Past Programs
Health - 2008
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Aged care warrior takes on the system Read Transcript
10/08/2008
When George Vassiliou got funding to help his 84-year-old mum stay in her own home, he was shocked to find that two thirds of the money was gobbled up by overheads. It left precious little to pay the carer who actually spent time at his mother's house. So, Mr Vassiliou took on the system... and won. After arguing his case for years, he managed to triple the number of hours' care his mother received at home. It was a symbolic victory as much as anything, because he had seized control of the money his mother had been allocated from the bureaucracy. But there's more to the story than meets the eye.
Aged care warrior takes on the system Read Transcript
08/08/2008
When George Vassiliou got funding to help his 84-year-old mum stay in her own home, he was shocked to find that two thirds of the money was gobbled up by overheads. It left precious little to pay the carer who actually spent time at his mother's house. So, Mr Vassiliou took on the system... and won. After arguing his case for years, he managed to triple the number of hours' care his mother received at home. It was a symbolic victory as much as anything, because he had seized control of the money his mother had been allocated from the bureaucracy. But there's more to the story than meets the eye.
On ya bike!
06/06/2008
Worried about high petrol prices? Weekly fuel bill burning a hole in your pocket? Well, perhaps it's time to consider pedal-power. Of course, cycling isn't an option for everyone, but a number of councils in Australia think the time is right to throw some infrastructure at potential cyclists, to see if they'll take the bait. Take Brisbane City Council: it has some interesting ideas and says it's ready to put $100 million into bicycle facilities over four years. Of course, there's much more to it than that: no matter how many bike-paths, no matter what the health benefits, no matter how high petrol prices, some people either don't feel safe on two wheels or consider it downright daggy. So, what can - or should - Australian governments do to encourage cycling?
Tax the Chardonnay socialists
06/06/2008
Last week the National Interest put forward a controversial idea: a review of the way we tax alcohol. The idea is simple: forget about tweaking alcopop prices and start taxing products in line with their alcoholic content. In other words, the stronger the drink, the higher the tax. Alice Springs doctor John Boffa argued that getting fiscally physical with fortified wines and chateau cardboard could reduce the damage done by alcohol. But is the chardonnay set ready for a tax on wine linked to alcohol content? Possibly not, and on the National Interest today wine producers will argue that pushing up the price of wine won't solve the health and violence problems associated with excessive boozing. Do they have a point, or are we simply safeguarding the tastes of inner-suburban trendies?
Stable but Critical: Insurance & Hospital Funding Read Transcript
23/05/2008
Following the Federal budget there has been much discussion about what impact changes to the Medicare Levy Surcharge threshold will have on health insurance and hospital funding.
But if the system is sick, does it need more radical intervention? In The National Interest this week we talk to someone who wants to take the scalpel to Australia's health insurance and hospital funding arrangements, and look in detail at the proposal and its implications for private insurers and hospitals.
Plans to revive euthanasia legislation
04/04/2008
In 1995 the Northern Territory was the first place in the world to allow people suffering incurable illnesses to end their lives prematurely. But the Territory's voluntary euthanasia laws were overruled by the Commonwealth. Well, the issue is now back on the political agenda, both in the Senate and in the Victorian parliament. But what's changed in the past 10 years? Are attitudes of Australians - and their elected representatives - towards 'dying with dignity' legislation any different? The proponents of the new measures believe they are.
An alternative to Afghan poppy-plucking Read Transcript
04/04/2008
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is talking tough on eradicating Afghanistan's opium poppies. In fact, Mr Rudd urged a NATO meeting in Bucharest to throw even greater resources at the destruction of poppy crops, which are used by the Taliban to fund the insurgency. But is this poppy crop approach just poppycock? After all, there's more than one way to pluck a poppy. A leading European think-tank says flower-power may have something to offer the country after all. What if instead of crop-busting we used poppies to create medicine? The idea is gaining traction - but will it work, and should Australia support it?
One-armed bandits fight back Read Transcript
21/03/2008
The Easter holidays are sacred for Australia's casinos, so you can forget about shoving the rent money down the pokies on Good Friday. Well, at least for part of the day. Melbourne Crown Casino is closed - very closed - between 4am and 12 noon... So, plenty of time for a church service and a hot cross bun before resuming the gambling schedule. Last week we spoke to public health researcher Charles Livingstone about ways of making the pokies safer; today we get the other side of the debate from the manufacturers of the machines. Just how addictive are the multi-buttoned bandits, and do makers have a social responsibility to protect those who use them? Do people lose money or do the pokies lose it for them?
