Ken Wyatt sworn in as first Indigenous minister in Malcolm Turnbull's reshuffle

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Ken Wyatt is the country's first Indigenous person into the Commonwealth ministry after being sworn in as Minister for Indigenous Health and Aged Care.

Federal politicians have gathered at Government House in Canberra for a swearing-in ceremony, prompted by the resignation of former health minister Sussan Ley.

Greg Hunt was announced as Ms Ley's replacement last week, taking on the health portfolio as part of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's fourth reshuffle since taking the top office less than 18 months ago.

Mr Hunt was sworn in today alongside Arthur Sinodinos, who has taken over the industry, innovation and science portfolios.

Mr Hunt described Mr Wyatt's appointment as "historic", saying on Twitter that it was "a very significant day for our nation".

Michael Sukkar was also promoted to Assistant Minister to the Treasurer and David Gillespie to Assistant Minister for Health.

Mr Turnbull announced the appointments last week following Ms Ley's resignation amid ongoing investigations into her travel expense claims.

Topics: indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, indigenous-policy, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, australia

First posted</s>Minister for Indigenous Health and Aged Care, Ken Wyatt in Turnbull Cabinets

After being sworn in as Minister for Indigenous Health and Aged Care, Ken Wyatt is the country’s first Indigenous person into the Commonwealth ministry, in time prompted by the resignation of former health minister Sussan Ley by Federal politicians gathered at Government House in Canberra for a swearing-in ceremony, in time there is announcing by Greg Hunt inform that Ms Ley’s surrogate a week ago, taking on the health post of minister as part of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s fourth reorganization since taking the top office less around 18 months ago. Mr Arthur Sinodinos was sworn in today alongside Mr Hunt, the first who has taken over the industry, innovation and science post of minister. Kenneth George Wyatt, born 4 August 1952, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the electoral division of Hasluck in Western Australia for the Liberal Party of Australia. Wyatt is the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care since September 2015. He is of Aboriginal Australian, Indian, English and Irish root, and in 2010 turn into the first Aboriginal member of the House of Representatives, and also the first indigenous federal minister in 2017.</s>Ken Wyatt to be sworn in as first Indigenous minister in Malcolm Turnbull's reshuffle

Australia will today welcome its first Indigenous person into the Commonwealth ministry as Ken Wyatt takes on the role of Minister for Indigenous Health and Aged Care.

Federal politicians have gathered at Government House in Canberra for a swearing-in ceremony, prompted by the resignation of former Health Minister Sussan Ley.

Greg Hunt was announced as Ms Ley's replacement last week, taking on the health portfolio as part of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's fourth reshuffle since taking top office less than 18 months ago.

Arthur Sinodinos, who has been acting health minister since Ms Ley stepped down, will now take over the industry, innovation and science portfolios.

Michael Sukkar will also be promoted to Assistant Minister to the Treasurer and David Gillespie to Assistant Minister for Health.

Mr Turnbull announced the appointments last week following Ms Ley's resignation amid ongoing investigations into travel expense claims.</s>Ken Wyatt is the country’s first Indigenous person into the Commonwealth ministry after being sworn in as Minister for Indigenous Health and Aged Care.

Federal politicians have gathered at Government House in Canberra for a swearing-in ceremony, prompted by the resignation of former health minister Sussan Ley.

Greg Hunt was announced as Ms Ley’s replacement last week, taking on the health portfolio as part of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s fourth reshuffle since taking the top office less than 18 months ago.

Mr Hunt was sworn in today alongside Arthur Sinodinos, who has taken over the industry, innovation and science portfolios.

Mr Hunt described Mr Wyatt’s appointment as “historic”, saying on Twitter that it was “a very significant day for our nation”.

Michael Sukkar was also promoted to Assistant Minister to the Treasurer and David Gillespie to Assistant Minister for Health.

Mr Turnbull announced the appointments last week following Ms Ley’s resignation amid ongoing investigations into her travel expense claims.</s>Whether you regard 26 January as an occasion to celebrate modern Australia or see it as “Invasion Day”, “Survival Day”, or just another public holiday, one thing is certain: the shocking rates of violence, family breakdown and incarceration among Indigenous Australians will still be with us on 27 January.

Amid all the celebration – and squabbling – around Australia Day, we need to continue to focus on the immediate, often life-threatening, problems, especially in remote communities, and what can be done to make the communities safer.

For just how long these dire problems remain depends on many factors, including what governments do now.

Working with the “No More” coalition of Indigenous women and men against violence, I will propose to our prime minister Malcolm Turnbull that he could take a very positive step to assisting us to end the violence if he were to ask Ken Wyatt MP, minister for Indigenous health and aged care and first Aboriginal minister of the commonwealth, to take responsibility for this issue.

Many of us are waiting for the time when he will become minister for Indigenous affairs. His knowledge and understanding of the area, the respect he has earned on both sides of the parliament, and his pride in his Indigenous heritage would make his appointment an historic one.

A coordinated approach by the federal government with the states and territories is urgently required. The latter are responsible for child protection and law enforcement – two critical issues for Indigenous Australians.

Here are some facts. Ask yourself: would such situations, of such magnitude, be permitted to continue in your suburb?
• Indigenous women are 32 times more likely to be hospitalised for family violence than non-Indigenous.
• About a quarter of Indigenous Australians aged above 15 report being victims of physical or threatened violence – twice the rate for non-Indigenous.
• Hospitalisation rates for Indigenous assault are highest in remote and very remote areas.
• The mortality rate for assault for Indigenous Australians is seven times the rate of non-Indigenous.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are 27% of the prisoner population in Australia but only 2% of the Australian population.
• 17,000 Aboriginal children are under care and protection orders and another 15,455 in out-of-home care. Indigenous children are seven times more likely to be receiving child protection services than non-Indigenous children.
• The suicide rate for Indigenous Australians is double that for non-Indigenous.



One of the good things about Australia Day is that it provokes discussion about history and the ongoing relevance to the present of what happened long ago. 



Granted, the main Australian history textbook in state schools in Australia in the 1960s made fleeting reference to Aboriginal people in a single paragraph, listing them after “fauna and flora”.

But it is inconceivable that such a text would be taught today, and it’s strange that some Aboriginal activists are so stuck in the past that they still claim Aboriginal history is suppressed.

That stance ignores the huge body of work covering that history – books, memorials, documentaries, films, museum exhibitions, artworks, plays, oral history projects and web sites ensuring we never forget the dispossession, massacres, resistance and forced removals.

The most important struggle for Indigenous justice in the first half of the 20th century was the battle for full citizenship rights, led by strong people like William Cooper, Doug Nicholls and Marge Tucker. We must never forget their struggle and legacy – their determination to win rather than just protest and, above all, their remarkable dignity. They were confident their demands could stand up to rigorous debate.

Our demands for safe communities cannot be realised by governments alone. As Indigenous Australians, we know all too well that there is need in some places for cultural change at the grassroots level, for greater personal responsibility. But there are now many inspiring role models among Australia’s 750,000 Indigenous Australian citizens.

In 1966, headlines were made around Australia when an Aboriginal man graduated from university with a full degree. It was sensational news, making Charles Perkins a public figure. Today, there are more than 30,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university graduates. The great majority of Aboriginal Australians reside and work in cities and towns and are to be found in nearly all professions and occupations, including most recently that of airline pilot.

There is much goodwill in the Australian community and it is ridiculous that in the 21st century — in a rich, democratic country like Australia — problems such as Indigenous family violence still exist to the extent they do.
• Josephine Cashman is appearing on a panel about family violence and Indigenous women at the Yabun Festival at Camperdown in Sydney on 26 January, 4-5pm.</s>Ontario is investing in Indigenous student achievement and promoting greater awareness among all students of Indigenous histories, cultures, contributions and perspectives.

Mitzie Hunter, Minister of Education, made the announcement in Sault Ste. Marie today while visiting the Urban Aboriginal School. The school provides access to culturally appropriate programs and services and incorporates Indigenous values and traditional healing into its curriculum, and is an excellent example of how a stronger provincial investment is leading to improved resources, supports and learning opportunities for Ontario’s Indigenous students.

This new funding is allowing all school boards across Ontario to hire a dedicated Indigenous Education Lead to support the implementation of Ontario's Indigenous Education Strategy, with a focus on increasing Indigenous student achievement and well-being. The lead is also responsible for collaborating with First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities, organizations, students and families to build Indigenous knowledge and awareness among all students.

Investing in Indigenous education is one of many steps on Ontario's journey of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. This work — in collaboration with Indigenous partners — supports mandatory learning throughout the curriculum of residential schools, treaties, the legacy of colonialism, and the rights and responsibilities we all have to each other as treaty people.

Improving Indigenous education in Ontario and closing the achievement gap between Indigenous students and all students is an important part of the government’s plan to create jobs, grow the economy and help people in their everyday lives.</s>“The City of Toronto has one of the largest Indigenous urban populations in Canada, but there is no geographic area that points to the history of the Indigenous communities in the City,” Wong-Tam wrote in an email to The Eyeopener. “The creation of a district would create an area that physically identifies the history and presence of Indigenous peoples in Toronto.”

The city plans to establish a new Indigenous business district at Jarvis and Dundas streets, right beside Ryerson’s campus. The district, headed by Ward 27 councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and Indigenous business community members in the area, will encourage and provide services for new Indigenous businesses to grow.

President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) JP Gladu, who worked alongside Wong-Tam on the district, said Toronto and other major Canadian cities have districts like Chinatown and Little Portugal, and this is a good way to create a space for Toronto’s Indigenous community—which he estimates is made up of about 70,000 people.

“You don’t really have that presence of an Indigenous community. Considering we’re the first people on this continent here, I think it’s a real missed opportunity,” he said.

A 13,000 sq. ft. space around Jarvis and Dundas streets has been secured for the district. The area is already home to several Indigenous businesses and centres, like the Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment & Training centre, with more room for others to be introduced. Wong-Tam added that Dundas Street was a historic trade route, which makes it an ideal spot for the district.

Tracey King, Aboriginal human resources consultant at Ryerson, was involved in the Aboriginal Economic Indigenous Development Project in 2014 to research the possible creation of an Indigenous district.</s>An Indigenous-run support service for families affected by suicide or trauma has been given a $10m boost after a successful trial in Western Australia, the minister for Indigenous affairs announced at Groote Eylandt on Monday.

The Critical Response Service, which coordinates existing services to properly and culturally appropriately assist families in distress, is set to be expanded into the Northern Territory and South Australia this year before a national roll out.

“Every suicide is a tragedy and the effects on tight-knit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are often more profound – contributing to the clusters of suicide and self-harm that we see,” Nigel Scullion told Guardian Australia.

“Straight away we go in where there’s been an event, like Elijah in Kalgoorlie ... with these tragic circumstances. They are a trigger and we’ve worked out how triggers gather. Then it’s a critical response services to to go to the family and put them at the centre of the support response.”

The service is funded through the Indigenous advancement strategy and is led by Adele Cox, a Bunuba and Gija woman from the Kimberley region of WA, with extensive experience in suicide prevention work. The Kimberly trial responded to about 30 incidents last year.

Families didn’t know where to go, Cox told the ABC. “There are so many families and communities who were not being provided with the right sort of support with regard to response times as soon as a suicide or a traumatic incident occurred,” she said.

The rate of Indigenous suicide, particularly in remote communities, is among the highest in the world. In Australia the suicide death rate was double that of non-Indigenous people.



Hospitalisations for self-harm and the rates of Indigenous adults reporting high or very high psychological distress rose in the years to 2014-15, according to the Productivity Commission.

Scullion said government reviews had revealed “myriad” support services from different groups and agencies but they did not have adequate coordination. “The effect is that people fall between the cracks”.

The trial in Western Australia, as a component of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project, had been successful in bringing services together, Scullion said.

Scullion said the service would exit an area once the existing services – many government funded – were coordinating better. The government was also implementing mental health first aid training among Indigenous affairs department and sector workers he said.

“It’s about lifting the capacity of communities to understand and help. Have we fixed the environment to reduce poverty? No we haven’t and we have to acknowledge that. We need to work on the precursors.”

A suicide researcher, Gerry Georgatos, said eight in 10 suicides under the age of 12 were Indigenous children. His research showed a direct correlation with living in poverty and high rates of suicide, he said.

The service, which Georgatos is assisting with, was a “step in the right direction”.

“In the end we trialled it for one year in WA and we’ve been able to improve the lives of many affected families,” he said. “But poverty is an ultimate battle. That’s where the suicides are, where the self-harming and aberrant behaviour predominately is.

“Significantly my research says what is almost negligible is the suicides of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living above the poverty line, and living well, and actually significantly less than non-Indigenous Australians. This signifies the solutions – people who are living well and earning a quid and are Indigenous are enjoying the best of their culture.

“One government after another has failed to adequately respond to the degradation of a lot of these communities I go to.

“It’s a myth that it’s shame and taboo to speak about loss. I’ve sat with hundreds of families across this continent who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ... They pour out their heart. It’s the listening that’s not happening.”</s>An assessment of First Nations health care produced by the federal health department early last year shows the government is aware that it is failing in almost every respect to deliver adequate treatment and medical services to people living on reserves.

The review was conducted for Health Minister Jane Philpott after the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found the government is discriminating against vulnerable indigenous children on reserves by providing them with less money for welfare than is available elsewhere in Canada. It points to significant gaps for First Nations in primary care, health promotion and prevention, child development, infrastructure, non-insured health benefits and environmental health.

The federal Liberal government, which is responsible for indigenous health care, says it has been investing hundreds of millions of dollars in First Nations health since it came to office a year ago and is working to resolve the problems.

Read more: Ottawa pledges increase in health care funding for on-reserve children

But doctors say little has improved since the Health Canada report was written in February, 2016, and one physician who has been treating indigenous people in Northern Ontario for more than a decade said it is a “very powerful indictment of a current state of affairs.”

“Would these sort of things be tolerated in any provincial system?” asked Mike Kirlew, who practices in Sioux Lookout and on reserve. “This is about children dying. This is families lacking basic services.”

The Health Canada assessment says at the greatest risk are programs such as those involving home and community care that do not automatically receive annual increases in funding, those that are not universal and those that face health human-resource challenges.

The document, which was obtained by NDP MP Charlie Angus under Access to Information legislation, says First Nations have limited access to health professionals and lack diagnostic equipment in many communities. They must cope with poor infrastructure in nursing stations and health centres, and there are inadequate health records.

Care is not provided outside regular business hours, Health Canada does not pay for palliative care or rehabilitation therapies, a maternal and child health program is not universally available and the shortage of mental-wellness services for children that exists across Canada is amplified on reserves. In addition, the document says, the demand for addiction treatment exceeds the supply, the Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve program for preschoolers is serving just 17 per cent of children who are eligible, and there is an insufficient number of dentists.

“The lack of funding for the maintenance and construction of new infrastructure in First Nations Communities in Canada has resulted in serious deficiencies,” it says. And “underfunding” has limited the ability of environmental protection officers to do on-the-ground work such as water-quality testing.

Dr. Philpott said her government remains committed to closing the gaps in health and mental-wellness outcomes that exist between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in Canada. She pointed out that $8.4-billion was promised in last year’s budget to improve the socioeconomic conditions of indigenous peoples and their communities. That included $270-million to replace and renovate nursing stations and health and treatment centres on reserves.

The government has also set aside $382-million over three years to address Jordan’s Principle, which says children who fall ill on reserves should not be denied proper treatment and medical supports because federal and provincial governments can’t agree about who should pay. And in June, it allocated $69-million over three years for mental-health issues.

“We recognize that it will require tremendous effort over many years to close these gaps,” Dr. Philpott said, “but we remain committed to working with indigenous leaders and the provinces and territories to do so.”

But Alika Lafontaine, the team leader of the Indigenous Health Alliance, a collaboration of 150 First Nations across Canada toward health transformation, said the document is further evidence that the system of care provision for indigenous peoples is not only insufficient but ineffective.

The solution, Dr. Lafontaine said, is to create a real health system on reserves – one in which minimum health standards are legislated in the same way that provinces legislate standards within their own jurisdictions. The federal government might not believe that is fiscally feasible, he said, “but then why do we not ask that question about fiscal feasibility when it comes to a remote community in the mainstream health system?”</s>If you've been on Australian social media lately, you may have seen a message: #ChangeTheDate.

Jan. 26, 1788 was the first official day of European colonialism in Australia. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it marks the beginning of a cycle of dispossession and violence.

"Australia Day" has been celebrated across the country on Jan. 26 only since 1994, and Indigenous Australians have been fighting to have the date changed for much longer than that. More recently, the movement has been coming together online under the hashtag, #ChangeTheDate.

On Tuesday, a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander hip hop artists and allies released a song and 360 degree video experience called "Change the Date," organised by NITV. Contributors Nooky, Birdz, Kaylah Truth and L-Fresh the Lion spoke to Mashable about their song, and what social media activism means to them.

Yuin man and hip hop artist Corey Webster, known as Nooky, takes his inspiration from Indigenous activists like Bob McLeod, Charlie Perkins and Chicka Dixon.

"They're the reason I make music," he told Mashable. "They had their fight and they did it their way. I see music as my fight, my way of contributing."

In recent years, he said he's noticed the #ChangeTheDate movement gaining traction, particularly on social media. "If you look at the past two, maybe three years, there's been a big online conversation about it," Nooky said. "[Social media] is the place where the conversations spark — the good conversations and the bad."

He sees their track "Change the Date" as "chucking more wood" on the fire started by protest songs like "January 26" by the group A.B. Original, but finding a new date to celebrate Australia Day is by no means the only goal.

"If they change the date, fine. I'm still not going to celebrate Australia day. Not till I can call myself equal," he said.

Butchulla man Nathan Bird, or Birdz, said he likes to see his music as a social platform.

"It's very important to me that it comes from an honest place," he said. "That just happens to connect with the history of this country ... It's not just Indigenous history, it's Australian history."

Birdz said he never celebrated Jan. 26, even as a child. "As a kid, I didn't feel comfortable celebrating, I've always felt something was wrong," he explained. "And later, you learn the truth about what happened."

"It's very much the anniversary of invasion to me as an Indigenous person. The beginning of genocide and dispossession for my people."

In his view, spreading the word about #ChangeTheDate on social media can help people open up to the truth about Australian history, but like any movement, it's also about balance.

Social media messages have the potential to create change, but only if backed by action. "You can't just always live online," he said. "There's a lot of wrong to be righted, and a lot of things that need changing on the ground."

For Gurang and Ngugi woman Kaylah Truth A.K.A. Kaylah Tyson, the fight against Australia Day (or Invasion Day as it's often called) is something she's been aware of all her life, but it wasn't always a simple matter.

Her father is English, and she often spent Jan. 26 with that side of her family, she told Mashable, who barbecued and listened to the Hottest 100 like much of Australia. "It hasn't always been black and white," she added.

It's this issue of identity that she wanted to shared in her "Change the Date" verse. "I was trying to paint a picture of what it was like for me growing up as a child with one Aboriginal parent and one non-Aboriginal parent," she explained. "Trying to figure out where I fit within that."

Tyson said she's seen more conversation about #ChangeTheDate over the past 12 months. "There has been more awareness throughout the mainstream public, and more people are joining in on the conversation," she said.

The musician sees positivity in the way the internet can share a nuanced message about Indigenous issues. "I think that's the beauty of the internet," she said. "It's so easy to spread our message from here to the other side of the world in one click. It can be such a powerful tool if we use it in the right way."

"If we don't start having the conversations, we don't give each other the chance to become educated," she added. "Now that we have the internet and we have so much information at our fingertips, it's great to share a video and use a hashtag, but you have to take the next step and educate yourself."

Take the time to listen

Rapper Sukhdeep Singh, known as L-Fresh the Lion, said he's never really celebrated Jan. 26.

As a Sikh man, he's been trying to listen and learn from Indigenous people why the date is harmful, and share those insights with his own community.

"I've tried to spend the day talking to my community about what I've learnt ... to let them know that celebrating Jan. 26 may be seem like a positive thing for us in trying to be embraced by the wider community, but it's really disrespectful to Indigenous people."

For L-Fresh, the digital world is an extension of himself, so he tries to share what's important on his social media accounts.

"A lot of people occupy the digital world as much as the real world — it's an important space to be a part of," he said.

He sees the movement as gaining traction, but only because people like himself are doing what should have always been done — listening to and respecting Indigenous people and their voices, and getting behind their movements.

"We cannot, as individuals who come here and celebrate Australia's values, benefits and freedoms — we cannot do that genuinely and feel good about it when Indigenous people are still fighting," he explained.

"For me, it all starts with listening and then applying what you've learnt from Indigenous people, and applying that to your family and friends — having that conversation."
Ken Wyatt is sworn in as the first Indigenous Australian ever to serve as a Federal minister, becoming the Minister for Indigenous Health and Aged Care.