Health and the election: Band-aids when surgery is needed
Health policies are out and there is little difference between the two major parties. The policies definitely help patients afford to see GPs and get medication.
Recent articles in Health
22 April 2025
If alcoholics don’t pick up the first drink, they can’t get drunk
Alcoholics Anonymous in Australia is celebrating its 80th anniversary with a national convention in Sydney this month. Ross Fitzgerald, who has been sober for 55 years, looks at the organisation’s history.
14 April 2025
There is no future without children
Imagine a world without children, a world steadily depopulating like that in the dystopian novel by P.D. James, Children of Men.
11 April 2025
If I were health minister…
Ministerial time is a scarce commodity. Hence setting priorities is critical. But, unfortunately, the minute I walk into my new office I will be assailed by the smell of a dead cat on my desk emanating from a stack of briefs on private sector issues.
9 April 2025
Making science great again – or not
In the US, the freshly installed administration of President Donald Trump is attempting to drastically reshape science. Here we focus on interventions that are relevant to epidemiology and public health.
9 April 2025
Nuclear power: Fukushima’s lessons for Australia
In November 2011, eight months after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear disaster, I travelled with Japanese colleagues to Iitate, a village some 50 kilometres from the stricken power plant.
9 April 2025
Nuclear power is not safe, it’s more dangerous than ever
Media and campaign coverage of the rekindled pitch for Australia to embrace nuclear power has focused on the poor economics, the protracted timelines of implementation, and dubious real-world benefits as a climate strategy.
8 April 2025
If I were the minister for health...
When preparing for this, I did look back at what I had written in 2022 on the same topic and I’m sad to report, dear reader, that our current minister hasn’t implemented many of my innovative suggestions from last time, apart from some minor parts of my suggestions about workforce planning.
7 April 2025
Where is the 'mature debate' about the health impacts of nuclear power? Informed consent matters
There is a clear disconnect between the claims of the nuclear lobby and the real-world adverse consequences of nuclear energy. Communities, workers and indeed all Australians need accurate information about the health impacts.
6 April 2025
For an alcoholic, abstinence is the surest path to long-term recovery
It may be an inconvenient truth, but the fact is that, in terms of its harm, alcohol is by far Australia’s most dangerous drug.
4 April 2025
Medicare's much-needed reform held hostage by vested interests: Michael Lester in conversation with John Menadue, AO
Access to affordable primary healthcare through GPs has collapsed, forcing more people to rely on overcrowded and understaffed public hospitals. These hospitals, meant to be a last resort, have instead become the costly default option.
1 April 2025
Will the US trade war push up the price of medicines in Australia? Will there be drug shortages?
Talks of a trade dispute between the United States and Australia over the cost of medicines have no doubt left many Australians scratching their heads.
1 April 2025
Trump cutting Vaccine Alliance funds could kill 1.2m children worldwide
This isn't fiscal responsibility. It's a political decision to let preventable diseases spread – to ignore science, lend legitimacy to anti-vaccine extremism, and dismantle the infrastructure that protects us all.
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The Grandmother Effect, an evolutionary lesson for housing policy
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Trump victory increases hazards for climate and global health
