Health equity
Access to healthcare is a basic human right.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a large life expectancy gap and face a higher burden of disease than non-Indigenous people.
We'll achieve health equity when everyone can reach the same health and wellbeing outcomes.
The difference between equality and equity
- Equality means giving everyone the same thing.
- Equity means giving people what they need so everyone has the same health and wellbeing outcome.
Acknowledgement of Country
[Text on screen: Binbi Garibiri Yadyila]
Binbi Garibiri Yadyila which means g’day in the language of my grandfather.
[Text on screen: Uncle Philip]
My name is Philip Kemp and through my mother and her father and his mother, my great grandmother, my family and I are descendants of the Traditional Custodians for this area where we gather today, the Yuwi people. So on behalf of the Yuwi Elders, past and present, I welcome you to Yuwi Country.
The boundaries for Yuwi Country extend north to O’Connell river, about 100km north, south to Cape Palmerston, Ilbilbie about 80km south, west to the Clark and Connor Ranges and takes in the coastline but also the nearby coastal islands for about 10 km offshore between our northern and southern boundaries.
So it’s important that we recognise that we walk in the footprints of the people that walked this land and cared for this land for many, many generations prior to colonisation.
I’d like to acknowledge all the First Nations people from other Country areas who have settled in Mackay, made Mackay their home and I pay my respects to their Elders past and present.
I’d also like to acknowledge my connection to the Australian South Sea Island people, through my maternal great grandmother and I pay my respects to the Australian South Sea Islander Elders past and present.
Health equity means that every person and every community has the opportunity to live as healthy a life as possible.
[End of transcript]
Our strategy
Our strategy was designed by our community to work towards closing the life expectancy gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It sets out how we’ll make sure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have equitable access to health care.
We're making it our priority to:
- improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing
- eliminate racial discrimination and institutional racism
- increase access to health care
- influence the social, cultural and economic controls of health
- deliver sustainable, culturally safe and responsive health care
- work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and organisations to design, deliver, monitor, and review health services.
Read our Our Mob Together Strong Health Equity Strategy 2022–2025 [PDF 17491.48 KB] to find out more.
Our implementation plan
Our implementation plan outlines how we'll achieve the goals set out in our strategy.
Read the Our Mob Together Strong Health Equity Strategy Implementation Plan [PDF 1856.84 KB].
About the health equity artwork
Andrew Doyle is a Jiman (Iman) man from the Upper Dawson region of eastern Central Queensland.
He was born at Mackay Base Hospital. He has a strong historical connection to the Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac regions. Andrew is an Aboriginal artist, dancer, cultural knowledge expert and sportsperson.
His artwork was chosen to represent health equity because of its vibrant colours and its portrayal of the land, water, and sea. The painting reflects the cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as well as the Australian South Sea Islander community in the region.
The artwork is based around our local landscapes and waters. The artwork starts at the Pioneer River with the greens showing the rainforests of the Pioneer Valley through to the earthy, sandy colours of our bushlands and beaches and then finally to the blue of the ocean where the Pioneer River finishes.
At the start of the Pioneer Valley, you can see the dots in pattern that resemble the freshwater creeks and streams. Then the river flows down into the bushlands and beaches and the dot pattern represents the scrub plains and our sandy beaches. The dot pattern at the blue ocean represents the tides and waves.
The top left-hand corner is a medicine man healing the members of his tribe and elders supporting the next generation through mental health. In the top right-hand corner is the branches of a Gumbi tree which is a traditional medicine for our people.
In the middle of the artwork, is our communities working together to better the health of our people. We are all facing challenges, but we are helping our people get through it. The bottom right-hand corner represents the three cultures that reside in our community, some traditional foods, the tools that we need to get through life and our connection to culture that is still practiced today.
The animal tracks that border the river are the animals that you would find in their respective environments. Traditional foods are a vital source of our health but also have healing properties in their fats and oils.
Contact us
You can contact our health equity team for more information by:
- Phone 07 4885 6025
- email mhhs-healthequity@health.qld.gov.au.
News
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06 March 2025
Dedicated facility providing First Nations family care in the community now open
A service which nurtures and cares for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families has taken a further step in its development with the opening of a special facility located within the community in North Mackay. -
10 February 2025
World-first diabetes study puts the region in research spotlight
Mackay could become a diabetes research hub with the potential to help accelerate treatment breakthroughs and enable greater access to life-changing technology for sufferers. -
16 September 2024
Trainees graduate ready for next step in healthcare careers
A graduation ceremony at Mackay Base Hospital for six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students marks the next big step in turning their healthcare career dreams into a reality.