Most Victorian Aboriginal community health buildings rapidly deteriorating, report finds

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A new report has revealed the desperate state of buildings that house Victoria’s Aboriginal Health Clinics. The state’s independent advisory body – infrastructure Victoria – has joined forced with the peak body for Indigenous health services. They are using the government to inject much needed funding to make up for what they say has been decades of neglect.

Transcript

00:00I still remember the flag raising and the smoking ceremonies.

00:07Sixty-year-old Uncle Kerry MacDonald has been coming to this Aboriginal health clinic

00:11in Dandenong for over a decade for both check-ups and to connect with culture.

00:16It's just rotted.

00:18But last year the building was condemned due to the risk of asbestos closing its doors

00:23for good.

00:24It has given us such a disconnect that people don't have a local hub to come to.

00:29This was very close, accessible by public transport and now it's not.

00:33Over time the building is falling apart, there's cracks in the walls, bricks have moved to the point that we can no longer enter.

00:40These were the conditions patients and staff endured before the clinic was moved to a makeshift site 15 kilometres away

00:47with fewer services and no community gatherings.

00:50You shouldn't see conditions like that in the modern world and in a very wealthy world either here in Australia.

00:58A new report reveals most of the buildings used by Aboriginal community controlled organisations are falling apart.

01:05The report reveals more than 80% of buildings need to be replaced or repaired in the next 15 years,

01:1152% of the infrastructure is at the end of its life and 42% of the total floor space is in a critical condition.

01:19Despite the infrastructure hurdles, research shows that organisations like this one are outperforming their mainstream health counterparts

01:26when it comes to closing the gap.

01:28This has raised the question as to why they're not getting the same amount of funding.

01:32It's everyone's responsibility to meet those targets but our community organisations have to have the proper tools to do that.

01:40The Victorian Government says frontline services will be addressed in the next budget.

01:45Uncle Kerry says help can't come soon enough.

01:48If this is the legacy we're going to leave our young and emerging people, I mean it's a sad indictment on the Government.

01:57Excellent.

01:58Tra摘者 All rights.

02:01Let's talk about the UN writings built together.

02:06I mean, point out to the UNs'

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