Budget: Indigenous Australians among hardest hit – ABC Local
20 May, 2014
More than half a billion dollars will be slashed from indigenous affairs and 150 programs rolled into just five if budget measures pass the Senate, making Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders among the hardest hit.
More than half a billion dollars will be slashed from indigenous affairs and 150 programs rolled into just five if budget measures pass the Senate, making Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders among the hardest hit.
It’s a chilly May day in Canberra as dozens of indigenous health leaders meet to lobby for exemptions to the contraversial co-payment initiative for indigenous Australians.
There was a collective shiver when Aboriginal Medical Services around the country realised the budget changes would take 90 million dollars from indigenous health and their clients would will be subject to the $7 GP levy.
Representatives of some of the 150 Aboriginal Medical Services, including two based at Casino and Grafton, met on Tuesday, foreshadowing staff cuts including GPs as aresult of the changes.
Patients will get pretty crook
Steve Blunden is the CEO of the Dharah Gibinj Casino Aboriginal Medical Service
Read More: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/05/20/4007942.htm?site=northcoast
