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

I would like to add to those excellent comments from Senator Di Natale. In 2011, I chaired a Senate inquiry into the specific provisions for Aboriginal health services. Section 100 provides support for Aboriginal health services. The committee made 10 recommendations through that particular inquiry and those 10 recommendations went through details not only of the operation of section 100 but of some other areas.

The Auditor-General's report briefly covered the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs and the $29 million. That is a relatively significant amount of money when you are looking at the provision of support for Aboriginal people. The section 100 pharmacy support allowance funds pharmacists to provide support and quality use of medicines services to Aboriginal health services. One of the things that came out of the Senate committee report was specifically about making the funds more flexible so Aboriginal health services could employ pharmacists. Strong evidence was provided to the committee about the importance of Aboriginal health services being able to employ pharmacists. The audit report states:

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs and the Rural Pharmacy Workforce Programs … had the least developed public reporting arrangements, with some programs and activities not reported on at all …

Here we are, talking about $29 million for some of the most disadvantaged people in our community. We have a commitment to close the gap by 2031, yet there has not been any reporting on some of the activities in the pharmacy agreement. The audit report goes on:

… or being reported on an ad hoc basis through press releases issued by the Pharmacy Guild. The Pharmacy Guild advised the ANAO that:

The Guildʹs reporting requirements on these programs are to the Department of Health as per contracting arrangements. The Guild has met every reporting deliverable to Health. It is the responsibility of the Department to report publicly as it does with other programs such as the medication management.

The audit report talks about the Senate report and it also talks about the 2010 report. The audit report says, 'The fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement review of Indigenous Pharmacy programs also noted that stakeholders agreed that it would be preferable for Aboriginal Health Services to directly employ pharmacists.'

So we have the report in 2011 and we have the report in 2010, and we have not seen any action. They are not reporting on how this is being implemented. They are not reporting on the limited health dollars that are going to Aboriginal health. They need to have a good look at this program and a good look at the Senate committee report, because neither the previous government nor this government have responded to the 10 recommendations of the Senate committee report. Surely, given that we are not on track to meet our targets for Closing the Gap this would have been within the sights of government to look at, to respond to and to address.

They cannot sign a sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement until this issue is dealt with. People have been advocating for changes to the way section 100 and the Aboriginal health services program operates under the Community Pharmacy Agreement. They should not sign a new pharmacy agreement until these issues are finally resolved because they are not delivering—actually, we do not know that because they do not require adequate reporting. It needs to change. They need to take this opportunity right now to ensure that the $29 million, or the money that is committed under the new agreement, addresses the issues and actually helps to provide better services to Aboriginal health services, and to employ pharmacists in particular. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.