Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Ludwig, the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing. Overnight the number of cases of swine flu, H1N1, in the Northern Territory has risen to 78. The Australian Medical Association is warning that there could be many deaths in remote Aboriginal communities if governments do not take a more proactive approach to dealing with swine flu. Given that we know that Aboriginal people, particularly in remote communities, are among the highest health risk group in the world and that Aboriginal people have a much higher rate of hospitalisation and death caused by seasonal flu, does the government agree that there is a much higher risk of a disproportionate impact of a swine flu pandemic on Aboriginal communities?