Media Comment


	Media Comment Following an election for the House of Representatives on 21 August 2010 and post election negotiations with the Australian Greens and Independent Members of the House of Representatives, a new Government led by the Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, is expected to be sworn in by the Governor-General in the near future. Research Australia congratulates the Gillard government on taking office. Along with our member organisations we look forward to working with the government to ensure all Australians benefit from Australian excellence in health and medical research. Election commitments to science and innovation exposed, FASTS, 19 August 2010, Research workforce must be supported – Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN), 19 August 2010 No extra research funding, says Coalition, The Australian, 18 August Coalition federal campaign director, Brian Loughnane, said while the Coalition supported impartial scientific research, its first priority was "to pay down Labor's debt and deficit. "The Labor government has left the public finances in very poor shape and sadly at this time we can neither make any commitment to fund a review of Australian science institutions, nor substantially increase funding for scientific research," Mr Loughnane said. Read more Research Australia Media Release: Coalition research funding welcomed but more needed. The Coalition’s commitment to provide $200 million for health and medical research and an indexed funding structure will help protect Australian research from steadily increasing costs, build our cutting-edge research, and help ensure Australians get early access to new treatments. “The increase in funding is welcome and the intention to develop a new funding structure has the potential to remove the haphazard approach to research funding, and place it on a sustainable footing into the future,” said Rebecca James, Chief Executive of Research Australia said today. 5 August 2010 Read mor e Research Australia Media Release, Research left out of mental health announcement, 27 July 2010 Research Australia Media Release, Vital Health Research for a Vital Australia, 19 July 2010 Research Australia today unveiled a package of measures focused on vital Australian health and medical research. “Health and medical research is vital to a better health system and a healthier population, but given current commitments, is at risk of going backwards in Australia,” Rebecca James, Chief Executive of Research Australia said. It is unacceptable that Australians are suffering from conditions that would be curable with more investment in health and medical research. Political parties cannot afford to ignore the potential impact of a fall in spending on health research. Research Australia opinion polling shows that 90% of Australians agree that health and medical research into prevention, treatment and cure will play an important role in Australia’s future. 80% think that more funding for health and medical research is an important priority for the government over the next two to three years. Research Australia’s policy statement “Vital Research for a Vital Australia” calls for a commitment to a 4% increase in funding for the National Health and Medical Research Council (in real terms) from 2011 ($500m), a $100 m package to support clinical research as part of the health reform package, a new Innovation and Technologies Fund to aid commercialization of Australian discoveries, and a national consultation to develop a Ten Year Strategic Health and Medical Research Plan for Australia. “Investing in health research today, will save lives tomorrow,” Ms James said. Click on image to download Research Australia's Vital Research for a Vital Australia AAMRI - Coalition commitment to increase health and medical research funding, Media Release, 5 August 2010 Royal College of Nursing Australia (RCNA) have released their Key Election Priorities 2010, 5 August which has the following in it: Support the establishment of a national research repository for nursing and midwifery Currently there is no centralised repository for nursing and midwifery research. The result of this is poor information sharing and knowledge transfer relevant to nursing and midwifery within and across the health and education sectors. It is essential that nursing and midwifery policy and practice development is supported by a strong evidence base. Such evidence must be easily accessible and promulgated to promote continual improvement and quality and safety of health care throughout health services. Way forward: Provide funding to establish a national repository for nursing and midwifery research to improve the collection, dissemination and communication of research findings and strengthen the knowledge base of nurses and midwives. Quarantine funding for nursing and midwifery research Nursing and midwifery research is currently significantly under-funded. Nursing research funding is often situated within the health services research category making it very difficult to secure, as is the case with National Health and Medical Research Council grants, and this category only represents 2% of allocated funds. The future Australian health care system will be less dependent on curative models and more contingent upon enhanced nursing, midwifery and allied health roles within services. This new environment must be supported by quality nursing and midwifery research to promote the development of expertise and to ensure reflective practice and continual improvement. Way forward: An initiative to quarantine nursing and midwifery research funding is required to ensure the professions are able to undertake robust and valuable research. The full document can be found at: http://www.rcna.org.au/publications/press_room Public Health Association of Australia, 2 August 2010 - The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) released key priorities in public health ahead of the federal election. A call to increase the proportion of funding for prevention to 4% of health expenditure to address issues such as obesity, alcohol, tobacco, Indigenous health, mental health and oral health are a key imperative. Read more Universities Australia Election Statement, 30 July 2010 - Australia’s ability to prosper as a productive, healthy and sustainable society depends crucially on its capacity to make the most of its people’s potential. The future is one of rapid change, with enormous social and environmental challenges, and economic restructuring. There will be explosive growth in knowledge and technology, and around the globe other countries are seeking to position themselves to be at the forefront of this change. Read more Postgrads release election wishlist, 29 July 2010 - Postgraduate students want the next federal government to give them better income support, more travel concessions and improved campus services. Find out more www.smh.com.au AMA releases Health Policy Platform: Key Health Issues for the 2010 Federal Election, 21 July 2010 AMA Position - Find out more The next Government must increase funding for health and medical research including for: Further research on health systems, policy, evaluation and effectiveness to support ongoing health system improvement and reform. This should encompass research on ways to improve the evidence base for complex care clinical pathways, preventative medicine, and chronic disease management; A new strategic approach by the NHMRC to focus research efforts on emerging community health priorities and prevention of illness, and to build multidisciplinary research capacity to address these challenges; and Stronger Government support to improve the relationship between research and clinical practice, health systems and policy, and commercialisation pathways. Public Health Association of Australia - Health policies must be released now, 23 July 2010 The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) is urging all major parties to release their health policies now, so that voters can make properly informed decisions on how the next government will handle health services and public health. PHAA President Professor Mike Daube said, “So far we have heard little about health from the two major parties. We need to know now – before the leaders’ debate and well before the election – how they will treat this issue which literally affects the lives and deaths of all Australians. “Health is much too important to be left to the tail-end of the election campaign. We spend over $100 billion a year on our health services – 9.1% of GNP. The community needs to know how health and health services will be delivered and by whom, what resources will be allocated and where, what role health will play in relation to broader issues such as climate change, and how disadvantaged groups will supported. Read more Type 1 diabetes community welcomes funding commitment from Federal Opposition, 3 July 2010 JDRF welcomes today’s $35 million commitment from the Opposition Leader, the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, to fund the Clinical Trial Network (CTN) that will improve the health of Australians with type 1 diabetes. Visit www.jdrf.org.au and Tony Abbott Doorstop - $35 million commitment for Diabetes, 3 July 2010 Cancer Council Australia calls for a national strategy for clinical cancer research, 29 July 2010 Australia needs a visionary national research strategy for clinical cancer control, built on innovation, foresight and improved coordination of existing resources. Now is the time to build on recent national developments in clinical cancer control with an integrated cancer research strategy based on: recurrent funding for independent cancer clinical trials; a coordinated national bio-specimens bank; and a plan for adopting new technologies such as genetic medicine. Cancer Council Australia and the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia (COSA) have welcomed government commitments in recent years to support independent cancer clinical trials (2005 and 2008) and increases in NHMRC funding. Visit www.cancer.org.au to find out more For live media coverage visit: http://au.news.yahoo.com/election http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2010/ Contact: Dr Gabby Fennessy, Manager Policy & Strategy Program T: (03) 9662 9366 E: gabby.fennessy@researchaustalia.org Go to: Election 2010 Member Election Kit Research Australia Policies Party Policies