E/CN.4/2002/24/Add.1 page 15 The Authority is implementing a programme aimed at providing each island with basic infrastructure and services (schools, public health outlets or health posts) and creating jobs so as to stabilize the population. In fact, it is the lack of infrastructure that has given rise to the exodus of some 28,000 Islanders to the mainland. 28. The Islanders desire genuine autonomy, and hope that the Authority will not be attached to the State of Queensland and that the Strait region will be established as an autonomous territory. 3. Special projects and programmes for the Indigenous peoples (a) Job creation for Indigenous peoples 29. To reduce the level of unemployment among Indigenous peoples, the federal Government launched an Indigenous Employment Programme in May 1999. The programme has three elements: a wage assistance and cadetship programme; an Indigenous small business fund; and a Job Network. In formulating this programme the Government has acknowledged the clear disadvantage faced by Indigenous Australians in employment status, as well as the difficulties in improving this situation. The Government acknowledges, for example, that in order to redress Indigenous unemployment they must consider the following characteristics of the Indigenous population: the unskilled or semi-skilled character of the workforce; the greater proportion of people in rural and remote areas; and the reliance upon publicly-funded employment opportunities. The focus of the policy is on improving opportunities in private enterprise. At this point, the policy is in its formative stages, and it is too early to establish whether it is sufficient to ensure the progressive realization of equality in employment opportunities for Indigenous people. 30. The Special Rapporteur visited Thursday Island hospital, which is among the projects receiving support from the federal Government. He was also able to appreciate the activities of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commercial Development Corporation and the Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in Canberra. The results of the three visits are outlined below. (b) Thursday Island hospital 31. At Thursday Island hospital, the only hospital in the region, Dr. Philip Mills, who himself comes from the region, is implementing a health programme financed by the federal Government which comprises the analysis of the pathological factors resulting from certain aspects of modern life in the islands and the treatment methods deriving from the Islanders’ traditions. He therefore makes use of healers and traditional doctors from the communities who form a council which is presided over by an elder and supervises health practices. In the opinion of Dr. Mills, many health problems existing in the region, such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and mental disturbance, result from the culture clashes which have led to the modification of the Islanders’ diet (reduced consumption of fresh, natural products and excessive consumption of canned foods