Building blocks for a national health policy

In the run-up to the last federal election, The Centre for Policy Development published three papers on health policy matters: Primary care by Stephen Duckett, Lack of integration of commonwealth and state health functions by John Menadue Health election policies of the major political parties by John Menadue. This was followed by discussion on these issues by many people involved in the health sector. Following that discussion, the Centre for Policy Development thought it would … more

The end of pub smoking in Australia: a tribute to Frank Sartor

Smokefree dining once signalled drab mung bean and tofu asceticism. In the early 1990s health groups took a dozen of Sydney’s leading food writers to lunch at the smokefree Tetsuya’s to try and turn that perception around. Leo Schofield, David Dale and John Newton pioneered the highlighting of smoking status in restaurant reviews. The ACT government made restaurants smokeless in 1995 and in November 1999, NSW Premier Bob Carr announced that all restaurants (including the … more

Improving constitutional awareness

In his Australia Day address last month the Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, lamented the poor level of knowledge of the Australian Constitution among the community, and particularly among younger Australians. In doing so he hit on one of the rare issues on which monarchists and republicans actually agree. The GG’s comments came in the wake of polling suggesting a fall in support for an Australian republic, and an increase in ‘uncommitted’ voters on this … more

 

The importance of primary and community care

The Australian primary health and community care system is inequitable, inefficient and there is only very limited information about its quality. Yet it is highly likely that demographic, technological, social and economic change will result in increased demand for these services. Notwithstanding the available evidence, to date attempts at reform have been piecemeal. There is an urgent need to develop a national strategy for primary health and community care. Primary health and community care is … more

Childbirth – a constant in a changing world

A midwife friend said recently ‘childbirth is consistent across time and cultures’, a simple truth lost in the frenzy of western society. It seems we have forgotten that in the majority of cases, childbirth is usually a straightforward event with the highly predictable outcome of a healthy mother and baby. For all appearances, women have never had better access to maternity care or been as safe during their childbearing years. At least this is so … more