After the election was called for 3 May, health and medical organisations were quick out of the starting gates with various calls to action*.
First prize for Best Timed Event must go to organisers of a public forum in Perth tonight in the federal seat of Curtin where health professionals will highlight the urgent need for climate action.
The forum is supported by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Doctors for the Environment Australia, and the Public Health Association of Australia, and will feature calls for all political parties to commit to fully fund implementation of the National Health and Climate Strategy.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said in a statement ahead of the event: “Climate change is not just a hypothetical concept. The world is already feeling the effects of climate change and we are paying the price with our health and homes.
“Health is firmly at the centre of the agenda at the upcoming federal election, and if political parties are serious about committing to protect the health of everyone in Australia, action on climate change is non-negotiable,” he said.
Ainslee Sartori, the WA branch President of the PHAA said: ”It’s vital that the people of Curtin elect a national representative who will champion issues relating to public health, including the impacts on our health caused by climate change.”
Meanwhile, a review of Federal Budget election pitches from the Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton shows no specific mention of the importance of climate action, let alone of its importance for health and healthcare.
Indeed, the Coalition’s plans to boost gas, increase fuel consumption (as a result of the excise discount), and defund the Environmental Defenders Office, as well as its commitment to “ripping-up as much red and green tape as possible” provide a clear indication of its lack of climate credentials.
The election campaign will take place in the shadow of the Trump Administration’s assaults on climate action, and health and human rights, locally and globally, as well as geopolitical instability.
The Opposition Leader’s Budget reply speech last night underscored his longstanding playbook of whipping up concerns about crime and safety. His description of the Voice referendum as divisive should be called out, especially as it was his decision to politicise and weaponise the referendum.
The task ahead
This week, we have published many thousands of words from dozens of organisations and sector leaders examining the Federal Budget’s implications for health and the determinants of health and wellbeing.
A clear theme – over and above the many competing sectoral interests at play – is that the next Government, whatever form that takes, has much to do.
That is a legacy of the Albanese Government kicking many important reform decisions down the road, and is also a legacy of previous LNP Governments’ policy failures over many years.
Below is a selection of quotables from our Budget coverage.
“The Government is spending a lot to reduce costs for patients, but the Budget is light on health reforms to make care more efficient and effective, or to prevent illnesses in the first place. Every day of reform delay means more pressure on the health system in future.”
Peter Breadon and Elizabeth Baldwin, the Grattan Institute
“The lack of funding for prevention in this year’s Budget means the social and economic burden of preventable disease on our community and our health systems will continue to grow.”
The George Institute for Global Health
“We’re astounded that the centrepiece of tonight’s Budget is more dollars for everyone except those with the least… In the face of a serious cost-of-living crisis and overwhelming evidence to fix JobSeeker, to give $7b in tax cuts and do nothing to lift people out of poverty is simply shocking.”
ACOSS CEO, Dr Cassandra Goldie
“…billions of dollars in tax cuts, including for high income earners, at the expense of any real measures to support those most on the margins is disappointing. That money would be far better spent raising the rate of Jobseeker to allow recipients to lead dignified lives, something we will continue to advocate for.”
Jesuit Social Services
“AIDA urges governments to address the social, economic and political determinants of health with more effort and intensity.”
The Australian Indigenous Doctors Association
“Everyone has a right to a safe and accessible home, the Government’s focus on home ownership shows a complete disregard for their duty to provide public and social housing.”
Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
“This Budget gives us cause for cautious optimism. Investment across all sectors where our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled services are is important – and we look forward to working with all governments, in genuine partnership, on how those investments are designed, governed and delivered.”
Coalition Peaks Lead Convenor, Pat Turner AM
“The $200 million a year spent on reducing general PBS co-payments would have increased spending on First Nations health services by 15 percent, or almost doubled Commonwealth assistance on public dental services. I think most health policy pundits would regards these as far better uses of the money.”
Charles Maskell-Knight PSM, Croakey columnist
“We welcome the investment in GPs and medicines but that’s only part of the story. The real test is whether you can afford the care you need, where you live, and how your life circumstances affect your health. That’s where this Budget falls short.”
Consumers Health Forum CEO Dr Elizabeth Deveny
“This Budget contained many good things for our nation’s health system, but more is needed to address medicine shortages, boost the specialist workforce and address the health impacts of climate change.”
Royal Australasian College of Physicians President, Professor Jennifer Martin
“The Government could have used this Budget to repair its environmental credentials going into the next election – but it didn’t. The many voters concerned about the environment might well wonder if Labor considers the environment a policy priority at all.”
Dr Timothy Neal, Institute for Climate Risk and Response here at the University of New South Wales
“While there is acute understanding of the need to address financial hardship, there is no attention to the underlying structural inequality that is fundamentally harming the health and wellbeing of the Australian population and driving environmental degradation.”
Planetary Health Equity Hothouse, ANU
“Our analysis is shorter than in previous years, because there is very little in this Budget that is new. In summary, as expected with a federal election looming, the Budget is not a horror one of austerity. There are continuing investments in some key areas supporting wages growth where it is solely needed and rebuilding important areas of public good. However, there remains much that needs to be done in the next parliament, whoever is in government.”
The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work
“Instead of genuine reform, we are getting Band-Aids, welcome indeed, but failing to address Medicare needs major surgery, not just extra bulk billing payment and cheaper drugs, and this Budget is a missed opportunity to kick-start the process.”
Doctors Reform Society
“The Budget is full of good news for our members working on the frontline of health and aged care.”
ANMF Federal Secretary, Annie Butler
“It is incomprehensible that, at a time when distress levels are at an all-time high, the Government has failed to deliver meaningful funding for suicide prevention.”
Suicide Prevention Australia
“While there are some piecemeal investments, this Budget seriously lacks the level of mental health reform and investment that the Australian community expects.”
Mental Health Australia
“Safe, secure and affordable housing has been the focus of this Budget but the word accessible is missing. Housing isn’t safe or secure for people with disability unless it is accessible. We’re at increased of homelessness and housing insecurity and yet we’re nowhere to be seen in these measures.”
People with Disability Australia
“The details of the development budget show Australia has been listening to its partners to identify critical gaps and reprioritise funds. In the Pacific, funding has risen to a historic high, with no country receiving less aid. There have been changes in focus to respond to the US funding cuts, including programs on HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea and Fiji and gender-based violence in the Pacific.”
Melissa Conley Tyler is an Honorary Fellow, Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne
*Charles Maskell-Knight will have more to say on the sector’s election statements in next week’s edition of The Zap.
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