Best of 2025 - Australia faces a looming crisis of older women retiring in poverty. Here’s what we can do
Australia faces a serious challenge. Despite important progress on gender equality over recent decades, a looming crisis now threatens the economic security of older women. Without urgent and bold action, we risk consigning further generations of women to poverty in retirement.
Recent articles in Health
10 January 2026
Best of 2025 - States increase pressure on Commonwealth to address hospital cost increases
Hark back to December 2023. National Cabinet endorsed a historic agreement setting the parameters for future Commonwealth-state sharing of public hospital costs over the next decade.
9 January 2026
Best of 2025 - Government is planning hardship for older Australians living at home
Aged care has again been in the media for all the wrong reasons. Two failures are attracting particular attention.
15 December 2025
A beginners guide to Australian aged care policy in 2025
Stereotypes about wealthy baby boomers are skewing aged care policy. New fees, the shift to Support at Home, and pressures on community services risk leaving many older Australians without affordable, safe support. The consequences will be felt across families, hospitals and future generations.
3 December 2025
UK–US drug deal risks turning the NHS into a casualty of Trump trade politics
A new agreement with the Trump administration would force Britain’s National Health Service to pay billions more for medicines to avoid tariffs – prompting outrage from MPs, health experts and patient advocates.
26 November 2025
Why multicultural aged care is the key to meeting Australia’s ageing challenge
Australia’s ageing population is growing faster than the systems built to support it, especially for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. A co-designed, public–private aged care model offers a practical, humane and economically sound path to meet this challenge before crisis overwhelms the system.
22 November 2025
Root canals and conspiracies
Social media misinformation is creating a public health problem of lost teeth, prolonged dental pain, unnecessary costs, and worsening inequalities in oral health.
3 November 2025
Clean your room
During 1937, Lang Hancock from the Mulga Downs pastoral station in Western Australia began mining and milling activities for blue asbestos (crocidolite) at the nearby Yampire Gorge.
3 November 2025
Vaping: A disruptive innovation of smoking and rapidly replacing cigarettes
Recognised as a concept over three decades ago, disruptive innovations are new and improved ways of meeting consumers’ needs that generally sweep away conventional approaches of market-leading firms by a process of creative destruction.
26 October 2025
Living with schizophrenia
The title of this book is emblematic. It gets to the heart of the problem of schizophrenia, indeed within the authors' preface.
23 October 2025
Dental health – time for a small, cost-effective revolution
In the many years I’ve been writing about the dental divide, the only movement I’ve seen is in the increasingly bad numbers around poor oral health, waiting lists and costs to patients. It’s time to see dental caries as a preventable disease.
23 October 2025
Super for teeth: Australia’s hidden dental crisis
Australians are increasingly raiding retirement savings to fix their teeth. New guidance from AHPRA and the ATO warns against abusive models. What’s really going on – and what should change?
18 October 2025
Harm reduction is ubiquitous and effective so why doesn’t Australia use it for tobacco?
Harm reduction policies are widespread, and generally work, are safe and cost-effective.
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Time to get real on taxing cigarettes and restricting vapes
