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A Senate report has endorsed plans to expand income management from Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory to selected welfare recipients across the country.

The main report written by the Labor members of the Senate committee supports the Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin’s plan to expand welfare quarantining but the Federal Opposition and the Greens have written dissenting reports..

The Territory’s Labor Senator Trish Crossin supports the legislation with some minor changes.

“This legislation reflects what people in the Territory wanted,” Ms Crossin said.

But the Greens have tabled a dissenting report.

Senator Rachel Siewert says the Government cannot claim that expanding welfare quarantining will mean the policy is no longer discriminatory.

“We believe that [it] is discriminatory,” she said.

“[It] disproportionately affects Aboriginal people so the Government can’t claim they’re restoring the [Racial Discrimination Act].”

Ms Siewert says the bill expanding welfare quarantining cannot be reconciled with plans to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act.

“If you are genuine about your promise of restoring the RDA you will split these bills,” she said.

Without support from the Opposition or the Greens the legislation has no chance of passing, but Senator Crossin says the government is still in negotiations.

Welfare groups ‘disappointed’

The Northern Territory Council of Social Service says it is disappointed with the findings of the Senate inquiry.

The council’s Wendy Morton says she does not feel the Senate committee listened to her concerns.

“One of the key things we’ve been saying is that there’s a lack of evidence to date to show that income management is actually good for people,” Ms Moreton said.

“So it’s frustrating to see that there [haven't] been any changes to the existing income management but not only that, they actually want to extend it to more people.”

Ms Moreton says many welfare recipients in the Northern Territory are unaware they may be forced to use a Basics Card in the future.

Queensland’s Corrective Services Minister Neil Roberts has promised an investigation into claims a man died in custody after being refused medical treatment by prison authorities.

Staff at Brisbane’s Arthur Gorrie correctional centre allege the 18-year-old Aboriginal man collapsed in his cell late last month after being refused medical help.

200 members of Queensland’s Indigenous community marched on State Parliament today, enraged over the circumstances surrounding the death.

Hundreds rallied in Brisbane in 2004 over the death in custody of Cameron Doomadgee on Palm Island, and there was another rally in 2006 over the handling of the case.

An inquest has reopened into the Palm Island incident and is hearing evidence in Townsville today.

Corrective Services says the prisoner at Arthur Gorrie was found unconscious last month and taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital, but died four days later.

Mr Roberts says staff are being interviewed and the Coroner will investigate.

“This is a tragic and sad event and our hearts go out to the family and friends of this young man,” he said.

“Any death of a young person, any death in custody is something that needs to be fully investigated and that will happen.”

Mr Roberts says no one wants to put a family through these situations.

“I understand their concerns - to make sure that every issue is uncovered and discovered in this investigation - and that’s what will happen.”

Prison chaplain Reverend Alex Gator says the teenager should never have been put in jail because he had a serious pre-existing medical condition.

Brisbane Indigenous community leader Sam Watson says the Indigenous community is calling on the Queensland Government to instigate a full coronial inquest.

Australia is facing a “renal tsunami” because of government bickering, according to the Northern Territory Aboriginal health organisation, AMSANT.

Renal patients in the Pitjantjatjara lands have to travel to Adelaide for treatment because South Australia will not pay the Northern Territory for beds at the Alice Springs Hospital.

Today is World Kidney Day and AMSANT’s Executive Officer John Paterson says governments need to use the occasion to announce more funding for renal facilities.

“Governments have known this for years,” Mr Paterson said.

“There’s a 12 per cent growth in renal patients, which equates to an extra 24 beds per year.

“This is unacceptable. Governments have to take the proactive approach.”

Meanwhile remote renal patients and church leaders will gather in Alice Springs today to pray for a change in policy regarding access to dialysis in the town.

The coordinator of the NPY Women’s Council Andrea Mason says travelling more than 1,400 kilometres for treatment is the only option for community leader Nura Ward and at least 20 other people from the APY lands in South Australia.

“For them it’s very concerning not to have anything clear from both the Northern Territory Health Minister and the South Australian Health Minister,” she said.

“There seems to be a lot of confusing statements and messages being put out into the public arena since this issue was brought into the fore last year.

“What we need is some cool heads and some clear thinking but also a lot of compassion to change this agreement that’s currently in place.”

Ms Mason says the two governments are yet to reach an agreement on allowing new patients from the APY lands to receive treatment closer to family in Alice Springs.

Federal Government should ’step in’

The Australian Greens say the Federal Government needs to step in and resolve the cross-border dispute between South Australia and the Northern Territory on renal dialysis.

The Greens passed a Senate motion yesterday urging South Australia to agree to fund renal dialysis treatment in Alice Springs for patients from the APY lands.

A funding agreement has already been reached between the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Greens Senator Rachel Siewert says if the South Australian Government will not come to the table the Federal Government needs to take charge.

“They clearly have a role in helping to negotiate or facilitate in negotiations between the NT and the South Australian Governments,” Ms Siewert said.

“Here they are saying they want to take a leadership role on health provision and this is a classic example of where they can do that. ”

A controversial Aboriginal land council at Lake Macquarie has officially been dissolved.

The Koompahtoo Land Council has been plagued by corruption allegations, after it won the state’s largest land grant, 850 hectares near the former Morisset hospital site.

An Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation into the land development deal found eight people had acted corruptly, and recommended prosecutions.

The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Paul Lynch, says the dissolution is a last resort but was unavoidable as the land council has effectively been under administration for the past seven years.

The police officer acquitted of the manslaughter of a Palm Island man is expected to give evidence into a reopened inquest in North Queensland today.

Palm Island man Cameron Doomadgee was found dead in a cell of the local police station in 2004.

Three years later Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley was acquitted of his manslaughter.

It is expected Sergeant Hurley will also take the stand in Townsville this afternoon.

This morning the inquest will hear from more officers on duty at the time.

Senior Sergeant Michael Leafe started giving evidence yesterday when the court was shown footage of Mr Doomadgee lying lifeless in the cell with another prisoner.

Sergeant Leafe told the court he did not realise there was a problem until checking Mr Doomadgee some time later.

Queensland’s Indigenous community will march on State Parliament today, enraged over the circumstances surrounding a recent death in custody.

An 18-year-old prisoner died late last month and there are claims Brisbane jail staff denied him adequate medical treatment even though he was too sick to walk.

Today’s march coincides with the reopened inquest into the controversial Palm Island death in custody.

Prison chaplain Reverend Alex Gator says inmates at the Arthur Gorrie correctional centre called her with news of the latest tragedy last month.

“This young youth, only 18 years of age, he had spent five weeks on remand and then the five weeks he was at Arthur Gorrie he became ill, so he was ill for six days,” she said.

“The first time he’d gone to the medical centre he was given Panadol, other times he’d gone he was told that there was nothing wrong with him. So he was repeatedly denied medical assistance.

“Towards the end the boys had to carry him, the Murri boys in his unit had to carry him, because he could hardly walk.

“They nearly caused a riot, the Murri boys. They yelled out to the officer, ‘get him to the hospital’ because something was wrong with him.

“And one officer made the comment, ‘Well if he can go to the toilet, there’s nothing wrong with him’.”

Reverend Gator says the teenager was ultimately rushed to hospital and put on life support. But he died a few days later on February 20.

“I conducted a memorial service. The boys said they only saw him a couple of weeks ago talking, laughing, joking and next thing they hear this young man is dead,” she said.

Reverend Gator says the teenager should never have been put in jail because he had a serious pre-existing medical condition.

“That is the question we’re asking - why? Why was he in prison, not in hospital? I mean he wasn’t a terrorist, a paedophile, rapist or a murderer,” she said.

“He was in there for a misdemeanour. And as far as I’m concerned, it’s just racial discrimination towards Aboriginal people. This is about racial hatred attitudes towards Aboriginal people.

“They’re deliberately turned away and told there’s nothing wrong with them. And Corrective Services have failed in their duty of care to provide a service to this young man.”

‘Could have been avoided’

Brisbane Indigenous community leader Sam Watson says news of the death in custody has spread like wildfire.

“We are very concerned about this because this appears to be yet another Aboriginal death in custody that could have been avoided, that should have been avoided,” he said.

Queensland Corrective Services has issued a written statement saying “there are no suspicious causes” in the teenager’s death.

The statement adds that all deaths in custody are referred to the coroner and to the chief inspector of prisons for investigation.

But Mr Watson says the Indigenous community is calling on the Queensland Government to instigate a full coronial inquest.

“There have to be a lot of questions answered. We want to get to the bottom of this and we want to do it very, very quickly,” he said.

“We don’t want this to drag on like Palm Island. The Palm Island death in custody happened six years ago. Here we are six years down the track; we still haven’t received any outcomes, we still haven’t received any real closure.”

No one has been convicted over Cameron Doomadgee’s death on Palm Island in 2004 and the circumstances surrounding his death remain shrouded in doubt.

This week the third coronial inquest into the watch house death is being heard and today Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley is expected to take the stand.

The initial inquiry found the policeman fatally wounded Mr Doomadgee but Senior Sergeant Hurley was later acquitted of manslaughter charges.

Two Northern Territory Police constables say they are embarrassed by the way they treated a man who later died in custody.

Police have told a coronial inquest in Alice Springs they did not conduct a risk assessment when they took Kwementyaye Trigger, 32, into custody on January 10 last year.

The arresting officers say they were called to another job and regretted leaving their prisoner handcuffed on the floor of a holding cell in the Alice Springs watchhouse.

Mr Trigger was not breathing when the officers returned more than 1.5 hours later.

Police say they were not aware of the head injury that led to his death.

Constable Corey Brown told the inquest he thought Mr Trigger was drunk and uncooperative.

He said if he knew Mr Trigger was injured he would have been taken straight to hospital.

Earlier, the court heard Mr Trigger was drunk and had been using cannabis before his arrest.

Neurosurgeon Marguerite Harding told the coroner that Mr Trigger had a blood alcohol level of 0.194 per cent when he died and he had cannabis metabolised in his system.

Dr Harding told the inquest Mr Trigger died from a serious brain injury.

She said he could have sustained the injury while falling from a two-metre-high fence at a secure hostel he was allegedly trying to break into earlier in the night.

The inquest continues.

The Department of Water and traditional owners in the Pilbara have installed signs at Gregory Gorge reminding visitors of changes to access arrangements in the area.

The department says the area has been a popular camping site for many years but has recently come under pressure as visitor numbers increase.

A spokesman for the Yindjibarndji people, Michael Woodley, says some tracks have been closed or restricted for safety or cultural reasons.

People are being asked to use tracks marked for public use and to avoid creating their own tracks.

Groups of four or more vehicles need to be approved by the department before entering the area.

A Goldfields’ shire has welcomed the Western Australian Government’s efforts to shut down an unlicensed money lender in Laverton.

The Commissioner for Consumer Protection has lodged a writ in the Supreme Court seeking orders to stop Sam Tomarchio’s cash lending practices.

The writ alleges he is exploiting local Aboriginal people by charging excessive interest rates.

Ngaanyatjarraku Shire president Damien McLean says it is time a stop was put to Mr Tomarchio’s activities.

“It’s caused enormous difficulties for families, it’s trapped people in a cycle of drinking and re-borrowing in Laverton over extensive periods of time,” he said

“We’ve been looking for this for some time and this is a very appropriate response.

“We hope that the application to restrain him in the interim is successful.”

Mr Tomarchio has been given 21 days to respond to the allegations in the Supreme Court.

The number of Indigenous babies with a low birth weight is increasing according to a new report from the National Indigenous Health Equality Council.

The report says Indigenous child mortality rates have dropped significantly, although Aboriginal babies are still three times more likely to die than non-Indigenous infants.

Aboriginal children under one year of age are also six times more likely to die from ill-defined conditions, including sudden infant death syndrome.

Indigenous children up to the age of four are three times more likely to die from injury or poisoining.

The rate of low birth weight babies born to Aboriginal mothers increased by 16 per cent between 1991 and 2005.

The federal Indigenous Health Minister, Warren Snowdon, says the infant mortality rate has nearly halved in that time but more work needs to be done to reduce smoking and improve the nutrition of pregnant Indigenous women.

“There are concerns about low birth weight,” Mr Snowdon said.

“It appears there may be an increase in low birth weight children that leads to a discussion about what we need to do to get pregnant mums to take care of themselves to make sure they’re not smoking or drinking, that they’ve got proper nutrition.”