Paddy Phillips suggests how the health system could be better planned to ensure its longevity and practicality. A more streamlined system, outside the bounds of evolution and tradition could better allocate funds to providers, carer to patient, practitioner to training, and technology to administrative process. In tandem a focus on a more holistic approach to well-being and the promotion of prevention of ill-health could stave off a crisis in supply versus demand
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Monthly Archives:: December 2005
A Bill of Rights for Victoria
As members of an independent committee established by the Victorian Government, we have recommended that the State enact a Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. The Bracks Government has said that, although it has to work through the details, it will move to enact such a Charter in 2006. It will be the first State to do so, and will adopt a model that, along with the 2004 Australian Capital Territory Human Rights Act, other States could follow.
Dual prisms of rights and fairness: IR Vision 2015
The passage of the WorkChoices amendments to the Workplace Relations Act through the Senate in December 2005 was a major turning point, not simply the unfolding of a process of change which commenced 20 years earlier under the Hawke Labor Government. This point was made tellingly by former prime minister Hawke, who recently described the amendments as ‘an assault upon the very core of what generations of our citizens have been proud to boast of…
Let the people decide! Citizens’ Juries in Health
Gavin Mooney urges the Commonwealth and State governments to embrace Citizens’ Juries to set priorities in health and identify the values and principles that should underpin the health system. Because of scarce resources, priority setting is critical in health. Citizens’ Juries, comprised of randomly selected citizens who are provided with appropriate information, provide democratic means of setting these priorities
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The Need for a National Bill of Rights
In 1998, I published Legislating Liberty in which I opposed the introduction of a constitutional bill of rights for Australia. Conceding the shortfall for the protection of rights in our constitutional machinery, I suggested that the shortfall could be made up in the long term with:[i]
Diaspora: The World Wide Web of Australians
Michael Fullilove considers the Australian diaspora, the 870,000 Australian citizens living overseas. He argues that it makes good economic and policy sense for Australia to increase its efforts to reach out to the diaspora and enmesh them in our national endeavours. Policy options include improving information collection and management about ex-pats, increasing efforts to simplify and promote absentee voting processes and encouraging businesses to utilise ex-patriate knowledge and skills. more
Restoring a healthy democracy
The Hon Gough Whitlam calls for simultaneous Federal and State elections on fixed dates. He says that these should be coupled with introduced along with simultaneous, four-year federal terms for both Houses of Parliament. He cites the United States as a federal system that coordinates election times effectively that we can learn from
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Hospital Reform Group manifesto
An influential group of senior people in NSW including Kerry Goulston, Bruce Robinson, Judy Lumby and Michael Fearnside are concerned about problems in the public hospital system. They have established a Hospital Reform Group. Their six point manifesto describes their concerns. The Centre for Policy Development believes that these concerns are shared across Australia.
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Health Workforce Reform — Can we achieve it?
Professor Peter Brooks warns of future health workforce problems brought on by our ageing population. He urges a review of the private sector contribution to training, consideration of alternative strategies for the delivery of care and the need to link health education with workforce issues.
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