With the 2025 Federal election just around the corner, Sector Leader contacted six political parties in Queensland — the ALP, Coalition, Greens, One Nation, Katter’s Australia and Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia — seeking their election commitments to First Nation’s health. QAIHC received responses from Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia, Katter’s Australian Party and The Australian Greens. Sector Leader will reach out to the ALP, LNP and One Nation in the coming weeks for any updates to their policy for the April edition.
Indigenous — Aboriginal Party of Australia (IAPA)
Sector Leader caught up with Marnie Laree Davis (Darug), Indigenous — Aboriginal Party of Australia candidate for the Gold Coast seat of Fadden in the 2025 federal election, to discuss the party’s First Nations health policy.
Ms Davis, a proud Darug woman raised on Quandamooka and Kombumerri country, has worked across government advocacy, domestic violence services, and Aboriginal Medical Services.
“Because we’re a grassroots community party, we are contacted by community members across Australia seeking us to advocate to address the cultural and practice gaps in our current government practices and responses,” she said.
The IAPA website outlines 16 policies, one addressing primary health: the establishment of a dedicated Indigenous suicide help line, which was implemented in 2022.
13Yarn is mob-led and informed by national Aboriginal organisations such as NACCHO. Ms Davis noted that while Mob-led initiatives are effective, long-term funding is uncertain.
“It’s hard to get that consistency of staff where community are building rapport, and they build trust, and they’re engaging well, and in the end the programme finishes,” she said.
“There’s accountability issues — for government identified roles being paid less than mainstream roles, despite mob doing double the workload in addition to cultural load.
“This needs to be addressed so we have mob supporting mob, with Indigenous trauma-informed practice in position descriptions and performance reviews.”
The IAPA website also outlines two policies concerning mental/emotional health: ending juvenile incarceration due to its psychological harms and ending the psychological harm of lack of recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional ownership — through constitutional recognition and treaty.
She stressed that better housing, prevention of forced child removal, and local, community-based supports are crucial in reducing domestic violence, suicides, and incarceration.
Drawing on her domestic violence sector experience, she highlighted how inadequate government responses perpetuate high domestic violence rates.
Ms Davis referred to successful local solutions such as referral pathways to culturally-safe prevention measures in home family wellbeing supports.
“Despite the successful outcomes of these organisations, the department continues old ways and removal of children which is psychologically damaging to our families, community and jarjums,” she said.
“Intensive rehab programmes or intensive family wellbeing supports in the house work really well.
“Elders come into the family home and provide support in home.
“It’s culturally appropriate, supportive, and there’s no intergenerational fear of child safety coming in and saying, ‘you must do XYZ or we’re taking your children off you’.
“It’s time for justice and it’s our time for a First Nations party, for a voice in parliament not to parliament.”
Katter’s Australian Party (KAP)
Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) is acutely aware that many Queensland families, including First Australians, face severely limited access to healthcare. In the Kennedy electorate, represented by the KAP’s Bob Katter, First Australians comprise 14.8 per cent of the population, significantly higher than the national average of 3.2 per cent and Queensland’s 4.6 per cent.
Our commitment lies in ensuring improved access to healthcare services. We highly regard and value our doctors and healthcare professionals, and we want to provide them with the necessary support to deliver continued improvements in health outcomes for First Australians, as well as remote and rural residents.
To address this issue, we support the following:
- Cut red tape for fast-track access to essential treatments: We are particularly interested in supporting proposals that simplify access to essential healthcare by expanding the role of GPs and other trained health professionals, particularly in smaller towns and remote areas. Many of our constituents and their children living in rural and remote areas face critical care challenges due to limited access to medical or allied health specialists who can assist them. We support programs that aim to expand rural healthcare services to address these patients’ needs.
- Greatly improved patient travel support: KAP is conscious that remote and rural residents, including First Australians, will, on occasion, need to travel to larger centres for specialist treatment. Current supports for this travel, including accommodation, are grossly inadequate. Patients should never be faced with a financial burden to access the care they need.
- Significant increase in Renal Services: First Australians are five times more likely to suffer from kidney disease. Current renal services across Australia in remote and rural communities are in need of significant expansions. First Australians and remote and rural people must never be faced with the harrowing decision to move away from home for extended periods, if not forever, to access ongoing life-giving care.
- Invest in the next generation of general practitioners and healthcare professionals: We support expanded funding to train more general practitioners and healthcare professionals, but we hold firm that this funding must be directed towards training doctors and professionals who will practice in areas of workforce shortage — particularly in rural and remote communities.
The KAP is a strong supporter of First Australians outside of the health sphere too, successfully implementing programs for First Australians to own their own home, as well as advocating against the Queensland Blue Card system which has been disproportionately keeping First Australians out of gainful employment.
The Australian Greens
ACCHOs have been severely under-funded and under-recognised by successive governments. This has prevented ACCHOs from fully investing in infrastructure, workforce and service programs required to meet community need.
The Australian Greens recognise that, despite this, ACCHO services are consistently some of the most effective and culturally safe community services in the country.
In this context, and in full knowledge of the significant health and mental health disparities experienced by First Nations Peoples, the Australian Greens have committed to the following:
Funding for ACCHOs
The Greens will provide an additional $750m for ACCHO services over 10 years. This would include specialists’ services to address intersectional health needs, such as those of First Nations LGBTIQA+ people and those with disabilities.
Funding for FAS-D diagnosis and treatment
The Greens will provide more funding for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FAS-D) diagnosis and treatment – $20m annually, $180m in total. This policy would decrease the costs associated with treatment and diagnosis of FAS-D.
Programs funded by this commitment would be co-designed and co-delivered with First Nations People and First Nations-led organisations.
Increasing access to bulk-billing GP appointments
The Greens will triple the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) bulk billing incentive payments for all Medicare card holders, and resource doctors to spend more time with patients to spend more time with patients by implementing a 20 per cent increase to Medicare patient rebates for longer appointments.
Establishing 1000 free healthcare clinics
The Greens will establish 6 free local healthcare clinics in each federal electorate where people can access a GP, psychologist, nurse, or dentist for free.
Better resourcing for public hospitals
The Greens will commit to a pathway to 50/50 funding of public hospitals between the Federal Government and states and territories, and remove the 6.5 per cent cap on funding growth. This will ease pressure on the public hospital system and allow hospitals to continue providing high-quality essential healthcare.
Putting dental care into Medicare
The Greens will add dental services to Medicare to ensure that every person who holds a Medicare card will be able to access the essential dental services they need.
Our plan will see an improvement in health and wellbeing, a decrease in dental disease, infection and follow-on conditions such as heart disease and dementia.
Providing universal mental health care through Medicare
The Greens will expand the Better Access Scheme to ensure everyone can access the mental health they need by removing the cap on the number of sessions available, increasing the referral pathways, expanding access to provisional psychologists, and increasing rebates.
Other parties
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) was formed out of the labour movement in pre-federation colonies. The party’s structure allocates 50 per cent of delegate representation at state and national conferences to affiliated unions, with the remaining 50 per cent to rank-and-file party members.
Scan the QR code to be taken to the ALP policy page, where you can find policies on Medicare, medicines and housing, among others.
Coalition
The Coalition — known as the LNP in Queensland — is an alliance between the Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia. Despite retaining separate organisational wings and parliamentary groups, they work together through formal deals and informal arrangements. In 2008, Queensland merged its state parties into the Liberal National Party, though federal MPs continue to sit with either the Liberals or Nationals.
Scan the QR code to download LET’S GET AUSTRALIA BACK ON TRACK: The Priorities of a Dutton Coalition Government, the Coalition’s 12-point policy platform including health and First Nations policies.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON) also known as One Nation or One Nation Party is led by Senator Pauline Hanson.
Scan the QR code to be taken to the PHON policy page where they have policies on housing, health, Medicare, COVID-19 vaccination, medicinal cannabis and abortion.
