An indictment of Australia's approach to alleviating poverty in remote communities - true - but I was a little disappointed that you spent so much time outlining the problem and paid so little attention to discussing the solution. Because it is finding the solution that is where the real debate starts.

How do you eliminate poverty in remote communities?

Air lift aid? Pay penalty rates to health professionals to re-locate to service these areas? Rely on volunteers? Close the communities?

How long should a Government have to subsidise communities that appear incapable of delivering improvements in basic health outcomes without even more subsidisation? At least some of the responsibility for these poor outcomes must fall at the feet of the communities and their leadership - surely?

Is one solution to offer incentives for people to leave these communities and move closer to areas where economic security can be sustained and fostered?

Raw emotional reactions to the plight of people caught in the poverty endemic in outlying communities are one thing. But can we please talk more about how to deliver these folks from the poverty trap - no matter how fraught that conversation might be?

The most succesful program (other than Hollows treatment) have seen was where swimming pools were provided, maintained, and available for children.

More communities now have pools ;-)

See hours available reduced below conventional public pools, also the penalty style linking of access to attendance at school and other activities.

As they become cold in winter some sliding walls/+roof would help, as would link to power station heat exchange/cooling systems

In 1939 Australian Indigenous activist Margaret Tucker found “vile” housing and sanitary conditions at a New South Wales Aboriginal station, with health conditions “including rampant trachoma”. On housing, hygiene conditions and sewage disposal in remote communities, Ross Bailie wrote “Easy access to an adequate supply of water for washing is also critical to preventing a range of … infections, including … trachoma”.

“The Aboriginal community is a non-written culture visually based so to have something that takes away their vision, particularly for elders, is devastating.” The infection, mainly spread through poor living conditions, affects communities found mainly in inland and remote Western Australian, South Australia and the Northern Territory. In coastal communities trachoma is less common because children's faces are kept cleaner by playing in water.

Katrina Roper of the Centre for Disease Control reported there had not been many full-scale studies of the level of scarring and trichiasis in older people. The condition was “a reflection on their poverty, their lack of access to water, lack of basic hygiene capabilities within some communities, due to distance, remoteness, infrastructure. It is disturbing that it is still a problem.”

Bitey

but I was a little disappointed that you spent so much time outlining the problem and paid so little attention to discussing the solution. Because it is finding the solution that is where the real debate starts.

How do you eliminate poverty in remote communities?

Is one solution to offer incentives for people to leave these communities and move closer to areas where economic security can be sustained and fostered?

Oh! Codswollop.

The solution is in the authors article.

Of course Health is a problem. Every damm Politically Correct Do Gooder in Australia is saying, "send medical teams to cure these people." That's fine but useless unless these people are taught to use basic Hygene. Oh! I can hear the cry now, "you can't say that. That's inappropriate." Well thatIOS what the problem is & all the medical teams in Chrisendom won't do a damm thing untill that one thing is addressed. Haveing all the washing water in the World available is useless unless these people actually DO wash & use basic hygene. Eliminating poverty will not fix the problem either.

Just throwing money at a community & moving it closer to a City does not fix the problem it exasperates it. These people then have access to more junk food & alcohol, which causes more medical problems, of a different nature. See Redfern in Sydney.

The solution is to teach them basic hygene and ensure they practise it. How to keep their houses clean & in good repair. Pride in their homes & appearance. Then, & only then will the health problems of these people subside. Handing out money doesn't fix that. Fixing the illness doesn't eliminate the cause. Fixing the cause will.

I have seen rental properties on TV that some white Australians are in vital need if this instruction as well.

Now I await the uppity white towers to come crashing down upon my head.