Tag: political economy of health
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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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Diabetes map of Tasmania invaluable for health policy
Dr Ngan Dinh Maps are trustworthy companions; they reveal our current location and lead us to unexplored horizons. But have you ever imagined that a map could unlock the secrets of local health status and inform policy planning to shape our future? Our new research, recently published in the Australian…
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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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A future of autonomous vehicles delivering junk food 24/7 is coming, health researchers warn
PHAA While the public health community welcomed the Healthy Kids Advertising Bill 2023 announced by Independent MP Sophie Scamps this week, some public health experts are also warning that new challenges in junk food accessibility and advertising are emerging. A new study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal…
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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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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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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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Monkeypox – the next global vaccine equity failure?
Deborah Gleeson, La Trobe University Inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines has turned out to be the catastrophic moral failure the World Health Organization’s director-general warned about at the beginning of 2021. International efforts to equitably distribute COVID-19 vaccine doses failed miserably during 2020-2021, when wealthy countries bought up the bulk…
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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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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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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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Discerning discussion at ‘Design principles of an Australian CDC’ webinar
Melanie Parker – PHAA With a 50/50 chance of an Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) being formed after the federal election on 21 May, discussing the scope and structure of this centre was key to PHAA’s webinar on 11 April 2022. Presenters are leading figures at their respective…
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Advocating for Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems in Australia – taking a holistic approach
Kate Sievert, Cherie Russell, and Sarah Dickie – Healthy Food Systems Australia Australia’s dominant food system provides access to a wide range of safe foods in a relatively secure manner. However, it is also a major contributor to chronic disease risk and environmental degradation. Our food supply encourages the…
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Two years into the pandemic, unequal access to COVID-19 treatments threatens the global recovery
Deborah Gleeson, La Trobe University and Brigitte Tenni, The University of Melbourne It’s now two years since the World Health Organization began calling the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Two years ago, it was unclear whether it would even be possible to develop an effective vaccine or treatment for the novel…
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Under-resourced and undermined: as floods hit south-west Sydney, our research shows councils aren’t prepared
Nicky Morrison, Western Sydney University and Patrick Harris, UNSW Sydney Thousands of people in south-western Sydney have been ordered to evacuate as extreme rain pummels the region and floodwaters rise rapidly. The downpour is expected to continue for days. This region, particularly Western Sydney, is no stranger to climate-related disasters.…
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South Australian Public Health Consortium State Election Forum: A summary
Melanie Parker, Mary Brushe and Professor Jacquie Bowden – PHAA Almost 100 people joined the South Australian Public Health Consortium‘s Virtual Forum on 23 February to hear political parties’ public health priorities ahead of the upcoming state election. The Consortium comprises the SA branch of Public Health Association of Australia,…
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Former PHAA Queensland President, Letitia Del Fabbro, to run in federal election
Jeremy Lasek – PHAA As regular readers of Intouch are aware, the PHAA is using the upcoming federal election as an opportunity to campaign for, among other things, a significantly bigger slice of the budget pie for public health. Fascinatingly, the first of our public health workforce profiles for 2022…