Family members of three Queensland Aboriginal women said to have been denied appropriate healthcare appeared before the coronial inquest into their deaths on Monday.
Yvette Booth, Shakaya George and Adele Sandy all suffered from rheumatic heart disease before their untimely deaths over a 12-month period in the state's northwest.
While the inquest is investigating the adequacy of healthcare and services provided by Doomadgee Hospital and Gidgee Healing to the women, there are concerns the issue of systemic racism will be avoided.
“The deaths of Shakaya, Adele and Betty happened because of racism in the health system,” said Waanyi, Garawa and Gangalidda man Alec Doomadgee.
“The evidence is overwhelming, the facts are the truth, and it's there in writing. If you're not going to put systemic racism at the heart of this coronial inquest, why are we here?"
The community have waited for over two years for this inquest, which was finally initiated after a Four Corners investigation in February highlighted the women’s deaths.
On Monday, the court heard on-Country evidence in Doomadgee, with the next hearing taking place in Cairns over four days in mid-August.
“I'm disappointed that they're doing a fly-in fly-out mission to Doomadgee,” Mr Doomadgee said.
“Flying in and flying out is not going to give you the full story and will certainly not give you the full extent of what Aboriginal people in communities like Doomadgee live with every day.
“There should be a few days where they get to really engulf themselves in the community and get to know why this coronal inquest is taking place in the first place.”
'Continue to ignore mob'
Two years on from the passing of the three women and Mr Doogadgee says he’s seen little change in community and an avoidance of taking any responsibility from the health system.
“What I've witnessed from the health system, what I've witnessed from the Doomadgee hospital and also what I've witnessed from Northwest Queensland Health is what I've expected from them, the system running around, covering up and for ways to avoid responsibility and accountability,” Mr Doomadgee said.
“They continue to ignore our mob, they make our mob feel like an inconvenience and that's what's killing them, when they come into contact with our mob and its blatant racism.
“They don’t want to deal with our mob and they make them feel ashamed to even be there in a health facility.”
Mr Doomadgee says the community will use this coronial inquest to shine a spotlight on RHD and how it is still affecting First Nations communities as a result of poor healthcare.
“I have no faith in the justice system in this country at all and I have no faith in the health system in this country,” Mr Doomadgee said.
“We want to utilise this platform to highlight rheumatic heart disease, rheumatic disease in Aboriginal communities,” Mr Doomadgee said.
“It's doesn't only affect Doomadgee, it just so happens that I've got a big enough mouth and a voice, that I’ve gone and got a big spotlight and said it's happening.
“There's a lot of other communities around the country through the Kimberley’s, through the Torres Strait Islands, through the Cape, right across to Western Australia, that experience and going through exactly what's happening in Doomadgee every day.”
