Over the weekend, Star Health’s President Judith Klepner signed the petition along with over 1000 others in support of constitutional reforms that will empower Indigenous people and allow them to take a ‘rightful place in our own country’.

National surveys found 60.7 percent of Australians support constitutional change and the petition has had overwhelming support from various industry experts. Star Health urges everyone to sign the petition here.

Australia’s First Nation peoples suffer higher morbidity and mortality rates that non-Indigenous Australians. According to the Prime Minister in the 2017 Closing the Gap report “we cannot shy away from the reality that we are not seeing sufficient national progress on the Closing the Gap targets”.

Key priorities are to focus on the first 1000 days, child and adolescent health, mental health and medical and dental health. A collaborative approach across all levels of government, business and community is necessary to create local solutions.

Star Health has successfully worked closely and collaboratively with local Aboriginal Communities and leaders over many years. Star Health has gathered overwhelming evidence to support the notion that empowering Indigenous individuals will lead to more equitable health outcomes, and ‘Close the Gap’.

Star Health CEO Damian Ferrie stated “our main strategic focus at Star Health is improving health and wellbeing of disadvantaged groups, including First Nations people”. For more than 50,000 years Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been caretakers of this land with diverse culture, language and customs. Star Health is committed to culturally appropriate health services that work with the First Nations people toward an equitable and healthy future for all.

For more information call: Damian Ferrie (03) 8644 3330 or email: dferrie@starhealth.org.au

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