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Normanton is the largest town in the Gulf of Carpentaria, with more than 60 percent of the population being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people (2006 census).
Oxfam Australia auspices the Gulf Regional Health Service which operates from Normanton and Mornington Island and is currently being established in Doomadgee. The service is managed from Mt Isa.
The service aims to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through health promotion and community development projects. The Normanton office employs a Community Development Officer and Health Promotion Officer, both of whom are skilled local Aboriginal women with strong links in the community. They work with Indigenous community groups to identify health needs and gaps and ways to make existing services more culturally appropriate and responsive to community needs. Projects include:
The family place project
Community members often have trouble telling family not to bring alcohol and other drugs into their homes. To address this problem, community members initiated the "family place" project to make it easier for families to express their wishes. Families participating in the project attach a "family place" sign to the front fence of their home, making it clear to visitors that alcohol and other drugs are not welcome. The families are supported by training and home visits and also have access to a community-based worker who links them in to other support services.
Supported by the Gulf Regional Health Service and government agencies, the project is significant because it empowers families to say “no” and gain back respect in the hope that children will have a better future without alcohol in their family place. It is also a good example of how the Gulf Regional Health Service supports initiatives which strengthen the whole community.
Banding together
The banding together project was developed to encourage children to attend school regularly. The Gulf Regional Health Service formed a partnership with the local state school, Queensland Police and North West Queensland Primary Health Care to work with the school kids to develop a series of slogans which were made into colourful wrist bands. At the end of each week children with 100 percent attendance received the latest band – enthusiasm was deadly! The messages supported health and social issues taught in the school, emphasising the importance of understanding and respecting community, culture, family and school.
“Domestic violence – it’s not our game”
The Normanton Building Safer Communities Action Team committee, which includes staff from the Gulf Regional Health Service, identified family and domestic violence as a serious issue within the Indigenous community and approached Normanton Stingers Rugby League Football Club to run a campaign around domestic violence.
The slogan "Domestic Violence – It’s Not Our Game" was adopted by the team and team members agreed to become role models in the community. By agreeing to be role models all team members accepted that the penalty for violence was exclusion from games and ultimately the team.
The campaign has shown outstanding results in reducing domestic violence in Normanton. Unofficial police statistics show that since the campaign’s implementation in March 2007, coinciding with the start of the Stinger’s football season, there has been a 45 percent reduction in reported cases of domestic violence in Normanton compared to the previous year (March to July 2006).
The slogan has been promoted widely throughout the community on television advertisements, car stickers, wristbands, banners at games and community events, and on the players’ and supporters’ jerseys.