Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

Senators and others would be aware that last week the Prime Minister and a number of ministers visited East Arnhem to talk with local people in the community about many issues that were important to them

Firstly, can I congratulate the Prime Minister and Minister Scullion for their ongoing commitment in this area.

For many of us it was the first time we had been to East Arnhem. I note that Senator Scullion has had a 30-year-relationship with the region and I think his understanding and leadership contribute enormously in this area.

Over the week, we had some great discussions and meetings with local people. To see the response of those local people to the fact that, as government, we had selected a number of ministers to be on the ground for a considerable period of time, it was very much appreciated.

There has been a lot of improvement, but there are still challenges and there is still a lot more to do. Particularly with regard to health, there are very challenging circumstances with regard to chronic conditions and complex health conditions.

The need for effective prevention and clinical intervention was evident. What we have seen is that health outcomes are so closely linked to good housing, education and employment. We cannot look at these things in silos; we must look at all of these things together to move toward improving outcomes for Indigenous communities.

We met with a range of groups throughout the week, as I indicated, culminating in health forum at the end of the week with Minister Dutton, Minister Scullion and me, which provided a significant benefit to our understanding and to those who attended on the way forward.