Lobby groups have already begun their pitch for more funding from the
Federal Government ahead of the May Budget.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has released its submission today.
The submission calls for an extra $720 million to improve health care
for Indigenous Australians, the mentally ill and the disabled.
AMA president Bill Glasson says $400 million should go to Indigenous
Australians alone, because their health and living conditions are at
third world levels.
Dr Glasson has seized on Prime Minister John Howard's Australia Day
address, where he said he looked forward to Indigenous Australians
enjoying the country's benefits and bounty.
"I call upon the Prime Minister, who yesterday highlighted the important
issue about Indigenous people sharing the full enjoyment of the bounty
of Australia, and ask him to extend that to the Budget for 2005 to
2006," he said. |
