An Open Letter to the Australian Public. A Voice to Parliament will improve health outcomes
More than 125 health organisations have signed an open letter in support of an Indigenous voice to parliament.
The letter is signed by IEHU and organisations such as the Vision 2020 Australia, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the Australian College of Optometry, The Fred Hollows Foundation and also the Australian Medical Association, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Rural Doctors Association and more. The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA), Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM), National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP) and The Lowitja Institute lead the First Nation’s organisations support for the open letter.
The letter reads:
We speak as leading health and medical organisations who spend our professional lives dedicated to caring for all Australians. We have considered carefully both the case for and the case against the proposed Voice to Parliament. We confidently believe that the proposed Voice will enhance government decision making about matters that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ultimately improving health outcomes.
As health professionals, we witness firsthand the disparity in health outcomes between non-Indigenous Australians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Despite the best efforts of successive governments at all levels, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to have an average life expectancy gap of 8.2 years compared to other Australians. The Voice is an opportunity for us to make a practical difference, to ensure the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians does not continue to widen.
We encourage all Australians to actively consider the possible health and wellbeing benefits that the Voice to Parliament would have for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Just as a good clinician listens to their patient, a Voice to Parliament is about listening to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Recently published articles by IEHU staff further canvass the reasons why IEHU considers it important to support the Voice to Parliament
Insight: The Voice to Parliament – what a yes vote would mean for Indigenous eye health
Pursuit: Let it be clear, I strongly support the Voice
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice
On Saturday 14 October 2023, Australians will have their say in a referendum about whether to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
For more information visit: