Based on the 2005 a government services report, the Australian Medical Association(AMA) has called to increase the spending budget for indigenous health by $400million in 2006. According to ABC's radio AM, "Aboriginal Australians are19 times more likely to die from heart disease, 15 times more likely to die fromdiabetes, 14 times more likely to die from pneumonia, and 12 times more likelyto die from assaults" than the non-indigenous population. In his interviewwith AM radio, the president of the AMA Dr. Bill Glasson describes the situationas "unacceptable and un-Australian." Glasson supports a fund-sharingprogram that would enable Aboriginal communities to control health resourcesmore efficiently. The federal government reviews the budget in May.
