LINDA BURNEY MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FAMILIES AND SOCIAL SERVICES
SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS
MEMBER FOR BARTON
SENATOR MARIELLE SMITH
LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
KYAM MAHER MLC
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SHADOW MINISTER FOR ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS
CHRIS PICTON MP
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING
MEMBER FOR KAURNA
LABOR PLEDGES NEW FUTURE FOR YADU HEALTH IN CEDUNA
An Albanese Labor Government would provide $13.35m for new health facilities for Yadu Health in Ceduna.
In addition, a Malinauskas South Australian Labor Government will provide $2.5 million of funding to support the construction of accommodation for additional health services, including dental and other allied health.
After years of neglect by the Liberals, large sections of the Yadu Health clinic are unsafe for human use due to crumbling asbestos, black mould and water leaking around live electrical cabling. Around a third of the building is so unsafe that it can’t even be used for storage.
Labor’s commitment will ensure First Nations people and the wider community on South Australia’s Far West Coast get the health care they deserve in facilities that are safe for them and staff.
Yadu Health, established in 1978, is a community controlled Aboriginal health service supporting vast areas of far western SA including Ceduna, Koonibba and Scotdesco.
Several dozen Yadu staff see 3,000 patients per year, despite Ceduna and its surrounds only having a total population of around 4,500 people.
For too long, funding for First Nations people and community health has been overlooked and forgotten.
Making life better for our community will be front and centre in every decision Federal and SA Labor make.
Comments attributable to Federal Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney
This is a great example of how health investments in regional and remote health services by state and federal Labor can work together to deliver a better future for Aboriginal people.
The Closing the Gap agreement lists Aboriginal life expectancy as the number one target, but Aboriginal people in Ceduna are forced to take serious risks when they seek medical care.
Comments attributable to Labor Senator for South Australia Senator Marielle Smith,
Over the past year, I have repeatedly called on the Federal Government to urgently fund this work, only for my calls to fall on deaf ears. This funding commitment shows that Labor takes seriously the need to deliver on Closing the Gap and for Aboriginal communities across South Australia.
The infrastructure problems at Yadu Health have been a political football for too long. Only a Federal Labor Government will end this buck-passing.
The staff, volunteers and patients at Yadu Health deserve a clinic that is safe and fit for purpose. I am proud to have stood with them in this fight.
Comments attributable to SA Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Kyam Maher
The Yadu Health building is no longer suitable for any purpose except the scrap heap – only Labor will make sure the Aboriginal community gets the health care it deserves.
The situation is now making Aboriginal people feel that their health is not valued.
Aboriginal people face some of the highest levels of disadvantage and the poorest health outcomes in Australia – this historic investment is an important step in Closing the Gap.
Comments attributable to SA Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing Chris Picton
Only the Liberals could possibly think it’s OK for anyone – let alone Aboriginal people in remote communities – to have a health service inside a health hazard.
ENDS
