October 20, 2009 – 4:26 pm
Yesterday there was some debate in the House of Reps on the Government’s plans to establish the Australian National Preventive Health Agency, and we will be hearing more anon. You can download the Bill here.
The advent of the Agency presents another predictable opportunity for a predictably boring debate about the “nanny state”, as per this [...]
October 20, 2009 – 12:26 pm
The conversations must have been lively at the Pharmacy Australia Congress in Sydney over the weekend. Health reform advocate John Menadue really socked it to the audience, judging by his 3,500-word speech.
For the sake of time-pressed Croakey readers, I’ve compressed the speech into several dot points. But it is worth reading in full, and you [...]
October 1, 2009 – 1:02 pm
One of the many barriers to tackling overweight and obesity is that no-one thinks it’s their problem or their responsibility. People who are overweight often don’t recognise that they are or do not understand the health consequences. Industries that flog junk foods are adamant that it’s not their fault. Property developers, local governments and town [...]
September 10, 2009 – 10:19 pm
Who will be the first chief of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency?
It is such an important job and this will be such a landmark appointment, let’s hope there are many outstanding candidates. The Minister for Health will make the appointment, but has to run it by state and territory health ministers, according to [...]
September 8, 2009 – 11:30 am
The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission’s final report made many suggestions requiring much more work if they are ever to have any chance of implementation. Consultancies must be rubbing their hands in anticipation of the business that health reform will generate.
Here at Croakey, we thought we’d do our bit to save the public [...]
September 2, 2009 – 6:30 pm
Don’t get too excited about the Preventative Health Taskforce recommendations, cautions Professor Boyd Swinburn, Professor of Population Health at Deakin University, and Director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Obesity Prevention. There have been other reports making similar useful recommendations which have gone nowhere.
He writes:
“The decision by the Preventative Health Taskforce to start with the [...]
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Also posted in Food, alcohol, chronic diseases, health reform, public health, tobacco control
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Tagged alcohol, Boyd Swinburn, food industry, obesity, Preventative Health Taskforce, public health, self-regulation, tobacco
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Bernard Keane’s recent Crikey piece questioning the current political and policy focus on prevention has provoked some interesting discussions on a University of Sydney email list.
Dr Brian O’Toole, an epidemiologist specialising in mental health issues and the director of the Vietnam Veterans Study, has entered into the fray, arguing that the public health community doesn’t [...]
My first reaction when I read Bernard Keane’s critique of prevention, published in Crikey earlier this week, was of irritation. Then I sat back and marshalled my thoughts and arguments. Then I read Simon Chapman’s response, and some of the subsequent discussion on the Crikey website and in other places.
And then I was glad, sort [...]
What does the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission report mean for mental health?
Thoughts of an ambitious Pollyanna have come to mind for Dr Michael Robertson, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, University of Sydney.
He has filed this analysis for Croakey:
“The parts of the NHHRC relevant [...]
Last week, I had my say in Crikey about the House of Reps Standing Committee on Health and Ageing’s report on obesity. I was concerned that it focused so much on treatment and didn’t put a stronger emphasis on prevention.
Professor Boyd Swinburn, professor of population health at Deakin University and Director of the WHO [...]
