriginal people in Australia’s criminal justice system as a ‘national shame’.  During this speech he covered a number of important topics, including the imperative 'justice reinvestment', but he failed to adequately address the underlying determinants of Aboriginal incarceration.

The Australian Greens have called for the Government to make changes to the program that supplies PBS medicines to Aboriginal communities.

The Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee has today reported on their Inquiry into the effectiveness of special arrangements established under section 100 of the National Health Act for the supply of PBS medicines to remote area Aboriginal Health Services (AHS).

The Australian Greens have called for the development of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Hearing Policy.

Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health said today that hearing loss was undeniably linked to long term disadvantage.

“Hearing loss early in life can have long-term negative consequences for communication, numeracy and literacy skills, reducing employment and training prospects and effecting personal wellbeing,” Senator Siewert said today. 

Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (13:11): In June this year, the government launched its Stronger futures for the Northern Territory discussion paper. This paper tries to set out some issues for discussion about the future of the intervention in the Northern Territory, the intervention which has been going for four years.

Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (16:34):  I, and also on behalf of Senator Fifield and Senator McLucas, move:

Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (12:31):  I move:

The Australian Greens have vowed to continue fighting for Aboriginal communities after an Amnesty International report condemned the Federal Government’s abandonment of remote communities in the NT in favour of ‘growth towns’. 

The Amnesty report comes just one day after another highly critical report revealed the expensive gap between policy intent and implementation.

The Australian Greens have welcomed the Productivity Commission’s ‘Caring for Older Australians’ Report and say it provides a good start for the way forward in aged care.

“The aged care system is clearly in crisis. This will get worse the more the Government delays. It is vital they begin implementing the reform process now,” Senator Rachel Siewert, Spokesperson on Ageing said today.

The Australian Greens have called on the government to fundamentally change its approach to funding policies relating to Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, to prevent millions more being wasted on ineffective programs.

The call comes in response to news that the programs being funded in Aboriginal communities are not effective, despite the government spending $3.5 billion dollars annually.