Indigenous Suicide: Australian Government Prioritises First Nations People

Local Indigenous Ngunnawal residents celebrate at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, Australia, on Jan. 26, 2023. Martin Ollman/Getty Images

The rate of suicide among Indigenous Australians still remains twice as high as non-Indigenous Australians despite government initiatives, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Assistant Minister Emma McBride said today.

Ms. McBride announced in a speech during the Gayaa Dhuwi Australia Annual Conference that improving the mental health, social and emotional wellbeing of First Nations people is a priority for the Australian government, but “not enough has been done, and of the progress that has been made, it has not happened quickly enough.”

Contributing factors to suicide among Indigenous Australians are family breakdowns, financial insecurity, homelessness, family violence and social isolation.

“These are all areas that across our Government we are focussing on. They are front and centre,” Ms. McBride said.

Central to the government approach to suicide is partnerships and supporting local solutions that are safe, effective and significantly designed in close collaboration with communities.

Additionally, the Australian government will establish an ongoing partnership with the Glen for Women with a $3.5 million (US$2.26 million) investment.

The Glen for Women: Turning Lives Around

On August 30 2023, Ms. McBride announced the Glen for Women, a rehabilitation centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales offering holistic addiction treatment for First Nations women, will officially open with a ceremony today.

“The Glen for Women is doing fantastic work and helping to turn around the lives of First Nations women struggling with drug and alcohol use in the Central Coast community and beyond,” she said.

“The facility is an important addition to the number of beds available for women in residential rehabilitation centres and is one of the few which offer culturally safe support for First Nations women.”

Located in Darkinjung Country, the 20-bed centre offers an abstinence-based program, including group counselling, purposeful life skills, sports, cooking, personal training, parenting programs, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and community work and education.

To help combat contributing factors to suicide, the centre helps clients deal with grief and trauma, relationships, gambling and anger management.

Assistant Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said the Glen for Women would “go a long way in making a positive difference to the lives of women in the Central Coast region, their families and the wider community.”

Partnering with Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) (GDPSA)

In her speech, Ms. McBride said the government will also partner with Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) (GDPSA) to lead and advocate for system-wide changes to improve outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health, well-being and suicide prevention—prioritising community-led services and responses.

GDPSA Australia is the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional well-being, mental health, and suicide prevention. As a community-controlled organisation, it is governed and regulated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experts and peak bodies working in these areas to promote collective excellence in mental health care.

The Commonwealth Government tasked GDPSA to renew the 2013 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy (NATSISPS).

The NATSISPS was first introduced in May 2013 and was developed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experts and leaders in mental health and suicide prevention. It contains six Action Areas centred around targeted suicide prevention by strengthing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

It required renewal because although it remained a sound, evidence-based strategic response to Indigenous suicide, it also responded to circumstances that have changed since 2013, such as new policies.

Alongside the renewal, the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan (2017) (PDF) under Priority Area 4 committed both federal and state Australian governments to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access to and experience with mental health and well-being services in collaboration with service providers by recognising and promoting the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and supporting the implementation of the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration.

In 2017, Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council Chairman Jill Hennessy said the Fifth Plan committed to a nationally agreed set of priority areas, and actions that are designed to achieve an integrated mental health system and that will be used to build a more robust, transparent, accountable, efficient and effective system.

McBride Addresses The Voice to Parliament

“This year, we have the opportunity to do something long overdue,” Ms. McBride said in her speech.

“That is, recognition in our Constitution of the 65,000 years of shared history and continuous connection to this land for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians,” she said.

“It’s about recognition through a voice—enshrined in the constitution.”

She said The Voice would make a genuine difference for First Nations’ wellbeing and “speak to those 65,000 years of history and the collective aspirations for our future, a voice that will inform policies and programs that impact First Nations Australians.”

A Voice to Parliament will give Indigenous communities a way to help inform policy and legal decisions impacting their lives.

“Giving people a say will lead to more effective results,” she said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Aug. 30 that the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum would be held on Saturday, October 14 2023.

In October, the question put to Australian voters would require a Yes or No response to whether an Indigenous Voice to Parliament should be enshrined in the country’s constitution.

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