Indigenous health: a special moral imperative

The provision of health services to Indigenous people is not perceived by m any Australians to be a moral issue. Indigenous health, however, is not onl y a moral issue, it is a moral issue that deserves special consideration. I n many sectors of society, the correct moral path is unclear, but the circu mstances of Indigenous health warrant special consideration which policy ma kers and health care administrators are uniquely placed to render. The sett ling of Australia was at the expense of Indigenous flourishing. There is li ttle doubt that many of the current poor health outcomes of Indigenous Aust ralians result from their past impoverishment. We argue that each member of Australian society has inherited a collective moral responsibility, along with the social assets accrued at the expense of Indigenous Australians, ir respective of their personal complicity. Government, as representatives of the people, has a responsibility to repay some of this society's accrued mo ral debt through the allocation of resources independent of issues of equit y.