The Consumers Health Forum supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart and appeals to the next Parliament to take effective steps towards constitutional change to acknowledge the place of the First Nations peoples in Australia and their right to a Voice in the Parliament.
"Surely after more than 230 years of disease and disadvantage, and the failure of successive governments to resolve the inequities experienced by the First Nations peoples, it is time to reach a profound settlement that gives force to their enduring and central role in Australia," the Chairman of the Consumers Health Forum, Tony Lawson, and the CEO, Leanne Wells, said.
"The Consumers Health Forum advocates for the bests interests in health of all Australians. The gulf in health outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians is unacceptable.
"The Uluru Statement from the Heart, established by consensus at a meeting of 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in 2017, calls for 'constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country'.
"A constitutionally-driven transformation offers a stronger path to a remedy given the established international evidence that non-health factors such as income and social status have a greater impact in determining health outcomes than clinical care.
"Many Australians have seen the devastating effects including poor health outcomes and lower rates of participation in the health workforce of successive federal, state and territory government policies that have been imposed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
"It is time for Australians to recognize and embrace the necessity for transforming change that would be generated by giving effect to the Uluru Statement from the Heart," Mr Lawson and Ms Wells said.
See our full statement at https://chf.org.au/uluru-statement-heart
