Rugby League joins campaign to improve Indigenous health

The National Rugby League (NRL) today became the first sporting code to sign up to Close the Gap, Australia’s largest ever campaign to improve the life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
The NRL has also named Round 23 of the Telstra Premiership (August 14 – 17) the Close the Gap round to promote the campaign to rugby league audiences, and celebrate the sport’s Indigenous history.
The NRL joins 60 Australian health and human rights organisations, and over 130,000 individuals, who have so far pledged their commitment to closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2030.
The life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is more than a decade less than that of other Australians.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Chair of the Close the Gap Campaign Tom Calma welcomed the NRL’s support and the opportunity to raise awareness of this important issue with a wide audience.
“Closing the life expectancy gap by 2030 requires a team effort by all Australians – Indigenous and non-Indigenous.
“Solutions need to be devised that involve Indigenous people in the decision making and gives them control over the delivery of the health services in their communities.
“Partnering with the NRL, and the naming of a dedicated Close the Gap round, provides the campaign with a great opportunity to take that message to a wide audience and to raise awareness of the challenges faced by Indigenous people growing up in this country,” he said.
NRL Chief Executive David Gallop said he hoped the round would demonstrate the successful involvement of Indigenous players in the game and the potential for sport to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“We want to help provide a level playing field for Indigenous Australians, who today live over a decade less than other Australians and who face higher risks of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and kidney failure.
“This is an opportunity for everyone in the game to celebrate Rugby League’s proud Indigenous heritage and one of the best ways to do that is to pledge to help close the life expectancy gap.”
The NRL Close the Gap round will take place from August 14 – 17 and people can sign the Close the Gap pledge at www.oxfam.org.au/closethegap.
For media enquiries, contact John Lindsay on 0425 701 801 or Sunita Bose on 0407 555 960.
Close the Gap campaign – Useful Media Background
The Close the Gap campaign is led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma and supported by every Indigenous and non-Indigenous health peak body in Australia as well as a number of non-government organisations including Oxfam Australia.
It aims to close the health and life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2030.
Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet on average an Aboriginal child born today will still live for more than a decade less than a non-Aboriginal child.
Aboriginal babies are up to three times more likely to die before the age of one than other Australian babies.
In March 2008, Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Ministers for Health and Indigenous Affairs and then Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson, signed a statement of intent with Indigenous health leaders committing them to the goals of the Close the Gap campaign.
Among the campaign’s successes to date has been a government commitment of $1.6 billion, the biggest single injection of new funding by a government to Indigenous health.
The campaign is now calling on all Australian governments to develop a long-term plan of action developed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to ensure that this funding is properly spent.