The Wire

Health outcomes for Indigenous Australians are being placed under the microscope at two upcoming conferences in an attempt to boost poor health standards. Professor Alan Coates of the Australian Cancer Council says talks underway in Darwin will focus on reducing the impact of cancer in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – where sufferers are twice as likely to die as non-Indigenous cancer patients. Sean Brennan from the University of New South Wales says their discussion in September will take a more holistic approach to Indigenous health – looking at how a treaty would boost the mental and social wellbeing of Australia’s first people, in turn improving their physical health.