Category: Political Economy of Health
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Vale Emeritus Associate Professor David Legge (1944-2026)
PHAA Political Economy of Health Special Interest Group It is with deep sadness that we share the news that Emeritus Associate Professor David Legge died on 2nd February 2026. David was a vital and deeply respected member of the Public Health Association of Australia for many, many decades. David established…
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Spend on prevention to save money and lives
Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin The best trip to the hospital is the one avoided. The world was changed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Western Australia shut itself off from the world to avoid its worst ravages. As a result, the government which shut the gate was re-elected with record support.…
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Vaping regulation: what just happened?
Malcolm Baalman, PHAA This week Parliament finally concluded its approval of the “Vaping Reforms” package of amendments to the Therapeutic Goods Act. The Bill is the final component of several months of moves to settle Australia’s ‘world-leading’ model of control of e-cigarette supply into our community. Many elements of the…
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Advocacy strategies for advancing health in all policies: what works for trade policymaking?
Dr Belinda Townsend, Australian Research Centre for Health Equity, Australian National University, Ms Brigitte Tenni, School of Psychology and Population Health, La Trobe University & Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne, Ms Sharni Goldman, Australian Research Centre for Health Equity, Australian National University & Associate Prof Deborah Gleeson,…
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National alliance urges five key steps to reduce harms from alcohol
Introduction by Croakey: If the Australian Government is to achieve the stated goal of a 10 percent reduction in the harmful use of alcohol by 2028, some significant policy changes are needed, according to Hannah Pierce, Executive Officer for Alcohol Change Australia. Below she outlines five evidence-based areas where the Government can…
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It’s time to put money aside and respond to community need when it comes to gambling harm
Public Health Association of Australia The highly anticipated report from the Government inquiry into online gambling dropped on 28 June 2023, and now it’s time for the rubber to hit the road on whether the Government listens to the commercially driven gambling, sporting, and media lobby groups, or instead responds…
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Confronting the barriers to ADHD services
Jainoor Rana, former PHAA intern The Australian Senate recently authorised its Community Affairs Committee to conduct an inquiry into assessment and support services for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The announcement is the result of a proposal spearheaded by Western Australian Senator Jordon Steele-John in response to…
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What are the commercial determinants of health, and why do they matter?
Melanie Parker, Public Health Association of Australia Commercial entities are now well known for being able to influence the health of people and populations. But untangling the ways that commercial entities influence people’s lives and health is an emerging, but still somewhat opaque, area that is stimulating the interest of…
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Can reframing public health advocacy create positive change?
Shelby Craig, former PHAA intern With key public health issues such as gambling and climate change regularly making the headlines, it’s worth critically reflecting on how messaging around these topics is framed. Frames are mental structures that shape the way we see the world, including perceptions of who or what…
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Politicians to face a grilling on these key health issues ahead of New South Wales election
Introduction by Croakey: Key politicians will be grilled about their intentions for public health at a New South Wales election debate to be hosted by the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) NSW in Sydney on 27 February. The debate, to be held at the Westmead Innovation Quarter and live-streamed, will…
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‘Don’t file it away’: Acting on the National Preventive Health Strategy will mean fewer people get sick
Melanie Parker, Public Health Association of Australia Clearly, unless change occurs soon, Australia will soon be facing an overwhelming chronic disease crisis. That warning, was emphasised in a new Grattan Institute report released on 13 February, which noted the concerning effects it will have on our already-strained health system and…
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Reform needed to limit unhealthy influence around elections, PHAA tells inquiry
BF, PHAA Intern In a perfect world, public policy decisions should be made in the public good, and in the interests of public health. But the reality is that such policies often go against the interests of powerful corporations, leaving affected businesses to make use of any tools at their…
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Intellectual property waiver for COVID vaccines should be expanded to include treatments and tests
Deborah Gleeson, La Trobe University; Dianne Nicol, University of Tasmania, and James Scheibner, Flinders University Global inequities in access to COVID vaccines have turned out to be a “catastrophic moral failure”, just as the World Health Organization warned they would in January 2021. Yet it took 20 months of negotiations…
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Aim for better data on firearms, says public health expert
Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin (left) told an audience at Parliament House that gun control is not and never should be a partisan issue. It is and must always be a community safety issue. On Tuesday 22 November 2022, PHAA Chief Executive Officer, Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin, presented to parliamentarians…
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What we know so far on the Labor Government’s proposed ‘Australian Centre for Disease Control’
Melanie Parker, PHAA Communications Officer Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday 21 August discussed why the government is establishing an Australian Centre for Disease Control. It follows comments he made earlier this month about the potential for a significant funding announcement for the Centre in the October Budget. The Public Health…
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Independent MP Dr Sophie Scamps’ bid to address Australia’s childhood obesity levels
Danielle Gavanescu, PHAA Intern and Master of Public Health student Independent MP Dr Sophie Scamps has announced the development of a Private Member’s Bill that will restrict junk food marketing to children in a bid to curb Australia’s growing obesity epidemic. Dr Sophie Scamps calls for ban on junk food…
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Natural systems in Australia are unravelling. If they collapse, human society could too
Liz Hanna, Australian National University and Mark Howden, Australian National University In the long-delayed State of the Environment report released this week, there is one terrifying sentence: “Environmental degradation is now considered a threat to humanity, which could bring about societal collapses.” Hyperbole? Sadly not. Climate change has already warmed…
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While Australians line up for COVID boosters, low vaccination rates in poor countries continue to cost lives
Deborah Gleeson, La Trobe University and Brigitte Tenni, The University of Melbourne Two and a half years into the pandemic, more than 12 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide, and more than 5 million are being administered each day. People in many high-income countries, including Australia, are now…
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Roe vs. Wade and the recent overturn of the 50-year-old ruling by the US Supreme Court
Professor Jaya Dantas and Dr Claire Rogers Co- Convenors, PHAA International Health Special Interest Group On the 24 June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States stripped women, and girls of existing legal protections necessary to determine the course of their lives. Legal protections for abortion access and…
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Reproductive Freedom Needs Continual Defence
Dr Abela Mahimbo and Dr Amie Steel PHAA’s Women’s Health Special Interest Group convenors The Australian public health community is outraged at the decisions of US state legislatures to deny women’s reproductive control over their lives. On Friday the US Supreme Court, by a 5-4 majority of conservative judges,…
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Action needed on prevention and collaboration implementation research
Professor Luke Wolfenden, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre The Prevention Centre’s Leadership Executive and several key partners have reflected on the importance of a coordinated, collaborative national approach to prevention practice, research and policy. Our 17 co-authors have published a call to action in the Australian and New Zealand Journal…
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Strengthening Australia’s chemical regulation: an opportunity for the new government
Peter W. Tait, PHAA member In the past five years Australia’s agricultural, veterinary (agvet) and industrial chemical regulation has undergone a series of reviews and reforms. The purpose of these has been to reduce the regulatory burden on manufacturers, importers, and industry while retaining protection of the environment and human…
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Long-serving MP Warren Snowdon retires
Malcolm Baalman, PHAA As happens at every federal election, several long-serving Members of Parliament have retired. Two in particular have influenced public health in Australia. Previously, we acknowledged the service of the Hon. Greg Hunt, former Minister for Health. Today we profile the Hon Warren Snowdon, former Member of the…
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55 years since the 1967 Referendum, what’s changed?
Malcolm Baalman, PHAA Senior Policy and Advocacy Adviser Today is the 55th anniversary since Australians voted in the 1967 Referendum on ‘Aboriginal people’. Widely regarded as a turning point in the nation’s relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the 1967 vote changed our national Constitution. It meant that…
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Pandemic-era Health Minister Greg Hunt retires
Malcolm Baalman, PHAA As happens at every federal election, several long-serving Members of Parliament have retired. Two in particular have influenced public health in Australia. Today we profile the Hon. Greg Hunt, former Member for Flinders, and Minister for Health 2016-2022. Elected to the House of Representatives in 2001, Hunt…
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The potential global effects if Roe v. Wade is overturned
Professor Jaya Dantas, Dr Claire Rogers, Dr Abela Mahimbo, and Professor Angela Taft Recently, United States (US) political news outlet Politico published a leaked draft of a Supreme Court majority decision that would explicitly overturn Roe v. Wade and with it, 50 years of the Supreme Court’s legal precedent…
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Will the 2022 Victorian Budget solve the mental health crisis?
Stephen Carbone, Prevention United The recent Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System uncovered a system in crisis. In its interim report, the Commission stated that, “once admired as the most progressive in our nation, the state’s mental health system has catastrophically failed to live up to expectations”. The Commission…
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The key to our future: increased investment in prevention
Allyson Todd, former PHAA intern, University of Sydney It is well known that investing in preventative health is necessary to reduce Australia’s disease burden, improve health equity, and build a resilient health system. The importance of public health and investing in prevention has been well recognised throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.…
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Advocating for protection against unethical marketing of unhealthy products
PHAA Intern Allyson Todd, University of Sydney The unethical marketing of unhealthy products is an increasing concern within the digital age, from both a public health lens, and a human and child rights perspective. The Australian Government’s National Preventative Health Strategy 2021-2030 recognised the digital and commercial influence of promoting…
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Many places are starting to wind back COVID restrictions, but this doesn’t mean the pandemic is over yet
Holly Seale, UNSW Sydney This month, mask mandates were lifted in South Australia, and vaccine requirements for dining and nightlife were removed in Queensland. Public health experts at the World Health Organization have begun discussing what conditions would eventually signal the public health emergency declared on January 30, 2020 can…