Remote women live with violence
“THE alarming rate of domestic violence in Aboriginal communities has been exposed, with research showing indigenous women are almost 70 times more likely to be bashed and require hospital treatment for head injuries than non-indigenous women.”
Below are all articles relating to the lastest Federal budget which can probably be aptly described as taking from the drunk to give to the toddlers.
The Good
I was really happy to see the introduction of means testing for the baby bonus and for Family Tax Benefit (B) because I just don’t think it’s possible to defend giving tax breaks to wealthy families and I think that the cut-off rate was high enough as to be sufficently inclusive for lower-middle income families given the increasing cost of living. It was also really great to see the Federal Government putting their money where their mouth is and investing in the education system.
The Bad
I was disappointed to see that the Federal Government weren’t spending more on indigenous issues, particularly health and education and that there wasn’t going to be any emergency funding allocated to tie students’ associations over until a new funding system is put into place, particularly as both Julia Gillard and Kate Ellis had been so positive and forthcoming in assuring students that they weren’t going to be forgotten.
The Ugly
Alcopops, a word I’m sure everyone is well and truly sick of. The tax on alcopops was never intended on preventing binge drinking, it was always going to be used as blatant revenue raising and it’s being spun in an incredibly patronising and I think sexist fashion, the Federal government riding in on it’s white horse to save young women from themselves with a tax. I call bullshit.
Macklin forced to defend underspend claims in NT
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin was today forced to defend the government against criticism that it was vastly underspending its predecessor.
Falling short: Indigenous budget spending
The Rudd government has committed a total of $1.2 billion over five years for a range of measures aimed at closing, within a generation, the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
Australian Greens senator Rachel Siewert said that was inadequate.
“I’m dismayed that despite the rhetoric from the government on closing the gap, the commitment of funds in this budget simply won’t do it,” she said.
16,000 families set to lose baby bonus
ABOUT 16,000 high-income families are set to lose the baby bonus, with the federal government means testing the scheme from the beginning of 2009.
Won’t somebody think of the Cougar drinkers?
Brendan Nelson will. And he’s not taking the p-ss. Instead of standing up for stay-at-home mums or solar panels, the Opposition Leader has sided with ‘ute men’ and underage drinkers.
Rise in killings of remote Aboriginal women
“On average, 1.3 out of 100,000 Australians die each year as a result of murder or manslaughter. But if you were an Aboriginal woman living in the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara lands, you would take no comfort from those figures.”
This just makes me really sad.
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I’m doing my darndest to find stuff on how the latest budget is going to impact on women but wading through financial commentary is a daunting task, even at the best of times. Something on the budget will magically appear soon!
Indigenous maternal death rate alarming
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are almost three times more likely to die while pregnant, during labour or up to six weeks after giving birth than non-indigenous women.
And the system for reporting maternal deaths in Australia needs an overhaul, with inconsistent data collection between the states and territories undermining the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) efforts to provide accurate and timely statistics.”
Down Under Women 