Humanitarian crisis in western NSW as government COVID response slammed

The COVID-19 outbreak in the far western NSW town of Wilcannia is not under control and "chaotic" government mistakes are “mounting”, according to a prominent Aboriginal health organisation in the region.

A letter dated 28 August from Maari Ma Aboriginal Health Corporation to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, obtained by the Herald, says Commonwealth intervention is urgently needed in the community to deal with the growing “humanitarian crisis”.

Wilcannia and the Darling River in 2019.Credit:Janie Barrett

"We do our work quietly, and try to fly under the radar of media and public attention as much as possible ... We cannot, however, sit quietly while the catastrophe in the Far West, and western NSW more broadly, continues to unfold," the letter said.

There are now 76 cases in far western NSW, with most in the remote town of Wilcannia - where more than 60 per cent of the population is Aboriginal. Indigenous people are considered more vulnerable to the virus, particularly in places like Wilcannia, due to more limited access to health services, overcrowded housing, poorer health outcomes, and their remoteness.

The scathing letter from Maari Ma outlines problems with the NSW and federal government response to the current outbreak, saying it's been ill-prepared, slow, and substandard.

"On top of this, there has been a lack of local leadership by some, and efforts have been poorly coordinated and communicated, and at times fabricated."

“The Aboriginal communities’ worst fears have come to fruition and the predicted response is unfolding.”

Maari Ma Aboriginal Health Corporation.

Maari Ma said the situation in Wilcannia had already degraded to a humanitarian and acute medical crisis, and that additional accommodation was urgently needed so that COVID-positive people in overcrowded housing would not have to isolate with uninfected family members.

“For your information, positive COVID-19 patients are still being been forced into overcrowded accommodation with people who have yet to contract the disease. This would only - and has only occurred in Aboriginal communities,” the letter said.

Maari Ma warned that its staff were being increasingly exposed to the virus, that its systems were growing closer to collapse by the day, and that action needed to be taken urgently to ensure the same situation didn't occur in the nearby regional centre of Broken Hill.

The organisation said it had written to the federal government in March 2020 warning of the potential for a crisis like the one unfolding, and urged the government to finally act on its advice from last year.

“The response so far has been almost entirely reactive, despite concerns being raised 18 months ago about how unprepared this region was to address the impact of the pandemic, should it get to the Far West. Disappointingly, no tangible plan was in place prior to this outbreak that could have been easily implemented,” it said.

Despite being a priority access group, just 12.5 per cent of the Indigenous population of NSW are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and yesterday Australia’s first recorded death of an Indigenous person from the disease was recorded in Dubbo.

Maari Ma Aboriginal Health Corporation has been contacted for comment.

The Herald has approached the Mr Morrison, the Minister for Indigenous Australians Mr Wyatt, and NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard for comment.

Cameron Gooley is a Gamilaroi man and the Indigenous affairs reporter at the Sydney Morning Herald.

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