30 November 2023

Ten key steps towards 21st century health reform

Australians place great value on their health and their health system. They believe that, with some exceptions, the health system is ‘gold medal’ winner by world standards – on access, equity and quality. In its core values, it is a system of which we should all be proud. But, 40 years after the introduction of Medicare, we are now victims of our own success. Our long life expectancies, the miracles of modern medicine and the expectation that all should benefit, mean that it's now under enormous strain.

23 May 2023

Re-floating the Titanic won’t save Australian health care

Back in 2008, I had a book contract to describe the obvious failings in Australian health care. It was planned to challenge the national myth that our system was ‘exceptional’, literally ‘best in the world’. I didn’t persist as Prime Minister Rudd was promising sweeping national reforms and there was genuine community enthusiasm for a major revamp of Medicare.