Welcome to NATSIEC

The NATIONAL ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ECUMENICAL COMMISSION

of THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES IN AUSTRALIA

CHRIST AND CULTURE CONFERENCE

February 16th - 20th

Registration now open. Click here

The 2008 Martung Upah Annual Appeal is now on. Please make a donation and help NATSIEC continue it's work.

To go to the Martung Upah page click here

WHAT WILL YOU DO TO MAKE INDIGENOUS POVERTY HISTORY?

Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.

Nelson Mandela Nov. 2006

The Make Indigenous Poverty History campaign seeks to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) do not overlook the poverty suffered by Indigenous Peoples around the world including Australia.

The MDGs do not specifically target Indigenous Peoples but Indigenous Peoples are often the ones most affected by extreme poverty and usually rank at the bottom of most social and economic indicators.

Australian key social and economic indicators show that Australian Indigenous Peoples are living in poverty: our children are twice as likely to die in infancy, and we suffer from more preventable diseases, higher unemployment, lower house ownership, lower engagement with education and we are six times as likely to be murdered.

Poverty is a very real and debilitating experience for many of our people.

The MDGs must be aligned with poverty reduction strategies that address the particular needs of Indigenous peoples. Without the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples our marginalisation and exclusion will continue.

Here in Australia we must compare the living standards and levels of health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples with those of the rest of Australia – not to the poorest of the world’s poor. In our effort to help the poor overseas we must not forget the poor in our own country.

Find out more about the MAKE INDIGENOUS POVERTY HISTORY campaign click here