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their initiatives include programs to help men, ‘beat the grog’ campaigns, AlcoholicsAnonymous, training alcohol counsellors and night patrols. Alcohol and other substanceabuse such as petrol sniffing are at the heart of social problems and exist at crisisproportions in some communities.HealthAlcohol and substance abuse is not the only health issue. Poor health, the failure ofgovernments to remedy environmental health problems and mental illness are all parts oflife for many Indigenous people including children and young people (submission 127pages 157-68). Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child declares the rightof children to the enjoyment of the highest standards of health and to facilities for thetreatment of illness and rehabilitation of health.The 1994 ABS survey showed that one-quarter of Indigenous youth reported a longtermillness or condition. The major illness reported was asthma, followed by ear orhearing problems, skin problems and chest problems (ABS 1996 page 6).Hearing loss is endemic in Indigenous children and linked to poverty. The incidencevaries between areas, but an estimated minimum of 20% of Indigenous pupils in urbanareas are affected by marked hearing loss resulting from otitis media. ‘Problems withhearing are one of the major causes of low performance in language skills amongAboriginal children and can also be related to behavioural issues’ (Groome and Hamilton1995 page 25). Numerous reports, including those of the Royal Commission intoAboriginal Deaths in Custody and the House of Representatives Standing Committee onAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, have drawn attention to the connectionsbetween hearing loss, behavioural problems and intervention by juvenile justice orwelfare agencies (National Report 1991 Volume 2 pages 364-8, House of Representatives StandingCommittee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs 1994 pages 325-31).Poor nutrition is a direct cause of many diseases. Often poor nutrition in childhoodcombined with substance abuse such as petrol sniffing leads to serious adulthood diseasesand disability. Welfare interventions in Indigenous families are frequently related to poornutrition. For example Indigenous children are severely over-represented in cases of‘failure to thrive’, one of the most common reasons for neglect orders being sought forchildren under two years. Indigenous children with disabilities are the most likely to beplaced in non-Indigenous substitute care and in juvenile detention centres.The Aboriginal Mental Health Unit (NSW) commented upon the impact of forcibleremovals on Indigenous people’s mental and general health.Presenting issues arise predominantly from major grief or loss, trauma, the consequences offamily members’ removal and disruption of the strong bonds of family and kinship whichcharacterised Aboriginal culture … we believe that it has been the single most significant factorin emotional and mental health problems which in turn have impacted on physical health(submission 650 page 4).