April 2025
Debating leadership
Week ending 17 April: Inspiring leadership may not be found in tightly managed political debates but it is often found among communities, including communities of practice.
While political leaders are failing to lead on climate action, Indigenous health and public health during the election campaign, our contributors are demonstrating leadership across many spheres.
- From our lead story by Jason Staines on a #CroakeyLIVE webinar on climate health matters: “Voting for climate action is voting for healthier communities and a safer, more equitable future for everyone.”
- From Dr Louis Peachey: “Child poverty shames and diminishes us all.”
- From Dr Robyn Littlewood: “We must create pathways for other women, especially those from diverse backgrounds, to rise into leadership positions.”
- From Dr Susan Banks: “Show communities they matter by attending to amenities and providing long-term funding for those local projects that have been shown to support better health and connection.”
- From Dr Lesley Russell in The Health Wrap: “At a time of devastating environmental threats, it is critical to develop stronger, mutually supportive relationships between people and the environment.”
Our election coverage also includes:
- Under a Dutton Government, there would be no Australian Centre for Disease Control
- Amid concerns about election housing policies, how can the next Government better address the determinants of health?
- The Zap.
Don’t miss what cancer survivor Daniel Johnstone has to say about the importance of integrating the insights of lived experience into cancer care and healthcare education.
We also cover a concerning new feature from Uber Eats aimed at teenagers, and investigate the use of stem cell treatments for osteoarthritis of the knee.
Please join us for another #CroakeyLIVE – on Monday 28 April, 5-6pm AEST – to hear how regional communities are demonstrating leadership on the climate health crisis.
Check this update on other recent Croakey news from Dr Ruth Armstrong.
Save the date
As evidence, equity and our health come under attack on multiple fronts, Croakey needs your support to sustain our work.
Save the date, 28 April – 4 May, for the second annual collective fund-raising campaign for Local and Independent News Association (LINA) members.
Please also consider sharing this email and encouraging a friend or colleague to subscribe.
#NowMoreThanEver – Croakey needs your support!
See the #CroakeyCatchUp with Dr Ruth Armstrong
The Shadow of Trump
Week ending 11 April: As the Trump Administration continues to cause havoc for the United States and the world, we bring an in-depth investigation of the health issues at stake.
Warm thanks to the many experts who shared their advice for how governments in Australia and elsewhere should respond to the chaos unleashed by ‘Liberation Day’.
Dr Lesley Russell also examines the impact of Trump’s long shadow for the Australia election, finding that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is an uncomfortable position.
Amid so much gloomy news during a week marking Global Public Health Week and World Health Day, we also bring reasons for hope.
Kaurna, Narungga and Ngarrindjeri woman, Kelli Owen, shares how connections to Country and family strengthen her advocacy work, in an article sponsored by the Women in Public Health network.
The ICYMI column brings some cause for cheer, from the Parliament of Aotearoa/New Zealand to the streets and courtrooms of the United States.
It also reports that the American Public Health Association has called on Robert F Kennedy, Jr to resign as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Amid intolerable suffering, we report an urgent call from global leaders to save Palestinians in Gaza.
Our bulletin puts a strong focus on health issues ahead of the federal election, including wide-ranging analysis of Labor’s mental health promises.
The Zap covers key election announcements, and Alison Barrett reports on calls for programs that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination.
Make sure to catch local and independent publishers identifying key election health issues for their communities.
Placement poverty for radiation sciences students is another election issue covered, in Marie McInerney’s latest #ASMIRTNZIMRT conference report.
On other election matters, register here to join us on Tuesday 15 April, 7-8pm AEST, for a #CroakeyLIVE discussion on #ClimateHealthMatters.
You will hear about climate and health events that have taken place across Australia, organised by Doctors for the Environment Australia.
Also covered this week are calls to boost shingles vaccination, promote slow medicine, and address the rights of women in prison. Also see the latest edition of Pacific Islands focus.
See the #CroakeyCatchUp with Dr Ruth Armstrong
Addressing upheaval
Week ending 3 April: As the world reels from the Trump Administration’s imposition of tariffs, what are the health implications?
One obvious area of concern is the impact on climate action. Our bulletin has a strong and timely focus on the urgent need for climate action, as remote south-west Queensland faces devastating floods.
Alison Barrett reports on a detailed stocktake of the health system’s contributions to Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions and the health impacts of a delayed phase-out of coal under the Liberal nuclear plan.
Several stories highlight the need for investment in implementation of the National Health and Climate Strategy – see this analysis by medical leaders, and also a mention for climate health gaps in the Victorian Healthcare Association’s review of the Federal Budget.
Other gaps in the Federal Budget are also highlighted, specifically around mental health.
Our lead story examines the impact of public service cuts for health-related policy and health. We also highlight that many people in prison are denied the opportunity to vote at the upcoming federal election – at a time of widespread concern that government policies are contributing to rising incarceration rates.
Amid ongoing atrocities in Gaza, Dr Sue Wareham, National President of the Medical Association for Prevention of War, calls for signatories to an open letter urging the Australian Medical Association to advocate for the protection of healthcare workers in Palestine.
And Dr Safiyyah Abbas, a paediatric rehabilitation physician with an interest in public and global health, shares her letter sent to Prime Minister and Foreign Minister last night.
Don’t miss Marie McInerney’s story highlighting successes and challenges delivering equitable and culturally safe cancer care for Māori and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Another must-read comes from Associate Professor Tamara Mackean and Associate Professor Toby Freeman, who highlight a new report on the importance of funding and policy support for decolonising practice by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare services.
Dr Lesley Russell investigates the need for change at the Medical Research Future Fund.
The Zap, as usual, is essential reading, covering key federal election asks from across the health sector, scope of practice matters, and wide-ranging rural health and workforce concerns. And much more too!
Please bookmark this link to track our election coverage, and don’t hesitate to reach out with ideas for election-related articles.
We are also keen to hear from organisations that might be interested in sponsoring a #CroakeyLIVE webinar – either before or after the election.
In coming weeks, we will host two pre-election #CroakeyLIVE webinars on climate and health, with support from a small grant from the Local and Independent News Association (LINA).
Please make a note in your diaries, with more details to come:
From 7-8pm AEST on Tuesday, 15 April
From 5-6pm AEST on Monday, 28 April
Meanwhile, some members of the Croakey team are at the LINA Summit in Naarm/Melbourne this week, putting a spotlight on the importance of developing and supporting local and independent media.
While we are not analytics-driven in our selection and publishing of stories, we report on our analytics as one measure of considering our impact. Here you can see our overall analytics from 2024, and for the first quarter of 2025.
See our best-read articles in 2024, including a focus on racism in healthcare and COVID management, and in the first quarter of 2025. As these tables show, our articles often have a long life, with readership building over some years.
Don’t miss the latest #CroakeyUpdate from Dr Ruth Armstrong.
March 2025
The “cost of leaving” crisis
Week ending 28 March: No matter the outcome on 3 May, the next Australian Government has a massive to-do list when it comes to protecting and improving the health and wellbeing of Australians.
Many leads for the next Government can be found in our indepth coverage of the Federal Budget this week.
Our thanks to Peter Breadon and Elizabeth Baldwin at the Grattan Institute for coining “the cost of leaving” crisis to capture the range of structural health reforms that remain unaddressed.
Meanwhile, Charles Maskell-Knight PSM also diagnoses a lack of structural health reform, as well as under-investment in First Nations health programs and public dental services.
On the Budget, see:
· Our rolling wrap of reaction from dozens of organisations and leaders
· Mixed responses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
· Implications for the wider determinants of health
· Stinking salmon and other environmental concerns
· Good news on foreign aid
· Key Budget asks from the sector.
We heartily endorse Caterina Giorgi’s call to stop discussing budgets through a “winners and losing” framing.
With this election campaign likely to be marked by the spread of disinformation and misinformation and divisive rhetoric, it’s timely to stay abreast of the latest health news from the United States.
We also put climate and health, and air quality concerns on the election agenda.
In Afghanistan, women are learning to code. Other global health issues are covered in The Health Wrap, while Dr Lesley Russell also investigates the implications of Trumpism for biomedical research in Australia.
ICYMI celebrates healthy cities, and The Zap, as usual, is essential reading.
Make sure to follow our ongoing coverage of the Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy’s (ASMIRT) 19th National Conference, which is being held in conjunction with the New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology (NZIMRT).
Reporting from the conference, Marie McInerney introduces two sisters working to improve pain management.
Don’t miss this #CroakeyUpdate from Dr Ruth Armstrong:
Speaking up
Week ending 21 March: From Trumpism to climate inaction and the undermining of First Nations peoples’ rights, this is a time for those with a concern for health, equity and evidence to speak up.
Ahead of the federal election, climate and health leaders are urging everyone – including colleagues and the general public – to break climate silence and denial, and to be active, engaged citizens in ensuring critical health issues are on the agenda.
Scientists and others have been urged to speak out against the Trump Administration’s non-stop attacks on human rights, science, global health, the law, regulation and the media.
Humanitarian agencies working in Gaza have called for ceasefire and an end to the “unspeakable horror” wrought by Israeli attacks this week, in which hundreds of children were killed and wounded.
This week’s bulletin also features several calls for governments to do better on Closing the Gap, including in The Zap and our latest federal budget preview.
Meanwhile, the power of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in driving change, when resourced and working with agency, is profiled in the latest Close the Gap report. Read Marie McInerney’s report from the launch, and also her summary on social media, together with plenty of photos.
A global warning on bird flu and a Federal MP’s address on growing inequality feature in the ICYMI column.
The importance of respectful engagement with communities is highlighted in two stories this week: on the push for renewables in remote communities; and in response and recovery efforts after disasters.
We also bring timely recommendations for increasing access to social prescribing, and for supporting a “truly integrated digital health system”.
Please send us your budget commentary next week, and bookmark this link to follow our coverage.
Don’t miss the latest #CroakeyUpdate with Dr Ruth Armstrong.
Communities leading the way
*** Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this bulletin mentions people who have passed ***
Week ending 14 March: In the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, our bulletin this week explores what’s at stake for climate, health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights in this year’s Federal election.
As we await confirmation of the election date, Marie McInerney reports on strong calls for Australians to step up at this “pivotal moment” for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights.
In our lead story, Jason Staines investigates the future of the National Health and Climate Strategy and Australian Centre for Disease Control under a potential Coalition Government.
We also report on the Northern Rivers community response to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in New South Wales, adopting lessons learnt from the 2022 flooding disaster.
Bookmark this link to follow Croakey’s Federal election coverage – we will continue our in-depth focus on health and health equity ahead of this important vote.
Stay tuned also for more details on two #CroakeyLIVE pre-election webinars – let us know if your community is doing innovative, positive work on climate and health matters.
Following the Western Australia state election and a swing to the WA Greens, health experts urge the re-elected Labor Government to reset the agenda on climate and the environment.
Jason Staines and Charles Maskell-Knight continue our coverage of pre-budget submissions. Please send any others that may be of interest to Croakey readers.
Meanwhile, amid concerns about the Victorian Government reneging on justice reforms, the latest Closing the Gap data reveal the impact of governments’ pro-incarceration policies.
Our bulletin highlights the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led solutions, whether learning from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations’ response during COVID or the Culture Care Connect program providing culturally safe care.
Don’t miss Tabitha Lean and Debbie Kilroy’s recommendations for building strong, safe communities. “If we want to reduce our reliance on police and prisons, we have to start by strengthening our own communities,” they write.
In The Health Wrap, Dr Lesley Russell provides an update on the worrying spread of measles and H5N1 in the United States, where thousands of people are marching in defence of science and to protest the Trump Administration’s assaults on research and evidence-based policy.
Don’t miss the latest #CroakeyUpdate from Dr Ruth Armstrong.
Addressing disruption
Week ending 7 March: Amid the disruption and devastation of Cyclone Alfred, our thoughts at Croakey are with communities in south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales.
We share some useful tips for dealing with the immediate aftermath, and for staying safe during power outages.
Our bulletin this week addresses disruption in many fields, and includes recommendations for addressing “the plague” of misinformation and disinformation.
Is the Australian Government doing enough to address the health impacts of the Trump Administration’s “swift and unrelenting” disruption? Jason Staines investigates.
Croakey’s roving correspondent, Dr Lesley Russell, brings some perspectives on Trump et al from her home in Colorado. Her reflections are a reminder of the importance of local media, especially at times like these.
Many stories also highlight the opportunities that can arise from disrupting “business as usual”.
Don’t miss Fiona Patten’s investigation of how the legal cannabis market in New York State is providing much-needed tax revenue and also helping to address housing, education, training, and employment. It’s an example of law reform driving social policy innovation.
Ahead of the Western Australian election, we’ve covered the health issues at stake indepth. Read about how the next WA Government can better support Aboriginal children and the “dire” findings of a public health election scorecard.
Speaking of elections, we’ve compiled a detailed list of questions for the Federal Opposition on health policy.
One question is whether they support implementation of the new National Strategy for Food Security in Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities 2025 – 2035, which we’ve summarised here.
The Zap includes a call for clarity in health policy, recommendations for improving access to hospital in the home, a roadmap to improve the health and mental health of autistic people, and the costs of specialist care.
Charles Maskell-Knight also puts election health policy commitments under the microscope.
We also bring the latest Pacific Islands focus, and stories from the frontlines of Gaza’s devastated healthcare services.
Don’t miss the latest #CroakeyUpdate from Dr Ruth Armstrong:
February
Pushback
Week ending 28 February: Around the world, the systems that support our health are being undermined, dismantled and destroyed.
Increasingly, the work of health is about pushback and resistance.
This week’s bulletin brings examples of leaders pushing back against war and its profiteers, against misinformation and disinformation, and against Trumpism.
As Dr Lesley Russell writes in The Health Wrap: “It is a dangerous time for US public health authorities to be hamstrung … as cases of influenza, bird flu and measles grow daily.”
In The Zap, Charles Maskell-Knight shares a personal story about the importance of resisting United States-driven misinformation and disinformation undermining vaccination.
The ICYMI column brings some pushback against the Prime Minister and Opposition leader.
Don’t miss Dr Louis Peachey’s call for colleagues to write to their local federal election candidates to ask how they plan to tackle poverty.
In Western Australia, Dr George Crisp puts forwards five priorities for health at the state election, and health groups also push for a greater investment in health promotion.
Meanwhile, Linda Doherty’s report on the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Ride is a reminder of a long, proud history of resistance.
In a week of historic announcements on Medicare, Professor Stephen Duckett brings a refresher on health policy history.
In previewing the Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy conference next month, Marie McInerney highlights ongoing uncertainty about the future of the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research in Adelaide.
We also cover the importance of urban green spaces and a spike in cases of the infectious disease, melioidosis.
Meet Penelope Smith in the next article in our #LeadingWomen series, sponsored by Women in Public Health.
Don’t miss a new feature: the #CroakeyUpdate with Dr Ruth Armstrong:
Addressing our corrupted public square
Week ending 20 February: Strong, clear communications about key health concerns are more important than ever, whether highlighting the dangers of the Trump Administration or the importance of vaccination and other public health measures.
However, smart, engaging messaging is no longer enough.
Not in this era where our public square has been corrupted by the weaponisation and monetisation of misinformation and disinformation. It has also been weakened by the collapse of public interest journalism, especially at a local level.
This week we publish an extract from Croakey Health Media’s pre-budget submission, calling for the development, implementation and resourcing of a national strategy to tackle misinformation and disinformation. It is well overdue.
The importance of acknowledging and learning from history is a theme woven through many stories.
Don’t miss Stolen Generations survivor Uncle Tony Hansen’s powerful speech marking the recent anniversary of the National Apology. He calls for acknowledgement, redress, compensation and ongoing support for Stolen Generations survivors.
Efforts to address poverty in Central Australia must be cognisant of the history of failed, punitive policies, and engage with communities’ knowledge about how to best address poverty, writes Dr Jude Lovell.
Our bulletin also has a strong focus on social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, suicide prevention, and the importance of platforming those with a vision for better futures.
Dr Matthew Fisher puts forward a pathway towards a society based on wellbeing and sustainability, while disability rights advocate and psychiatric survivor, Grace White, calls for transformation of the mental healthcare system.
The ICYMI column links to new resources and developments in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, as well as an interesting move to integrate journalism roles into primary healthcare in Nigeria.
On the climate emergency, we offer some solutions, from educating nursing students about planetary health equity, to building civic engagement, and ensuring climate action is at the forefront of Western Australian voters’ minds.
The Zap also covers health sector priorities at the upcoming WA election, while Alison Barrett reviews pre-budget submissions with a focus on children’s wellbeing, allied healthcare and disability supports.
We are delighted to launch a series of profiles, #LeadingWomen. Dr Alicia Veasey, a proud Torres Strait Islander women, obstetrician and gynaecologist, explains why she is an “advocate for meaningful change at all levels of the healthcare system”. The series is sponsored by Women in Public Health.
For those in need of some time with the great outdoors, Associate Professor Lesley Russell brings The Hiking Wrap 2025. Make sure to download and share.
If you missed last week’s Croakey News bulletin, watch this wrap from Dr Ruth Armstrong.
The widening gap between evidence and politics
Week ending 13 February: This week we examine new reports highlighting the importance of closing the gap between evidence and politics, as well as addressing the social determinants of health.
It’s a timely focus as anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy Jr gains power over health policy and communications, in the United States and globally, in what one expert called an OMG moment – read more in the ICYMI bulletin.
Speaking of the Trump Administration’s impact on global health, we bring several informed analyses, calling for global health diplomacy and leadership in the face of authoritarian strategies.
“We are witnessing a full-scale attempt to shape what is researched and what is in the public domain with regard to health and scientific evidence,” write Australian doctors. “These actions will have a direct effect on knowledge globally as well as patient care.”
Meanwhile, Charles Maskell-Knight asks: Could it happen here? His review of the history of the demise of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA) is instructive.
Associate Professor Lesley Russell also revisits the ANPHA history in a timely call for increased action on the long-neglected area of prevention.
Our analysis of the latest Closing the Gap report is a reminder of how governments so often undermine the wider determinants of health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
As we mark the 17th anniversary of the National Apology to Stolen Generations, a new report details how successive governments have failed to act on the evidence that has been put forward, year after year, by members of the Stolen Generations and their families and representatives. Its title is, rightly, shocking: ‘Are you waiting for us to die?’.
While communities across Australia respond to flooding, fires and other disasters, a new report tracking our progress on the Sustainable Development Goals identifies a policy pathway to a healthier, more sustainable future. But it also has some critical gaps.
As usual, don’t miss The Zap, Charles Maskell-Knight’s detailed update on the latest health and aged care announcements. Alison Barrett continues our series on pre-budget submissions for health.
Dr Isabella Tan from The George Institute for Global Health shares how community health talks can bridge the gap in healthcare access for people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Academics from The University of Queensland report on a new global collaboration to prevent the re-emergence of vector-borne illness, lymphatic filariasis, in the Pacific Island nation of Niue.
Make sure to download, read and share the 65-page report compiling Croakey Conference News Service coverage of the Healthy Environment and Lives (HEAL) Network’s annual conference.
Like so many of our articles this week, it highlights the importance of Indigenous knowledges and cultural determinants of health.
Heating up
Week ending 6 February: Keeping up with the news exploding from the Trump Administration is “like drinking from a firehose” – Dr Lesley Russell puts it best.
Our bulletin this week covers a flood of destruction arising from the first two weeks of Trump’s regime and what it might all mean for health and healthcare – see detailed analysis in The Health Wrap, ICYMIand The Zap columns.
Meanwhile, an alarm has been sounded about moves against gender-affirming care in Queensland, while tough on crime measures are straight from the ideological playbook. Vulnerable children and young people are paying the price, Alison Barrett reports.
As local communities and healthcare services deal with fires, floods and extreme heat, and the federal and Western Australian elections approach, we report on the urgency of calls for climate health action.
The Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia has released priorities for the next WA Government, including free dental care for Aboriginal people.
We also spotlight mental health reform issues, and the importance of Indigenous knowledges in responding to bird flu.
Don’t miss Charles Maskell-Knight’s deep dive into the latest political donations data.
We are delighted to launch a new column, Pacific Islands focus, by Isabelle Zhu-Maguire, PhD Candidate at Australian National University, who will cover public health matters in the Pacific Islands region.
January 2025
Anniversaries matter
Week ending 30 January: This week marks five years since the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, on 30 January 2020.
We are also marking the five-year anniversary of Croakey’s first article on what we were then calling the novel coronavirus, #2019nCoV.
See Alison Barrett’s investigation of what’s been learnt, her interview with former Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly, and our detailed survey of health leaders.
Our #COVIDfiveyears series highlights the importance of listening to diverse perspectives and experiences.
This theme threads through many of our stories. Don’t miss Dr Louis Peachey’s illuminating essay about the importance of Welcome to Country ceremony.
Also see snapshots from 26 January events honouring the cultures, survival and resistance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, while protesting the ongoing strategies of colonisation.
Meanwhile, our lead story urges readers not to tune out from the ‘shock and awe’ of the Trump Administration’s assault on health and science. The Zap also investigates the impacts of the US plan to withdraw from the World Health Organization.
On related themes, leading scientists have sounded the alarm about the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories, and the corruption of the information ecosystem. Read more in the #ICYMI column.
With efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion under attack globally, a new report by the Australian Human Rights Commission reveals the entrenched nature of structural racism in Australian universities.
Our bulletin also has a strong focus on workforce issues, from the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on clinical education, to calls for strengthening the GP and nursing workforces.
Don’t miss Charles Maskell-Knight’s analysis of proposed private health insurance reforms. As usual, he cuts through.
On the social determinants of health, contributors examine how gentrification of urban neighbourhoodsundermines many determinants of health, including access to cultural foods.
Please register to join us for an open planning session next Tuesday.
On power and health
Week ending 24 January: Among the images from this week’s United States presidential inauguration that we will not forget in a hurry: the front row seats for media and Big Tech power; the theatrical signing of Presidential orders; the Elon Musk salute hailed by far-right extremists and white supremacists; and the courageous Bishop who spoke up for those at risk.
Our bulletin reports on some of the global health reverberations of the second Trump Administration, while The Health Wrap discusses concerns for human rights, health and wellbeing on a variety of fronts.
The ICYMI column examines “the alarming convergence of media, corporate and political power that has been on display in the US”, as well as the societal threat posed by misinformation and disinformation.
With human rights under attack in the US, our stories this week document harmful violations of children’s rights in Australia, as well as the “bad policy choices” that drive expansion of prisons.
On the Australian election front, Charles Maskell-Knight has some advice for the Opposition Leader and colleagues if the Coalition wants to head off a Mediscare campaign.
In the lead-up to the federal and Western Australian elections, an Australian youth-driven organisation, Foundations for Tomorrow, is calling for intergenerational fairness and long-term thinking to be embedded into our governance.
The Zap unpicks the latest news on bulk billing and safety and quality in aged care, and underscores the adage that every crisis presents an opportunity for someone or other.
Mental health inequities are highlighted by Giancarlo de Vera, CEO of BEING Mental Health Consumers, who reports on the mass resignation of public psychiatrists in New South Wales.
And we share a proposal for a mobile application to improve access to oral healthcare.
In the lead-up to 26 January, we report that this is not a date to celebrate, but to march, rally and advocate, and also link readers to social and emotional wellbeing resources.
As we publish an analysis of media coverage of the Los Angeles fires, please join us for a #CroakeyLIVEfrom 5pm AEDT on Tuesday 4 February to plan the year ahead. You can register here.
Looking to the future
Week ending 16 January: As another year begins, we look to the future in this week’s bulletin.
The World Economic Forum’s latest global risks assessment urges action on inequality, pollution and environmental degradation, misinformation and disinformation, and declining levels of global collaboration and social cohesion.
A new book examines the likely health consequences of “Trumpism” following the inauguration of Donald J Trump as President of the United States on 20 January.
And we also bring a timely review of Tim Winton’s futuristic book, Juice, examined in the context of climate communications and the Los Angeles fires.
While welcoming long overdue news of ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, global health leaders call for urgent action in addressing the immense humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
As 26 January approaches, Dr Louis Peachey provides an antidote to historical amnesia and ignorance.
Our bulletin this week also has a strong focus on the need to address critical health workforce issues, social determinants of health, and invest in preventive health measures.
Ahead of the federal budget and election, Dr Tim Senior urges the health sector to advocate for policies that improve outcomes for those most in need, and Alison Barrett reviews some of the health sector’s pre-budget submissions.
Don’t miss the first edition of The Zap for 2025, which covers developments in mental health, awards recognising “the worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in healthcare”, and a list of consultations and inquiries to kickstart your year.
Our first ICYMI column for the year links readers into new publications on obesity, harmful marketing and an open access book on decolonising legal education.
Join us at an open planning meeting, by Zoom from 5pm AEDT on Tuesday 5 February. As we face the year ahead, we need to put our heads together to make a difference. Register here.
Please note: the annual subscription to the weekly Croakey News bulletin increases to $100 from Monday, 20 January. Thanks for supporting independent media!
During our summer break, we republished articles from 2024, for the bulletins from 26 December-9 January, 2025.
