Indigenous Environmental Health: Report of the Fifth National Conference 2004

Foreword from the National Indigenous Environment Health Forum

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The NIEHF is pleased to present the proceedings of the fifth National Indigenous Environmental Health Conference, held in Terrigal, New South Wales. The NIEHF acknowledges the Darkinjung people, traditional owners of the country visited by all conference delegates. The NIEHF also thanks the National Indigenous Environmental Health Conference Organising Group and New South Wales Health for their tremendous assistance in organising the conference.

The NIEHF was first established under the auspices of the enHealth Council in May 2000. One of the NIEHF’s major functions is to identify, and provide comment and policy advice, to the enHealth Council on Indigenous and environmental health issues and related national strategies and activities. Some of the NIEHF’s recent achievements include contributions to:

• the Indigenous Environmental Health Mapping Project
• development of the Population Health Training Package
• the third, fourth and fifth National Indigenous Environmental Health Conferences in Alice Springs, Adelaide and Terrigal, respectively
• the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Strategy
• review of the National Environmental Health Strategy
• the Indigenous Environmental Health Workforce Review.

• environmental health workforce development
• housing issues and planning
• local, regional and national initiatives
• community capacity building and partnerships
• community food supply and nutrition
• environmental health services in communities.

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