Dr. Brad Murphy, who heads the national standing committee on Aboriginal health for the Royal Australian College of GP, says the death highlights the importance of closing the gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says as Australia is now in the protect phase, swine flu health efforts are focusing on protecting those most vulnerable and the death of the aboriginal man has also prompted a warning from World Health Organisation expert Professor John Mackenzie, that Aboriginal people are at serious risk from swine flu.

Professor Mackenzie, from WHO's international health regulations committee, says it is inevitable that more Australians will die from the virus and Aboriginal people were more at risk because of the prevalence of diabetes and other chronic diseases among them which means the virus poses a greater threat.