By ratifying the Paris Agreement on climate change in November 2016 the Australian government committed to a target of reducing Australian carbon emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2030. The government also agreed to review its climate change policies during 2017 to ensure that its policies ‘remain effective in achieving’ the 2030 target and the other commitments in the Paris Agreement. In March 2017 the government released Terms of Reference for the review and a discussion paper ‘Review of climate change policies’ (http://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/review-climate-change-policies). (more…)
Peter Sainsbury
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PETER SAINSBURY. A timely call to end massive public subsidies of the private health insurance industry
The private health insurance industry is a parasite on the health system and the public purse. The government-funded rebate on private health insurance premiums goes to the insurers, not the health care providers, and allows the government almost no control over how its money is used to treat sickness and promote health.
If, for some reason unsupported by most of the evidence, the Government wishes to support private hospitals and private practitioners (as distinct from private health insurance companies), it would deliver itself, the public and patients a much better deal if it by-passed the useless middleman and negotiated with and paid private providers directly. (more…)