Prescription co-payments are imposed by the Federal Government for subsidised drugs. Australians pay $1.6 billion a year in co-payments. Why do we continue to have financial barriers to accessing these drugs? Co-payments are $7.30 or $30 per prescription for Pensioners and Health Care Card Holders, or the remainder respectively. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland abolished Continue reading »
politics
An attempt by a branch of the ACT Labor Party to protest the tripartite AUKUS security pact was blocked over the weekend in what members believe is a consequence of Anthony Albanese wanting to quell dissent on the issue, writes Phillip Coorey in the Australian Financial Review Amid significant unrest among rank-and-file members – primarily Continue reading »
The commissioning of the new USS Canberra in Sydney amid accompanying fanfare and blanket Australian media coverage provided ample testimony to the extent that we are increasingly being taken for granted by the US civil and military leadership. The Canberra is one of the final run of 35 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) built for the Continue reading »
On the eve of the Vilnius summit Foreign Affairs published an article by long term, and recently reappointed, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg entitled ‘A Stronger NATO for a More Dangerous World: What the Alliance Must Do in Vilnius—and Beyond’. Foreign Affairs is the bible of the American foreign policy establishment, being the journal of the Council Continue reading »
America is our “great and powerful friend” so it matters a great deal how reliable our firmest strategic partner is. Is the US heading for a degree of political dysfunction that could blow back into its steadfastness as a leading player and an Australian ally in a multipolar Indo-Pacific? Introduction “Things fall apart; the centre Continue reading »
When it comes to a ‘pivot state’ in Asia against China, the security apparatus of South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol is ignored or given a free pass by the West. Tens of thousands protest in the streets, calling on their leader to resign and clashing with riot police. The government denounces them as stooges and spies; Continue reading »
Britain has commissioned a prison hulk to house immigrants, in a cruel re-enactment of history. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has implemented two strategies to stop immigrants crossing the Rio Grande into America: one is a floating barrier with razor wire and rolling motion that pulls people under the water; the other is an apparent Continue reading »
Australia’s first wellbeing framework, announced by the Treasurer under the Measuring What Matters banner, is important and can play a vital part in setting national direction and navigating significant challenges for Australia in the years to come. The framework uses larger and more diverse data to bring depth and resolution to the picture drawn by Continue reading »
Integrity, accountability and stewardship are, post the Robodebt royal commission, to be the watchwords of the hour. The cynic will note that the agencies to oversee changing the culture are those which did most, in word and deed, to create, foster and promote the old culture, and that not one of them has publicly examined Continue reading »