Browsing articles in "Health"

Tuesday 30th March 2010

Australian living standards under threat:PM

by Alan Thornhill

Rising living standards in Australia are threatened by the country’s relatively poor productivity performance, according to the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

“Between 1994 and 1999, Australia’s productivity growth rate was second among OECD countries,” Mr Rudd told economists in Melbourne.

But it had since slowed since then and Australia now occupies 14th place.

“If we do not act now to lift Australia’s productivity growth rate, the nation’s average living standards will decline,” Mr Rudd warned.

He said poor productivity is reflected in Australia’s slow and expensive access to the internet, clogged cities, inefficient ports, poor roads and outdated railways.

The Prime Minister said his government would always pursue the twin goals of economic stability and long term growth.

That’s why 65 per cent of its stimulus spending, in the wake of the global economic crisis, had been allocated to investment in national infrastructure.

But there were still real challenges ahead.

With Australia’s population ageing rapidly, workforce participation rates would fall in the years ahead.

In 1970, there were 7.5 people of working age to support every person over the age of 65, Mr Rudd said.

“Today there are five.

‘By 2050 there will be just 2.7 people of working age to pay taxes for every person over the age of 65.”

“These are dramatic changes,” Mr Rudd said.

He warned, too, that health reform is not just a policy imperative, in these circumstances.

“Health reform, equally, is an economic policy imperative.”

Mr Rudd said his government is working to produce both an economic and a skills revolution, to help meet these challenges.
“Without productivity growth, we do not have sustainable,long term economic growth,” Mr Rudd warned.

And Australia would then have no long term basis for improvements in its living standards.

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Wednesday 17th March 2010

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Women win at work:young Australians lose

by Alan Thornhill

When the economy turns bad, Australian employers are more likely to retain women, on their staff, than men.

This previously unrecognised trend emerges from figures just published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, praised Australians yesterday, for their “co-operation” in the wake of the global economic crisis.

He was referring, particularly, to the fact that thousands of Australian companies offered their staff part time work, when they could not afford to retain their services, full time.

There was an element of self interest in this. Those bosses remembered, all too well, the difficulty they had experienced previously in attracting and keeping the skilled people they needed, in better times.

So retaining their best workers, at least on a part time basis, made good business sense in the early months of the crisis.

The way women won out, over their male colleagues, though, as this was happening has only just become apparent.

The Bureau’s publication, Australian Social Trends, March 2010, tells the story.

The Statistician reported, for example, that more than half of the women who lost full time jobs, in those dreadful months, had been able to find part time work, instead.

Only one third of the men, who were displaced from full time work, were that lucky.

The Bureau also reported, for the first time, that young Australians were hit hardest by the global economic crisis.

“As with other downturns, the impact was greatest among people under 25,” it said.

“…more than half a million young people were not engaged in either full time study or full time work in 2009,” it said.

That’s 19 per cent of those in this age group.

Even more shockingly, the Bureau reported that Australians, from the nation’s poorer areas, suffer significantly worse health than others.

Their rates of heart disease, diabetes and disability are more than twice the national average.

They are also more than twice as likely to smoke and had a considerably higher rate of obesity than other Australians.

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Wednesday 24th February 2010

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Rich “subsidised” on private health insurance:Labor

by Alan Thornhill

People who can’t afford private health insurance are being forced to subsidise it for “millionaires,” according to a Federal minister.

The Federal Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner made the charge in parliament.

He did so shortly before his colleague, Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced that private health fund premiums would rise by an average of 5.78 per cent from April 1.

Mr Tanner said the “subsidy” is the result of the opposition’s decision to block changes the government is trying to make to the private health insurance rebate in the Senate.

Mr Tanner said the Opposition is now facing a big test, on two fronts.

These were fairness and fiscal responsibility.

“Are you going to support the government or will you continue to subsidise private health insurance for millionaires?” Mr Tanner asked.

The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, announced in his budget speech last May, that the government would cut the private health insurance rebate for people on higher incomes.

Mr Swan also said that the Medicare Levy surcharge would also be increased for higher income earners.

However the Opposition, with the support of the Greens and other Senators, is blocking these moves in the Senate.

Mr Tanner said the Coalition’s obstinance would cost the government almost $10 billion over the next 10 years.

This would damage its efforts to get the Federal budget back into surplus.

He said the government had been forced to make tough decisions in its last budget.

One of these had been to apply a means test to the private health insurance rebate.

Mr Tanner said he would pay more, himself, under the government’s proposals.

“But I am afraid, Mr Speaker, that I don’t see the logic of why ordinary working people – on fifty grand – sixty grand a year – should have their taxes pay subsidies to my private health insurance, when many of those same working people can’t afford private health insurance for themselves,” he added.

“What the opposition is doing is protecting subsidies for higher income earners; doing great damage damage to the government’s budget settings; at the same time as claiming that they would be more fiscally responsible and that they would have lower deficits than the government.”

Mr Tanner said, too, that the Opposition’s Finance spokesman, Senator Barnaby Joyce, had initially supported the government’s position, but had later retreated.

“I am worried that he has been got at or something,” Mr Tanner said.

“I would like to see him step back up to the plate on this issue.”

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Thursday 28th January 2010

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Stay home, stay sober and avoid fruit to save money

by Alan Thornhill

The price of innocent summer pleasures have been rising almost as fast as capital city temperatures.

Fruit prices, for example, leapt by 15.9 per cent, over the final three months of last year, as bad weather hit many orchards, leaving shops short of fruit.

And that traditional summer break at the beach was more expensive than ever, with the price of domestic holiday travel and accommodation jumping 6.6 per cent, in the same time.

Even staying home, feeling sorry for yourself was expensive, too, with beer prices rising 2.1 per cent, in the three months leading up to Christmas.

There were offsets, though, with petrol prices falling 2.8 per cent, as the Aussie dollar put on a little muscle.

Computer prices fell by 7.1 per cent and the price of pharmaceuticals dropped by 5.3 per cent.

Overall, though, the Statistician reports, Australia’s prices rose by 0.5 per cent in the December quarter.

Following the 1 per cent rise chalked up in the September quarter – and an earlier rise of 0.5 per cent – that took Australia’s annual inflation rate to 2.1 per cent.

Sadly, for home buyers though, Australia’s underlying inflation rate was even higher at 3.6 per cent.

The Reserve Bank looks at these “underlying” rates, not the raw CPI figures, when it reviews Australia’s interest rates, as it will next Tuesday.

And as that rate is still above the 3 per cent that the Reserve Bank is prepared to tolerate, another round of rate rises can be expected next month.

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Wednesday 18th November 2009

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Disability insurance still on the cards

by Alan Thornhill

The Federal government says it is still “seriously” considering a national disability insurance scheme.

However the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, who revealed this, refused to be more specific.

“We have, of course, been interested in this idea since it was presented first at the 2020 Summit,” Macklin said.

“The government has been looking at whether we will go down this approach.

“So we’ll be giving it active consideration.”

Perhaps. But that is still well short of a ringing endorsement for the plan.

Ms Macklin was speaking at the launch of the “Australia’s Welfare 2009″ report, in the New South Wales country town of Queanbeyan.

The report, based on independent research, suggests that there could well be a need for such a scheme.

Australia’s population is ageing rapidly.

Its median – or mid point – age is now 36.9. That’s up from 31.6 in 1988.

And – as Ms Macklin noted – the incidence of poor health and serious disability both rise sharply with age.

She said about 1.5 million Australians would have a high level of disability by 2010 and added that this is expected to rise to almost 2.3 million by 2030.

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Friday 25th September 2009

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Overworked? You are not alone

by Alan Thornhill

Frazzled?

Too much work?

Not enough time for the kids?

Well, at least you are not alone.

The Statistician recognises your lifestyle. If you can call it that.

In a report just released, the Australian Bureau of Statistics concedes that extra hours, multiple jobs and weekend work are all “cutting into” our family lives.

That comment is contained in the latest issue of the Bureau’s publication Social Trends. (see www.abs.gov.au).

This observation is remarkable, as the Bureau has also noted that many Australian employers have responded to the global economic crisis by putting workers on short time arrangements, to save money.

Some workers, apparently, have responded by taking second jobs.

The Bureau said most of Australia’s more than 1.5 million families with children – and most of them have two parents working.

It noted, too, that 80 per cent of these families had at least one parent who said they were often – or always – pressed for time.

That happened – mainly – because those working parents struggled to find a balance between their work and family lives.

The Bureau said, too, that;”Over half – 58 per cent – of all working couples had at least one parent who usually worked extra hours.”

It said, also, that a similar proportion regularly worked in the evenings,

Thursday 30th July 2009

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Health reform:Rudd sets out the issues

by Alan Thornhill

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, isn’t answering questions yet, on reforms proposed for Australia’s health system.

But he is working to clarify the issues.

And, at this stage, even that’s a positive step.

Mr Rudd told an ABC radio interviewer in Melbourne yesterday that the reforms, proposed by the government’s own National Health and Hospitals’ Reform Commission, would have to be “integrated.”

“It needs to be an integrated set of reforms,” Mr Rudd said.

This is not just a big ticket item for nation. It’s huge.

Australia already has a national health system that is the envy of many other countries, including the United States, where legislators are currently arguing bitterly over proposals for a much more basic system of universal health cover than Australia’s.

But Australia’s system, too, still has gaps.

There are big gaps, for eample, in preventative health measures. And Australia’s present system does little to help the poor meet their dentists’ bills.

And , as the old song says, the thigh bone’s connected to the kneebone.”

Mr Rudd acknowledged that.

“What we do in preventative health care relates to what we do in primary health care,” he said.

“That is with GP sand GP related services.”

And that, in turn, affects how Australia manages its overstretched public hospital system, the Prime Minister added.

The health industry, also, contains many deeply entrenched individual interests, that do not have a good record of co-operation.

The commission’s report does guarantee, though, that health will be a major issue at the next Federal election.

Especially as Mr Rudd has also made it clear that he will not be taking any major decisions on the report’s recommendations before the.

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Friday 17th October 2008

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Medicare threshold deal disappoints

by Alan Thornhill

“Bad public policy doesn’t become good public policy, just because you water it down.” Senator Mathias Cormann said yesterday.

That’s how the West Australian Liberal, a strong supporter of private heallth insurance, greeted the government’s latest budget backdown.

The Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, announced proudly on budget night, back in May that the government would “Medicare Levy Surcharge fairer.”

“The government will increase the income thresholds from $50,000 to $100,000 a year for singles and from $100,000 to $150,000 for couples,” Mr Swan said.

In the end though, he couldn’t.

The government simply didn’t have the numbers in the Senate to get this measure through.

But, after haggling with the South Australian Independent Senator Nick Xenophon – and the Greens – a deal was done.

Under it, singles will be able to earn up to $70,000 a year – and couples up to $140,000 a year, before they have to pay the 1 per cent Medicare levy surcharge.

Those on higher incomes will still have to pay the surcharge, if they don’t buy private health insurance.

The government said its original plan would, effectively, have meant tax cuts for thousands of Australians. And it described the old thresholds, which had never been adjusted, as a tax trap.
Senator Cormann warned, though, that the changes would still push thousands of Australians into the public health system.

And he said pensioners, and others on low incomes, would be hurt if private health insurance became dearer, as a result of the change.

The new thresholds will be adjusted regularly, to keep up with Australia’s average wage rates.
Making the best of it, Health Minister Nicola Roxon said 250,000 Australians would still get tax cuts immediately as a result of the new arrangements

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Profile

Alan Thornhill is a parliamentary press gallery journalist. Private Briefing is updated daily with Australian personal finance news, analysis, and commentary.

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