During Australia’s Covid-19 pandemic response, some companies received billions in contracts made without tender, sometimes by ministerial intervention. It would be too much, of course, to hope that anything the inquiry into the pandemic response does to address this issue will be taken up with any enthusiasm by the Albanese government. It seems to have Continue reading »
Health
In the lead up to the high-level UN meeting on universal health coverage (UHC) Australia has joined the US, UK and the EU in blocking any acknowledgement that ‘unilateral coercive measures’ (sanctions) can have negative impacts on the achievement of universal health coverage. The health consequences of sanctions include avoidable morbidity arising from increased barriers Continue reading »
Two significant reports concerning people with disabilities are due be released. First will be the Independent Review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and second, the findings of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. Underpinning both inquiries is Australia’s commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights Continue reading »
Shadow boxing around “universal health coverage” instead of “universal access to healthcare” in the UN General Assembly reflects deeper tensions around the direction of the world economy. At the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on Thursday, 21 September the delegates will consider a compromise document on universal health coverage (the 1 September draft Continue reading »
Can regulation of Biotechnology provide clues for the regulatory measures now required to limit risks in the use of AI? Already, digital technologies have permeated most corners of human activities, with some good and some bad effects. Now, global authorities are trying to introduce some form of regulation to rein in the riskiest products launched Continue reading »
A new short film reveals the heart-wrenching stories of those who lost their loved ones to COVID – and exposes the politics of poverty behind the crisis
Byline Times regular court reporter James Doleman reflects on his terminal diagnosis and the kafkaesque bed blocking situation many like him find themselves in
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted in a profoundly sick society” – Jiddu Krishnamurti It’s one of the most revealing ironies of our time, namely, the obsession with health and wellbeing while we, in wealthy nations, have never been so sick. Soul sick. There’s nothing new about this. James Hillman in Continue reading »
The major barrier to health reform is the power of providers or at least their assumed power. Recently the Australian Pharmacy Guild told us that 665 pharmacies would close if the Government proceeded with its 60 day dispensing policy. It was all widely exaggerated doom. Fortunately the Minister for Health stood his ground. It was Continue reading »
“There are a small number of people who believe that Covid is no big deal anymore. That’s wrong," Doctors in Unite Covid lead Dr Jonathan Fluxman tells Byline Times