The clinical committee reviewing obstetrics services for the federal government’s Medicare review said suicide is one of the leading causes of maternal death in Australia. Is that true?
Historical data for Australia shows young people have fared better than their global counterparts in terms of economic opportunity but this masks a growing disparity among youth.
Smoking rates among the poor are almost double the rates for middle-class Americans. Yet we are not providing poor people with the medical help they need to stop. We will pay billions for that later.
Having made a commitment to reduce spending, the federal government will have its work cut out with this year’s budget, which may require revisiting policy ideas that have caused it pain in the past.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne