Torres News Thursday, September 30 2021
News and events of the Kaurareg homeland of Kaiwalagal, the Torres Strait homeland and Cape York homelands of the Anggamuthi, Atambaya, Wuthathi, Yadhaykenu and Gudang Peoples.
EDITORIAL M: 0497 618 738 E: opsmanager@tsima4mw.org.au
Edition 1
$2 incl. GST
ADVERTISING M: 0419 828 639 E: shaztorresnews.@gmail.com
First Nations adults face an ‘elevated risk’ from COVID-19 Torres Strait, Cape York and Northern Peninsula Area residents are being urged to take advantage of an extended COVID–19 vaccination program and get immunised as a priority. A recently published Australian
University (ANU) found almost three in five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were at an elevated risk of developing severe illness if they were exposed to the disease. The study examined the prevalence of health factors like cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, cancer and smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, which all increased the risk of severe illness if an unvaccinated person gets COVID-19. It found more than half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
adults had these and other existing conditions that could increase the risk of needing intensive care admission, mechanical ventilation or death if they contracted COVID-19 and were not vaccinated. “The root cause of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples’ elevated risk of severe COVID-19 illness is health inequity, stemming from colonisation and racism,” lead ANU researcher Dr Katie Thurber said. Continued P2
Ghost net busters!
10km tangle takes 16 hours to tackle The crew of the Australian Border Force Cutter (ABFC) Cape St George, operating under the direction of Maritime Border Command (MBC), located a number of ghost nets in the vicinity of Deliverance Island, in the Torres Strait last week.
They said the ghost nets were most likely abandoned by foreign fishing vessels. Over a period of 16 hours the crew of ABFC Cape St. George recovered over 10 kilometres of ghost nets, while still managing to keep a smile on their faces, the ABF posted on Facebook.
“Ghost nets do not only catch fish,” they said. “They indiscriminately entangle a large variety of marine species including turtles, dugong, dolphins and sea birds. “It is estimated that 95 per cent of ghost nets that wash ashore in Australia
originate from foreign fishing vessels. “They can have a catastrophic impact on the environment. “If not for the great work of the crew onboard ABFC Cape St. George, these silent killers would likely continue to haunt our oceans.”