PAWS

Dear Activist,

Oxfam Australia’s National CLOSETHEGAP Day on Tuesday 22 April is our chance to stand together and express our support to close the gap. Let state and federal governments and your local community know you want action now to make closing the gap on Indigenous life expectancy a reality.

Organise a small event in your workplace, home, community or school – it’s easy and fun. We’ll provide you with lots of resources including a short DVD, stickers, posters, T-shirts and more. Urgent action is required to provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with the same quality and access to healthcare that other Australians enjoy.

One way to organise your event might be to host a morning tea. This could have a black and white theme for food or for the clothing of those who attend. See our website for information about last year’s events. Whatever you do, we ask you to show the new CLOSETHEGAP DVD and encourage your group to sign the CLOSETHEGAP pledge.

To learn more about this campaign go here.

To register your event go here.

We have welcomed the Rudd government making a long-awaited apology to the Stolen Generations. We have also welcomed the commitment from the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to close the gap in life expectancy within a generation and to halve the Indigenous infant mortality rate within a decade.

This means the government committing to a long-term plan with targets, benchmarks, adequate funding and resources. It means federal, state and territory governments increasing funding for Indigenous health in their upcoming budgets.

National CLOSETHEGAP Day is your chance to express your support for politicians and our communities to act. Dealing with the Indigenous health crisis is long overdue and it’s urgent that action is taken now to provide Indigenous Australians with the same quality healthcare and health outcomes that other Australians enjoy.

Ronnie Wright
Office/Volunteer Coordinator
Oxfam Australia