Former Speaker: Abbott Is Attacking The Indigenous Community, The Most Vulnerable In Society

Former speaker of the House, Anna Burke, brought to the Parliaments attention yesterday how the right wing coalition government’s first budget devastating cuts to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health programs in the government’s forward estimates, with no explanation of where the cuts will fall.

In the coalition’s first budget Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s health systems take savage blows. Programs that try to promote healthy lifestyle and tackle smoking and alcohol addiction in Indigenous communities will be on the chopping block, which would cause not just the programs to disappear but their employees as well.

Ms Burke said that the Prime Minister was foolish to think that he could do this and expect the lives of Aboriginal families in remote communities to improve. She also sated in Parliament that his actions are attacking Australia’s most vulnerable in society with no compassion whatsoever.