Impact and readership

December 2024

Week ending 12 December: This week our bulletin profiles the work of diverse communities in achieving health-promoting changes across many areas – through advocacy, action, passion, persistence and purpose.

Our #CroakeyLIVE webinar highlighted the achievements of collective leadership across a range of issues, with a focus on Waminda, which provides a culturally safe, holistic service to women and their Aboriginal families on the NSW south coast.

The much-heralded launch of Australia’s first National Action Plan for the Health and Wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ People 2025-2035 follows decades of collective advocacy and action.

In Western Australia, public health advocates are gearing up for the state election, due on 8 March.

The health and research sector’s important roles in advocating for climate health and equity are evident in recent actions in Victoria by Health Futures, and by Rising Tide in Newcastle and Canberra.

Reporting from the recent Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) Network conference, Danielle Manton describes how Indigenous ways of connecting to Country and each other are key to restoring much needed balance to our world.

Participants in the recent #CroakeyGO in Kandos, NSW, on Dabee Wiradjuri Country, enjoyed the connections forged by walking journalism – including with walking art.

The importance of collective action was also highlighted at the inaugural Commerce, Economy, Trade and Public Health Conference, hosted by the Public Health Association of Australia and supported by VicHealth.

In The Health Wrap, Dr Lesley Russell underscores the urgency for health action on a number of fronts, describing the likely impact of the Trump Administration.

The Zap details national recommendations for improving healthcare for First Nations people in prison, and Charles Maskell-Knight also investigates the private health insurance industry’s use of “product phoenixing”.

We launch the publication of essays from the 2024 National Public Health Student Think Tank Competition with an article advocating for senior health leadership to boost health interpreter services.

The ICYMI column brings new research about where Australians get their news, which will be of use for health communicators and advocates.

Don’t miss the 69-page report compiling Croakey Conference News Service coverage of the 15th National Conference for Rural and Remote Allied Health.

Croakey will close from Friday 20 December for a three-week summer break. During this time, we will auto-publish a selection of articles from 2024 including some sponsored content and Croakey Conference News Service articles.

November 2024

Leadership matters

Week to 5 December: We invite readers to join us for a #CroakeyLIVE webinar on leadership this coming Monday, 9 December. It’s from 4-5pm AEDT and you can register here.

Enjoy a sneak preview from two panel members, Adjunct Associate Professor Learne Durrington, CEO of the WA Primary Health Alliance, and Dr Elizabeth Deveny, CEO of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia.

The importance of leadership is highlighted across our stories this week, from health services stepping up for sustainability, to the role of Indigenous women and girls in leading for climate justice.

With International Day of People with Disability putting a focus on ‘amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future’, we examine how universal design helps to create inclusive neighbourhoods.

As the NSW Drug Summit wraps up, the NSW Government is under pressure to show leadership.

The Croakey Conference News Service has been busy. Our final report from the National Conference for Rural and Remote Allied Health examines the potential of an allied health rural generalist pathway.

Meanwhile, Alison Barrett reports from #HEAL2024 on how the National Health and Climate Strategy is progressing.

Climate health initiatives also feature in the ICYMI column, which brings news on global food systems, the lucrative business of being anti-vax, and compromised media.

While COP29 has been widely critiqued, Fiji demonstrated leadership with the launch of its Health and Climate Adaptation Plan.

Professor Stephen Duckett highlights the importance of interrogating political leadership in a critical analysis of the recent COVID-19 Response Inquiry.

The impacts of harmful leadership are also in frame; Tabitha Lean and Debbie Kilroy put a spotlight on human rights violations experienced by women in Australian prisons.

Australian Healthcare Workers for Palestine call on healthcare and research organisations to review their collaborations with Israeli organisations.

A failure of logic in aged care reform, a call for submissions for the 2025–26 Federal Budget, and a proposal for advancing preventative health agendas are among topics covered in The Zap.

And don’t miss this probing analysis of philanthropy’s potential pitfalls.

Pathways to wellbeing

Weekend to 28 November: For many Croakey members and supporters, all roads lead to Kandos in New South Wales this weekend.

We know from experience that a #CroakeyGO – or walking journalism – supports our individual and collective wellbeing.

If you can’t join in person, then follow online for discussions about rural health and the arts and wellbeing, as well as glimpses of the beautiful Country of the Dabee people of the Wiradjuri Nation.

Find out more about Kandos and the opportunities for health in this small rural community. Professor Megan Williams has assembled her “top five do-it-yourself Kandos cultural determinants of health on offer”.

Several timely new reports provide important insights for those working to support wellbeing through the prevention of illness and suffering. Topics range from anti-racism, to poverty, preventative healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the many benefits of home-grown produce.

Meanwhile, Dr Matthew Fisher discusses his new book, How to Create Societies for Human Wellbeing: Through Public Policy and Social Change. He advocates for a comprehensive public health approach to help improve wellbeing.

Whether we look to our toxic virtual environments, our polluted and besieged physical world, or the stressed and often harmful systems within which we live, work and play, it is clear that the wellbeing of people and planet is under attack from multiple directions – including governments.

The Queensland Government is pushing ahead with its ‘tough on crime’ agenda which has been described as “a calculated, racially motivated attack on Aboriginal children and other vulnerable young people”.

Our wellbeing is also at stake when powerful commercial interests undermine the integrity of policy-making – from COP29 to Parliamentary processes in Australia.

The Health Wrap details attacks on public health in Aotearoa/New Zealand and the United States, as well as concerns about the long-term impact of COVID-19 infection – and also brings beautiful views from Flinders Island.

Health inequalities, the threat of antimicrobial resistance, disappointments in aged care reform, and global trends in health workforce shortages are among topics covered in The Zap.

The Croakey Conference News Service has been in action this week; check #HEAL2024 for live posts from the Healthy Environment and Lives (HEAL) Network annual conference, and also see this wrap from the 2024 Greening the Healthcare Sector Forum.

Marie McInerney brings ten amazing takeaways from the recent National Conference for Rural and Remote Allied Health.

Don’t miss Alison Barrett’s tips for navigating Bluesky.

Register here to join a special #CroakeyLIVE webinar on leadership, from 4-5pm AEDT on 9 December. Find out more here.

The heat is on

Week ending 21 November: Summer is only days away, reminding us of the urgency for action on climate mitigation AND adaptation.

Our bulletin this week has a strong focus on the intersections between the impacts of climate inaction and populations most at-risk from extreme weather events.

Whether it be young people, people experiencing homelessness or people in prisons, governments are being urged to step up climate adaptation efforts.

In previewing the HEAL Network’s upcoming conference, Alison Barrett reports on citizen science projects that are documenting some shocking temperatures in the Northern Territory.

The heat is also on for academics to “embrace activism” in the face of rising disinformation and anti-science sentiment, according to Dr Aletha Ward, climate and health researcher.

Meanwhile, public health and human rights experts explain why they are migrating from X to Bluesky.

The ICYMI column highlights two processes that provide a study in contrasts – treaty negotiations in Victoria that have involved extended, participatory processes; and an outrageously short deadline of one day for submissions on the Federal Government’s bill to ban social media for young people.

As the Albanese Government gears up for a pre-election advertising campaign highlighting its healthcare initiatives, The Zap highlights a lack of action in addressing the costs of medical specialists.

In his latest report on proposed national scope of practice reforms, Jason Staines highlights their potential for improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities’ access to culturally safe health services.

Scope of practice was also a topic much discussed at Medicines Management 2024, Australia’s largest scientific pharmacy conference.

Meanwhile, Marie McInerney details how collaboration across sectors and services has enabled the development of an innovative suicide prevention program in regional Victoria. It’s her latest story from the recent National Conference for Rural and Remote Allied Health.

We invite you to join Croakey at two events: a #CroakeyGo, walking journalism, in rural New South Wales at the end of November; and a #CroakeyLIVE webinar discussion on leadership in primary healthcare.

Croakey is seeking a volunteer to help with our financial management and accounts. Please share with your contacts!

Not yet subscribed to the Croakey News Bulletin? SUBSCRIBE NOW to get in at 2024 rates!! Annual subscriptions will increase from $80 to $100 on 16 January 2025 to help meet our increasing costs.

Flowing and rippling

Week ending 14 November: Our bulletin this week is flowing with beautiful images of waterways, and stories about their importance for health and wellbeing.

Our latest report from the 15th National Conference for Rural and Remote Allied Health features the River Murray/Millewa as an important entity for the health of people in the Victorian regional centre of Mildura.

In an article examining the benefits of cultural camps for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, researchers share some stunning photos of Country.

We are delighted to introduce a new series of articles sponsored by Yulang Indigenous Evaluation. Introducing the series, Professor Megan Williams and Dr Mark Ragg explain that Yulang is the Wiradjuri word for ripple.

“It signifies our understanding that all we do has an impact, and that even small changes for the better can lead to changes both upstream and downstream,” they write.

As we contemplate an increasingly challenging future, this insight is relevant to many of the topics covered this week, from our toxic, unreliable news and information environment, to five ways the global health community can respond to a Trump Administration, and the climate crisis.

Don’t miss Marie McInerney’s indepth report of a recent Consumers’ Health Forum webinar that heard how power failures can be “a life or death issue”, although work is underway to address these risks.

The importance of systemic change is also highlighted in articles calling for transformative health reform, better care for people with lung disease, and greater support for the health promotion workforce.

The Northern Territory Government is under yet more criticism for punitive policies.

Jason Staines reports on the evidence of a high-profile British surgeon who volunteered in Gaza, and has described horrific scenes, including of Israeli drone attacks that targeted injured children.

We also investigate the toll of long COVID, while The Zap gives a comprehensive overview of responses to the Scope of Practice Review.

If you plan to join us at the #CroakeyGO in Kandos, we look forward to sharing some restorative time on the beautiful Country of the Dabee people of the Wiradjuri nation.

Now, more than ever

Week ending 7 November: Now, more than ever, we must work harder and smarter for a liveable climate.

Now, more than ever, we must do better at communicating evidence and science, and fighting for health and human rights.

Now, more than ever, we must learn from history.

Now, more than ever, the slaughter of children and civilians in Gaza must stop.

Now, more than ever, we must stand against racism, and for truth telling.

Now, more than ever, non-Indigenous allies must step up.

Now, more than ever, governments must support communities’ leadership in decision making, taking some lessons from Far North Queensland.

Yes, there’s a clear theme across many of the stories in our bulletin this week, as we take stock of election results in the United States and Australia.

We also bring a strong focus on primary care, hearing from frontline workers about scope of practice matters, while the ICYMI column brings news of Medicare Champions.

Don’t miss Marie McInerney’s preview of #GreenHealthForum24 – the 2024 Greening the Healthcare Sector Forum – which starts next week, as the COP29 meeting also kicks off in Azerbaijan.

If you’re concerned about children’s exposure to alcohol advertising on TV, then find out about a consultation that closes very soon – on 11 November.

As always, The Health Wrap and The Zap columns are not to be missed.

This week, we shared our latest impact reports with supporters and contributors. If you’d like to receive these updates in future, please be in touch.

Elsewhere

Croakey’s managing editor Alison Barrett published an article in the BMJ from the national inquiry into Australia’s COVID-19 response.