Monthly Archives: April 2010

Conferenced out?

April 30, 2010 – 7:07 pm

Is the health conference industry exploiting the public purse? That’s one of the questions raised by this article in today’s Crikey bulletin. Worth a read if you haven’t already caught up with it.

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health ethics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Aboriginal health group backs tobacco reforms

April 30, 2010 – 6:49 pm

Concerns have been raised by various commentators around the traps that the new tobacco measures will hit disadvantaged people the hardest. One prominent Aboriginal health organisation isn’t buying this argument. Here is an extract from a statement released today by the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT):

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in Indigenous health, public health, tobacco control | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Tobacco news is creating international waves

April 30, 2010 – 9:32 am

The Rudd Government’s efforts in health have taken something of a hammering at Croakey in recent times. There have been so many expectations disappointed and questions left hanging. But let’s give credit where it’s due. The tobacco control announcements (more details here) are huge news for health. The Public Health Association predicts the moves will [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health regulation, tobacco control | Tagged , , | Comments (8)

It’s time for food labelling that helps consumers, rather than misleading us

April 29, 2010 – 8:21 pm

The Food Labelling Review that is being led by former Health Minister Dr Neal Blewett held a public consultation in Melbourne today. Jane Martin, Senior Policy Adviser, Obesity Policy Coalition, has some tips for how the Review could help consumers (as well as a quick quizz re how much you know about what you’re eating). She [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in Food, health regulation, obesity, public health | Tagged , , | Comments (6)

Let’s put a ban on “climate skeptics”, suggests public health expert

April 29, 2010 – 2:27 pm

There are so many ways that you could attempt to explain the Federal Government’s decision to shelve its emissions trading scheme (ETS), which is being described variously as a flip flop and a backflip. You could seek to understand it as a failure of politics, policy, and/or advocacy, amongst other things. One piece of the [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in climate change, public health | Tagged , , | Comments (4)

Plain tobacco packs – “draconian” or a massive win for public health?

April 29, 2010 – 9:29 am

The Australian leads its story on the Rudd Government’s plans for plain packaging of tobacco products with an adjective to delight the tobacco industry, describing it as “the world’s most draconian anti-smoking laws”. Meanwhile, public health experts are enthusing wildly about the announcement (more reports here from the ABC and here from the SMH). The [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in Journal articles, Media-related issues, public health, tobacco control | Tagged , , | Comments (27)

Has the central proposal for Indigenous health reform been dropped?

April 28, 2010 – 7:05 pm

A “radical change” in the organisation of health care for Indigenous Australians was one of the highest priority recommendations from the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (at least judging by its prominent position towards the top of the executive summary of the Commission’s final report). The Commission recommended that all health care funding for [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health financing and costs, Health inequalities, health reform, Hospitals, Indigenous health | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Political + media agendas = the unhealthy cycle of health reform

April 28, 2010 – 10:02 am

Croakey is back after a break (as they say on the telly), and still trying to make sense of the state-of-play in health reform and the implications of the recent COAG meeting. It seems that much of the media coverage focused on the political contest at COAG rather than what it might all mean for [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in health reform | Tagged , | Comments (1)

Australia hasn’t run out of hospital beds — we’ve run out of nurses

April 20, 2010 – 11:54 am

Former Chairman of the Federal AMA and Deputy President of the NSW Medical Board, Dr Peter Arnold, writes: Although John Deeble and I were, literally, on opposite sides of the table when Bill Hayden was planning Medibank (Mark I), our views have, over the decades, gradually moved towards one another. We are agreed, in private [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in Hospitals | Comments (14)

Rudd’s asylum seeker offensive will damage mental health, warns expert

April 14, 2010 – 4:45 pm

What are the consequences for mental health when there is negative news about asylum seekers and refugees? It’s a question worth asking in light of recent headlines like “Kevin Rudd shuts refugee door”. Dr Jon Jureidini is a child psychiatrist with 10 years of experience working with immigration detainees – children, adults and families. He [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Posted in global health, Media-related issues, mental health | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)