The Queensland government is vigorously promoting coal’s social licence. Heat waves are clearly linked to global warming. The war in Ukraine is destroying the environment as well as people. ‘Coal royalties help pay for the Cairns hospital expansion’ ‘Everyone benefits from coal royalties [and] this ensures Queenslanders are compensated fairly from the earnings mining companies Continue reading »
In Canberra, Friday is the traditional day for taking out the trash. It is thus not surprising that Aged Care Minister Anika Wells chose Friday 21 July as the day to release the capability review of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Despite having had the report on her desk since 31 March (16 Continue reading »
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 »
We should celebrate the birth of the NHS and the welfare state – but also acknowledge it has too often let learning disabled people down in the worst way imaginable, writes Stephen Unwin
A new report by a national commission has found that 'systemic racism embedded in the Government’s responses to the pandemic may have worsened outcomes'
The Federal Government has been urged to ignore advice from Private Healthcare Australia (PHA) suggesting that private health insurance funds have an important role in increasing access to dental services. Rather, it is the underfunded and overworked public dental services that have expertise in delivering services to vulnerable people, says health policy analyst Charles Maskell-Knight. Continue reading »
Australia’s energy transition pathways are piecemeal and incoherent and inconsistent with achieving the 1.5oC goal. Eliminating fluorocarbons helps the climate and the ozone layer. No future for CCS in the steel industry. Australia’s shambolic national energy pathways Australia’s current climate change commitments, targets and policies include: A commitment to limit global warming to 1.5oC Net Continue reading »