While the government is on track to halve the gap in Indigenous students attaining year 12 education by 2020 — and to potentially close the gap in enrolments of Indigenous children for early childhood education by 2025 — targets to close the gap in other critical areas like life expectancy, infant mortality, education and employment remain elusive.

This latest report should be a strong wake-up call to us all that a significantly greater effort is required to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Only by achieving strong and consistent improvements in each target area will we see significant and much-needed steps forward.

It is a continuing tragedy that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people still suffer from poorer health outcomes and a shorter life expectancy than non-Indigenous Australians.

While the reasons for this are complex and include a range of socio-economic and other factors, it is certainly the case in the healthcare system that much more can be done.

For example, we have a continuing lack of access in many locations to culturally-appropriate health services. Understandably, the availability of culturally-appropriate healthcare often makes the difference between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients going to see a doctor or other health professional, or not going at all.

And while there are increased opportunities for cultural competency training within our medical and other health courses, more consistent access for medical and health students (particularly non-Indigenous students) to this critical training is needed.

There also continues to be a strong need to encourage and train more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to become doctors and other health professionals, and to support them in their important work once they graduate.

Advanced training in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health is one area we believe should be offered through the pathway.

This will in part help the next generation of rural and remote generalist doctors to respond effectively to the healthcare needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Dr Ewen McPhee

President

Rural Doctors Association of Australia

THE recent ground-breaking conviction of a Sydney Fish Market trader for cruelty is being celebrated by compassionate people around the world. 

All animals deserve protection from cruel treatment and painful death.

Crustaceans were added to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in 1997 after it was medically proven that they feel pain.

No Australian laws regulate the treatment of fish caught or raised for their flesh, and both commercial fishers and fish factory farms treat these animals in ways that would warrant cruelty-to-animals charges if the victims were dogs or cats.

It is time that all animals were given the basic rights to live and die without humans adding pain and terror for the sake of profit.

Ashley Fruno

Associate director

PETA Australia

Yay: To the Merungle Hill farmer Austin and Lyn from Yanco who came across live power lines across the road on after the recent storm and directed motorists for 30 minutes until police and SES arrived.

Yay: To Narrandera for the great family day out at the footy.