The NT Intervention threw money in the wrong direction.
Health 
Why doesn’t Nanny care about fat people?
Can anyone please tell me why does nanny think it’s OK to ban tobacco use just-about-everywhere yet she doesn’t seem to feel it’s her responsibility to stop her charges from self-destructing on lethally fatty fast foods? asks Ruth Colagiuri.
Should there be national registration for public health workers?
Australia is moving towards national registration for core health and medical professionals, but there are no safeguards regarding public health officials, writes Peter Sainsbury.
WADA is on the verge of losing the plot
The world doping agency seemed like a good idea at the time, but things have gone off the rails, writes John Orchard.
It’s time for better regulation of complementary medicine
complementary medicine is big business and the days of it being dominated by passionate practitioners setting up small family businesses are long gone, writes Jon Wardle.
Regulation of complementary medicine marketing is a joke
Complaints about complementary medicines are more numerous than complaints against conventional medicines, writes Ken Harvey.
Drug industry fines itself $2 million
Why drug companies have little to fear from industry regulation. Ray Moynihan writes.
Beware the Gardasil hype: an industry insider
Despite the hype, there’s a lot we don’t yet know about Gardasil, writes former drug sales rep Kimberly Elliott.
Professional and bureaucratic interests stymie mental health reform
The wheels on the bandwagon of national mental health reform are looking dangerously wobbly, writes Professor Ian Hickie.
Popular bone drug may cause fractures for some women
A new study suggests that the widely used anti-osteoporosis drug, Fosamaxin, may cause fractures, rather than prevent them, writes Ray Moynihan.
How Gardasil hype undermined the PBAC
The PBAC originally decided against subsidising Gardasil. Then the media stepped in, writes Dr Agnes Vitry.
CSIRO scientist’s GM letter campaign ‘backfires’
A CSIRO scientist’s campaign to sway chefs from an anti-GM food stance has hit hurdles, writes Katherine Wilson.
Does the media distort health policy?
The media has much to answer for in trivialising issues concerning the health system, writes Andrew Podger and Professor Stephen Leeder.
Why the media is a barrier to health reform
Does the media truly contribute to the solution of health problems? Professor Katherine McGrath investigates.
Is global drugs policy about to shift?
Global drug policy may be about to undergo a major shift – if the United Nations has the courage and foresight to accept the recommendations of a recent forum it convened, writes Dr Alex Wodak.
Breast cancer media frenzy anything but helpful
The media may have presented an overly optimistic view of the benefits of breast cancer drug Herceptin, writes Sally Crossing.
Why HIV prevention must move beyond c-ndoms
For many people, particularly women who face the threat of HIV in developing countries, c-ndom use is not a viable option, write Bridget Haire and Professor John Kaldor.
Nepotism watch: how dad’s union supports daughter’s footy team
The nurses’ union donated $5,000 to a football club in north-west Sydney. A strange choice … until you realise the general secretary’s daughter is a club member. Alex Mitchell reports.
CSIRO scientist asks chefs to leave GM foods alone
Deputy Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry, TJ Higgins, has written to more than 50 chefs asking (or should that be lobbying) them not to boycott GM products. Katherine Wilson explains.
It works, so why is Kings Cross injecting centre still on trial?
There is no doubt that Australia’s first Medically Supervised Injecting Centre has improved the health of the most marginalised injecting drug users. So why is it still on trial? asks Dr Ingrid Van Beek
A single national insurer? Sounds like healthy policy
Should we be moving away from private health insurance? Ian McAuley makes the case for a single national insurer.
In defence of alcopops
The excise on ready-to-drink alcohol is a government cash grab, plain and simple, writes Doug McKay, Executive Chairman of Independent Distillers Australia.
Tips and rumours
The explanation by the Qantas engineer’s union why the “peace” talks with the airline has been pushed back to Wednesday from Monday is bulldust. They aren’t having trouble getting delegates to the meeting as claimed. They have backed off to give Qantas time to replace Geoff Dixon as CEO so that the person who has […]
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Why exhausted NSW rural doctors have shut up shop
On Wednesday afternoon the two GPs at Dorrigo in northern NSW went on strike, closing their surgery. Dr Horst Herb, who has worked in Dorrigo for six years, explains how it happened.
