As we contemplate the implications of Labor’s historic election victory, and the Coalition’s historic loss, The Zap revisits the final week of the election campaign, highlighting announcements that may otherwise have slipped under the radar.
These include the Coalition’s plans – which raised public health alarm bells – to allow the sale of vapes in general retail settings, and to save more than $550 million over four years by “modifying” Commonwealth Prac payments.
The column also reports on “the deepening healthcare crisis in rural, regional and remote Australia”, and the impact of climate-driven incidents upon not-for-profit hospitals and aged care services.
Don’t miss the tale from the United States “of money, influence, and public health”.
The quotable?
Racism in politics is not just a moral failure; it’s a threat to democracy itself and a real threat to individuals. Until we confront it head-on, we cannot truly call ourselves a fair and equal country.”
Charles Maskell-Knight writes:
The election campaign came to an end, and for the second time within a week in a major western democracy, a left of centre Government which had been trailing in the polls a few months previously defeated a conservative opposition.
In his victory speech, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese produced his Medicare card, saying “this card is not Labor red or Liberal blue, it is green and gold. It is a declaration of our national values in our national colours. Medicare belongs to all Australians”.
The Labor Party began the last week of the campaign with a rally in western Sydney on Sunday 27 April, announcing spending of $204.5 million to improve existing Healthdirect services and expand them to every state and territory, under the banner of 1800MEDICARE.
If the nurses staffing the service decide a person needs urgent GP care after hours they will be able to connect callers to “a free telehealth session with a 1800MEDICARE GP via phone or video”.
The new service will start from 1 January next year.
Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston said the Coalition supported the announcement, but said “it is misleading for the Prime Minister to claim this is a new measure – this is a rebadging of the existing Health Direct service”.
Australian Medical Association (AMA) President Dr Danielle McMullen said “the involvement of a patient’s regular GP in the expansion would be critical to ensure the expanded service genuinely improves access to care”.
She warned “1800 Medicare should not be seen as a substitute for care by a patient’s usual GP and wherever possible should link patients back to their usual GP or if that is not possible, other local GPs”.
Good advice for patients fortunate enough to have a usual GP.
The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) welcomed the announcement, with President Dr Michael Wright describing it as “a positive step forward that will help more people access care when they need it”.
“It will help more GPs across Australia provide after-hours care on weekends and during the week,” he said.
Health Minister Mark Butler announced:
- funding of $3.6 million over two years to support the Embrace Kids Australia program, which helps children tackle body image issues
- $4.5 million over three years to support Australian of the Year Neale Daniher AO and FightMND “to continue with their purpose of finding effective treatments and ultimately a cure for motor neurone disease”
- $300,000 for the Maggie Beer Foundation to “deliver a new intensive training program to support cooks and chefs in preparing tasty, nutritious, and culturally safe meals for CALD residents in aged care”.
He also matched an earlier commitment by the Coalition to fund Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision for better research, advocacy, and support for Australians with Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes.
The Greens finally “launched” its election campaign on 30 April, with a list of priorities including expanding Medicare to include dental services for adults, as well as scrapping negative gearing and the capital gains discount, blocking new coal and gas projects, and increasing taxes on big corporations and billionaires.
The Coalition released its policy costings on 1 May containing all sorts of previously unannounced policy detail, including allowing the sale of vapes in general retail settings and imposing a tax on them to raise a total of $3.6 billion over the next four years.
The Australian Council on Smoking and Health (ACOSH) described the policy as “a win for Big Tobacco and loss for public health”.
ACOSH CEO Laura Hunter said “this is exactly what Big Tobacco have been asking for. It will recklessly flood the market, fuel youth addiction, and undo years of public health progress”.
The Public Health Association of Australia also criticised the policy, saying “it would resume the marketing of vaping products to Australian children and young people”.
“That will fuel new waves of nicotine addiction, expose millions to serious short- and long-term harms and suffering, and add more pressure on our already overstretched health system,” the PHAA said.
“The proposal has no credible evidence behind it. It would fly in the face of years of research and carefully constructed policy about the best way to protect the community, especially young people, from nicotine.”
The Coalition costings also revealed a saving of over $550 million over four years by “modifying” Commonwealth Prac payments.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) said this and other education policies “will combine to have a devastating impact on the predominantly-female nursing and midwifery workforce”.
ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said “the ANMF has experienced a Government with Peter Dutton as Health Minister, which didn’t go well for nurses, midwives and care-workers”.
“We’re concerned that a Government led by Peter Dutton wouldn’t be any different. The ANMF has been asking Peter Dutton and the Coalition if they’re supporting nurses and midwives this election – now we know the answer.”
Government
The Department of Health and Aged Care announced a trial of virtual nursing in aged care, focussing on “supporting residential aged care providers who are experiencing workforce shortages; located in rural and remote areas; or supporting First Nations or culturally and linguistically diverse older people”.
Virtual nursing is intended to provide assistance with clinical decision-making, care planning, and protocol management.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released a report on hospitalisations and deaths for people with COVID-19 during the first three years of the pandemic in Australia, including an examination of the role of COVID-19 vaccination and antiviral use.
The AIHW found that more than one in three Australians (excluding Western Australians) contracted COVID-19 by the end of 2022, virtually all during the Omicron period which began on 15 December 2021.
In relation to vaccinations, the AIHW found that “the rate of COVID-19-related hospitalisations was twice as high among people who were unvaccinated against COVID-19 (3.2 percent) compared with people who received one or more doses (1.6 percent)”.
“For those aged 60 and over, the rate of COVID-19-related hospitalisations was four times as high among people who were unvaccinated against COVID-19 (14.8 percent) compared with people who received 3 or more doses (3.6 percent).”
The AIHW released updated aged care data covering 2023-24, including people using aged care, admissions into aged care, and provider and service data.
It also released the monthly MBS and PBS service data, as well as a report on Hearing health outreach services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the Northern Territory: July 2012 to December 2023.
The hearing services report found that while hearing health is improving among children and young people who received outreach services between 2012 and 2023, over half of people receiving a service in 2023 had at least one ear condition.
First Nations
The Coalition’s policy costings document undertook to redirect $26 million for Makarrata, Treaty and “Truth Telling” to other Indigenous Affairs priorities; abolish the position of Ambassador for First Nations People; and spend just under $150 million on a Royal Commission into Sexual Abuse in Indigenous Communities.
In this Croakey article, Professor James Ward, Director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland, explains why a Royal Commission would be ineffective, wasteful, and harmful.
In a statement released on election eve, Dr Jill Gallagher AO, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), called for an end to politicians using Aboriginal people as a political football.
“When leaders make divisive comments or targeted, divisive election commitments, it sends a strong message to the Australian community that such behaviour is acceptable. It empowers hate groups. It deepens social divides,” she said.
“Australia can and must do better.
“We need to hold our political leaders accountable for racialised language and policies. We as voters need to take responsibility too. We must take a stand, listen critically, educate ourselves and call it out when we see it.”
The statement described the impact of racism and discrimination, especially in the wake of the Voice referendum, and noted the Opposition’s disrespect for Welcome to Country ceremonies and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, and opposition to the Voice.
“Some political leaders capitalised on the fears and cultural insecurities of voters, turning what should have been a moment of national unity, into one of division,” Gallagher said.
“Racism in politics is not just a moral failure; it’s a threat to democracy itself and a real threat to individuals. Until we confront it head-on, we cannot truly call ourselves a fair and equal country.”
Consumer and public health groups
The Consumers Health Forum (CHF) issued its first media release of the election campaign, calling for reform to referral practices “to make specialist healthcare more affordable, accessible and efficient”.
CHF said current MBS rules meant patients frequently face expired referrals, resulting in costly GP visits to obtain a new referral and significant delays in accessing critical specialist care.
It called for the next Government to allow qualified healthcare professionals beyond GPs to directly refer patients to specialists; introduce longer-term or open-ended referrals, reducing unnecessary repeat GP visits; and increase Medicare rebates and bulk-billing incentives to ensure specialist care is affordable and accessible.
(The Services Australia website says “GPs can refer beyond 12 months or indefinitely if the patient needs ongoing care. However, a new referral is needed if the patient has a new or unrelated condition while on an indefinite referral”.)
COTA called for political leaders “to use the last week before polling to finally address some of the major issues impacting older Australians”.
These issues included “affordable dental care, supporting renters, reducing the cost of living pressures, introducing a strategy for an ageing Australia, and providing housing options for older women at risk of homelessness”.
The call seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
National Seniors Australia CEO Chris Grice said that “having watched the election closely, I feel that our leaders’ vision for Australia’s future does not include people over the age of 60”.
National Seniors Australia called on “all politicians to adopt a broader, more inclusive, and collaborative approach to policy where all populations, both young and old, can look forward to a positive future in which we can all benefit”.
Palliative Care Australia (PCA) said it was delighted to be one of the supporting partners in establishing the Care Economy Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) led by Melbourne’s La Trobe University and involving a range of public and private organisations.
The CRC will focus on “addressing current and emerging challenges covering all services that support people’s well-being from early childhood to aged care – including palliative care”.
Suicide Prevention Australia issued an open letter from 31 people with a lived experience of suicide calling on the Government “to urgently prioritise investment in suicide prevention, reinstate the Suicide Prevention Research Fund and commit to the implementation the National Suicide Prevention Strategy”.
Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston said that “Anthony Albanese has neglected mental health and suicide prevention for three years, and this represents another shameful broken promise”.
“It is only a Dutton Coalition Government who will restore mental health and suicide prevention as a national priority.”
Trade unions
The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) urged “every Australian — especially those in rural, remote, and First Nations communities — to vote for a future where quality healthcare is a right, not a postcode lottery”.
ACRRM reiterated its call for the next Government to increase funded training places for Rural Generalists and rural doctors; invest in sustainable rural maternity services; back rural healthcare careers with fair incentives, career pathways, and supports for doctors and health professionals; and recognise and strengthen the Rural Generalist model as a key solution to rural healthcare inequities.
ACRRM also announced $2 million for grants of up to $50,000 for community-led projects that help attract, train, and retain doctors in areas where they’re needed most.
ACCRM said grants are available “to assist registrars (trainee Rural Generalists (RGs) and rural General Practitioners) to live and work in rural, remote and First Nations communities throughout their Fellowship training. Eligible project could include improving accommodation options, assisting registrars’ families with childcare or schooling, or establishing a program to attract registrars and supervising RGs to the region”.
The Australian Dental Association (ADA) reported that “as part of a proof of concept for a Senior Dental Benefits Schene, a collaborative program in partnership with Primary Dental at Maroubra Medical and Dental Centre in Sydney and the University of Sydney was launched in October 2024 and ran until March 2025 [involving] 70 seniors with an active diabetes or cardiovascular disease GP care plan”.
An evaluation by the University of Sydney showed an improvement in oral health outcomes, particularly “the management of tooth decay, gum disease, and provision of prosthodontic care”.
The ADA did not disclose the cost of the program.
The AMA released its fourth Rural Health Issues Survey Report, “revealing doctors are still grappling with inadequate resources, while crippling workforce shortages limit access to care for rural communities”.
Over 85 percent of the 561 doctors who responded to the survey said the top three policy solutions were providing enough funding to support adequate staffing, facilities, and access to ancillary services; involving rural health professionals and communities in policy making; and enhancing access to specialist outreach services that were integrated with local services.
The National Rural Health Alliance (NHRA) described the report as “a timely reminder of the deepening healthcare crisis in rural, regional and remote Australia and the urgent need for political action to ensure health equity”.
The NHRA said it endorsed key AMA recommendations, including the establishment of a National Rural Health Workforce Strategy and a national health workforce planning agency.
The AMA also released its Federal Election Health Report Card, “welcoming the strong focus on health from the major parties while also highlighting missed opportunities to make significant reforms to the health system”.
The AMA said gaps included commitments to an independent workforce agency, a sugar tax, a private health authority, and a new public hospital funding agreement.
The ANMF said it had written to the leaders of each major political party “seeking their commitment to 12 specific priorities which will improve the wages, working conditions and well-being of nurses, midwives and care-workers and their capacity to deliver safe, high-quality healthcare for the Australian community”.
While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Greens leader Adam Bandt have pledged their commitment or partial commitment for all, or the majority, of the ANMF’s priorities, by 29 April Peter Dutton and David Littleproud had not responded.
The Australian Physiotherapy Association reiterated its arguments for greater spending on physiotherapy to reduce the number of falls among older people, launching a new position statement.
It called for ongoing funding for a range of reforms, including a full-time physiotherapist on staff per 50-bed residential aged care facility; access to physiotherapist-led falls prevention programs, delivered twice weekly for 12 weeks at six-monthly intervals, for aged care residents at risk; and physiotherapy falls risk assessments through Medicare, and ten physiotherapy visits under Chronic Disease Management plans.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) joined the National Asthma Council Australia to urge health professionals to talk to their asthma patients about why they need to get the flu vaccine without delay.
They said “predictions of an early and severe influenza season have made this even more critical with between 60 to 70 percent of asthma attacks due to viral infections such as the common cold or influenza”.
The PSA also marked World Immunisation Week (24–30 April 2025) by reminding Australians of the importance of staying up to date with vaccinations.
The RACGP welcomed commitments from both major parties to boost Australia’s rural workforce, saying it “will save lives in some of our most marginalised communities”.
The RACGP joined with the PSA to call on parties to fund general practice-based pharmacists to work with specialist GPs to support high-quality prescribing.
The organisations said “non-dispensing pharmacists in general practice answer queries, monitor prescribing, and conduct medicine reviews”.
“They help patients understand their medicines and any changes and ensure safe and effective medicine use.
“Economic analysis has shown adding non-dispensing pharmacists to general practice teams could deliver around $545 million in net savings to the health system over four years through fewer hospital admissions and reduced medicine use”.
The RACGP also issue a statement claiming that “ensuring all Australians can access high-quality general practice has been central to this year’s election race, with six initiatives from the RACGP comprehensive plan for accessible and affordable care for all Australia being backed by major parties, minor parties and independents alike”.
President Dr Michael Wright said that “the RACGP is committed to working with the next Australian Government to ensure everyone in Australia can see a GP they trust, who knows their history, when and where they need them”.
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) released a summary of the main health commitments announced by the major parties this election, with a commentary on their impact on rural and remote patients and health services.
RDAA President Dr RT Lewandowski said “there have been a lot of dollars committed in the health space but most of this will flow to those living in the capital cities and large regional cities”.
Industry groups
The Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) said while it had received responses to its 2025 Election Statement from the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition, “these responses do not address the critical need for strategic investment in the health and medical research sector – investment that is essential to ensure the sector’s long-term survival”.
AAMRI’s election priorities were the release of the Medical Research Future Fund’s unallocated funds; the development of a National Health and Medical Research Workforce Plan; and an increase in national R&D investment to 3 percent of GDP.
The Australian Private Hospitals Association issued (yet another) media release arguing for Government action to compel private health insurers to lift their benefits to revenue ratio.
Catholic Health Australia called on the next Government “to help not-for-profit health and aged care providers deal with the negative impacts of climate change in order to prevent costs being passed on to patients and residents”.
CEO Jason Kara said “not-for-profit hospitals and aged care services are having to spend more on responding to climate-driven incidents and need support from government to keep services affordable”.
International
US Secretary for Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr appeared on Dr Phil Primetime urging new parents to “do their own research” on vaccine safety.
He said “we live in a democracy, and part of the responsibility of being a parent is to do your own research. You research the baby stroller, you research the foods that they’re getting, and you need to research the medicines that they’re taking as well”.
The first 100 results from a Google search for “are vaccines safe for children” turns up advice from the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the US Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, and Food and Drug Administration, the Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins, Yale, the Cleveland Clinic, and a dozen other respected organisations to the effect that vaccines are safe and avert disabling and potentially fatal diseases.
Somehow I don’t think that was what RFK Jr had in mind.
Finally
Finally this week, a tale of money, influence, and public health.
In August last year the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS, part of the Department of Agriculture) issued a draft ruling intended to reduce the risk of food poisoning from Salmonella in chicken and turkey products.
The FSIS noted that “the estimated rate of human Salmonella infections from all sources has remained consistent over the last two decades, with over 1.3 million illnesses estimated in the United States each year… Poultry is among the leading sources of Salmonella foodborne illness acquired domestically in the United States”.
The US Federal Electoral Commission has now published a list of donations to the Trump Vance Inauguration Committee, totalling a staggering $245 million.
The largest donation was $5 million, coming from the Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation.
What does Pilgrim’s Pride do?
It “delivers fresh and value-added or prepared poultry products”.
Two of Pilgrim’s Pride executives serve on the board of the National Chicken Council, which opposed the FSIS ruling.
On 25 April this year the proposed FSIS ruling was withdrawn.
The National Chicken Council welcomed the withdrawal of the draft ruling, saying it “would have had no meaningful impact on public health”.
I guess it’s good to know that sometimes you get what you pay for.
(Thanks to Heather Cox Richardson’s Facebook essays on US politics for alerting me to this story.)
Consultations and inquiries
Here is our weekly list of requests by government bodies and parliamentary committees for responses to consultations or submissions to inquiries, arranged in order of submission deadlines. Please let us know if there are any to add for next week’s column.
Department of Health and Aged Care – Gene Technology Regulator
Clinical trial of a genetically modified human adenovirus for treatment of melanoma
6 May
Therapeutic Goods Administration
Proposed changes to the IVD medical device classifications and definitions
8 May
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Egg food safety and primary production requirements
12 May
Department of Health and Aged Care – Gene Technology Regulator
Limited and controlled release of canola genetically modified for dairy protein production
13 May
Therapeutic Goods Administration
Proposed amendments to the Poisons Standard
21 May
Ahpra
Revised National Prescribing Competencies Framework
30 May
Paramedicine Board of Australia
Proposal to regulate advanced practice paramedics
20 June
Department of Health and Aged Care
Updating clinical guidelines for dementia care
31 December
Charles Maskell-Knight PSM was a senior public servant in the Commonwealth Department of Health for over 25 years before retiring in 2021. He worked as a senior adviser to the Aged Care Royal Commission in 2019-20. He is a member of Croakey Health Media; we thank and acknowledge him for providing this column as a probono service to our readers. Follow on X/Twitter at @CharlesAndrewMK, and on Bluesky at: @charlesmk.bsky.social.
