Health
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Environment: Cryptocurrency using as much electricity as Sub-Saharan Africa
Renewables are about to supply the annual increase in electricity usage globally but cryptocurrency’s power demands are surging. Most industrial fishing vessels are untracked, including those around Australia. Climate change has already caused 4 million deaths. Continue reading »
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A life sentence: The impact of wrongful convictions on family and friends
Picture a courtroom scenario, the accused and his family members have eyes on the jury foreman who is about to announce the verdict. The accused knows he is guilty, but is hoping for luck to come his way through the jury’s decision. The foreman speaks: “Guilty”. Continue reading »
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Greater efforts are needed to tackle a “staggering” increase in vaping rates
The Federal Government last week launched a new influencer-led social media campaign to discourage vaping among young people, warning that social media is “awash” with pro-vaping content. Continue reading »
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Medicare is bleeding to death. Will Labor ever do anything about it?
GP visits are down 37% since the government took office. But all we get is spin. Continue reading »
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Curing Australia’s dependent personality disorder
I arrived in Australia with my family at the time when Malcolm Fraser was the Prime Minister of Australia. He was preceded by Gough Whitlam and succeeded by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. They were all intellectual, individualistic and humane leaders. I had never felt more secure and proud to be Australian. Continue reading »
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In God we trust
The following words are from Canadian Dr. Yasser Khan (Eye-Facial Plastic Trauma Surgeon) who returned from a humanitarian surgical mission at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Continue reading »
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Government’s response to Long Covid inquiry an exercise in sophistry
Preparing government responses to reports from Parliamentary inquiries often involves finding a plausible excuse to reject a perfectly sensible suggestion. The Department of Health and Aged Care failed this task in its response to the House of Representatives Long COVID inquiry. Continue reading »
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Charging for aged care at home – splitting hairs and shifting loads
A number of commentators have proposed that the Aged Care Funding Taskforce would, and indeed should, recommend increasing user charges. With particular reference to services delivered through Commonwealth Home Care Program (CHSP), this step would be achieved by splitting care services and ordinary daily living supports; the former would be subsidised and clients would pay Continue reading »
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E-cigarettes are not the solution to the tobacco pandemic
A landmark event in global public health is taking place in Panama City on Feb 5-10: the 10th Conference of Parties (COP10) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Since 2003, the FCTC has been ratified by 183 countries, and all of them, including China, have made steady progress in monitoring tobacco Continue reading »
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Environment: Humans don’t make history – we play host
How germs made history. Greenhouse gas emissions keep rising but USA and Europe are still the major causes of global warming. Continue reading »
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Medicare: Taking a history, making a diagnosis, and prescribing some reforms
Former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was a man with a mission. Many missions, obviously. But one maybe stood out above all others: the creation of a universal national healthcare system. Continue reading »
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Mid term Aged Care Report card: 5/10 – must try harder
The election of the Albanese Labor government was met with a strong sense of optimism among people who had been lobbying for aged care reform for years. Finally, a government prepared to address the systemic issues that had plagued the sector since the Howard government neo-liberal reforms decades before. Alas, it was not to be. Continue reading »
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The silence of the damned
Our leading humanitarian and civic institutions, including major medical institutions, refuse to denounce Israel’s genocide in Gaza. This exposes their hypocrisy and complicity. Continue reading »
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Medicare turns 40: since 1984 our health needs have changed but the system hasn’t. 3 reforms to update it
Forty years ago, Medicare as we know it today was born. It was the reincarnation of the Whitlam government’s Medibank, introduced in 1975 but dismantled in stages by the Fraser Liberal government. Continue reading »
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How labelling is concealing common ground on climate, COVID and indigenous issues
You’re either a climate realist or you’re a climate sceptic. You’re either pro COVID vaccines or you’re a vaccine sceptic. You either voted ‘no’ in the recent ‘indigenous voice to parliament’ or ‘yes’. On too many issues, the labels that Australians are using are confrontational. Australians are being led to see just two camps and Continue reading »
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COVID unmasked an unfair health system. Now we can change it
People in the poorest areas of Australia are dying 2.5 times more often from the disease than those in the richest areas. Continue reading »
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Unpacking the Jevons Paradox: how effectiveness gains in the NDIS lead to increased demand
Australia has just completed major reviews of two of its largest public expenditures – the NDIS and Employment Services. Each program manifests problems predicted by two lesser-known economic theories: the Jevons Paradox in the case of the NDIS and Goodhart’s Law in the case of employment services. Neither were mentioned in either review. Continue reading »
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Professionalism and compassion in healthcare
We don’t have to take off our compassion, or our ability to show it, when we drape a stethoscope around our neck. The need for doctors to be professional is not synonymous with being emotionless. Continue reading »
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National Cabinet should fire the starting gun on national health reform
In April, National Cabinet agreed to hold a dedicated meeting on health reform by the end of the year. Based on media coverage this week, it might be a battle about NDIS and GST funding instead. Who pays for what is important, but it will be a missed opportunity if a funding fight displaces discussion Continue reading »
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Australia isn’t giving everyone a fair shot
Giving all adults the chance to get vaccinated should be easy. Vaccines slash the risk of severe illness. They are very safe for people who are recommended to get them. Best of all, compared to other ways to improve our health, vaccination is quick, cheap, and easy. Continue reading »
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Environment: 1.5 degrees of warming in 10 years
Not long ago it looked like we’d exceed 1.5oC in 20 years, now it looks like 10. Maybe sooner if politicians keep approving new fossil fuel mines and fields and the logging of native forests. Particulate air pollution kills 9 million a year. Continue reading »
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As another workforce review launches, what does the latest OECD health stocktake reveal?
The Federal Government has announced a review of current policies and programs that aim to promote a more equitable distribution of the health workforce. Continue reading »
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Domestic and family violence: brave men are vulnerable not violent
Australian national and state governments are very good at holding inquiries and releasing reports aimed at tackling wicked problems. Top of today’s long list is Domestic and Family Violence (DFV), where all governments combined to produce another National Plan last year: Continue reading »
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Drugs and alcohol aren’t even half the problem
Australia’s penal colony culture has continued into the fabric of all our public administrations, but most particularly Health, Education, Community Services and Justice. Continue reading »
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The care economy: Ageing is not a disease – who knew?
Becoming an Elder in many societies is a process of active shared engagement across the generations, and holding a meaningful and honoured place in one’s community. Sadly, that time-honoured community cultural process has been pretty much eradicated in modern westernised, market-driven systems of ‘Aged Care,’ such as dominate the Australian ‘market.’ Continue reading »
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Medicare is changing for the better
Last week another important suite of changes to Medicare came into effect. Since the election of the Albanese government, we have seen a willingness by government to introduce a range of policies designed to update and strengthen Medicare to position it better for the future. Continue reading »
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“Consistency” in MBS policy – a further unlevelling of the playing field
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. The Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Advisory Committee (MRAC) has been tasked with supporting “a continuous review framework that ensures the MBS is contemporary, sustainable, evidence- based, and supports universal access to high value care for all Australians. Good about time. Continue reading »
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Why does “Mental Health Reform” default to “Compliance and Control”?
‘Mental Health Reform’ has been a phrase bandied about for over 30 years in Australia. And while well intentioned, hopefully expressing the ‘Care and Concern’ felt by politicians, bureaucrats and health practitioners, it has always ended up defaulting to ‘Compliance and Control.’ Continue reading »
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New data shows the Commonwealth Government is not pulling its weight on hospital funding
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released its latest health expenditure data last week showing the Commonwealth share of government public hospital funding has declined to 41%. This will fuel state anger and make negotiations for a new funding agreement, to take effect in mid-2025, that much harder. Continue reading »
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Disability care is still all about us without us
Any talk about disability in Australia is very likely to quickly lead to mention of ‘the System,’ which controls everything in the lives of People With Disability. Continue reading »
