AMA accuses Morrison Government of deliberately constraining supply of public hospital services

ABC News, 24 May 2019:

"Have you got insurance?"

It is one of the first questions any patient is asked when they walk into an emergency room in the United States, no matter how sick they are.

And now Australian doctors are warning our own health system is shifting towards a similar US managed care model — a patchwork of private and public systems, where health insurers hold an increasing amount of power.

The president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Dr Tony Bartone, made the comments as he addressed the group's national conference in Brisbane on Friday.

It was the first time Dr Bartone has spoken since the Coalition was returned to power, and he gave an unusually scathing assessment of Australia's health system and the Federal Government.

He called for further private health reforms, telling doctors the increasing corporatisation of the private health system had given insurers unprecedented power within the health sector.

Dr Bartone warned that could lead to a system similar to the model in the US, where patients experience significant variations in care depending on their insurance cover.

"Insurers should not determine the provision of treatment in Australia, they should not interfere with the clinical judgement of qualified and experienced doctors," he said.

"Australians do not support a US-style managed care health system, and neither does the AMA."

The AMA has consistently called for more money for public hospitals, and on Friday Dr Bartone went even further as he accused the government of "making a choice" to constrain the supply of public hospital services.

"Let me be clear. Public hospital capacity is determined by funding," he said.

"The consequences are significant. They can include increased complications, delayed care, delayed pain relief, and longer length of stay for admitted patients."

Dr Bartone said the system was "stretched so tight" elective surgeries were being cancelled.

"Our public health system should be better than this. It is unacceptable our public hospitals have been reduced to this," he said.

"Our public hospitals are struggling and require new funding to be better tomorrow.....

Bad 4WD behaviour causing significant damage to the South Ballina Beach and its ecology

South Ballina Beach. Photo Ballina Beach Village in Echo NetDaily, 27 November 2018

The Northern Star, 25 May 2019, p.9:

Poor behaviour from some 4WD users have attracted the ire of Ballina Shire Council once again.

Councillor Sharon Cadwallader brought a motion before Thursday’s general meeting to further consult on what could be done to address the issue of some 4WDers putting wildlife and the dunes at risk on South Ballina and Seven Mile Beaches.

Richard Gates, who spoke to the council in support of the motion, said bad 4WD behaviour was causing “significant damage to the beach and its ecology”, evident in declining pied oystercatcher and pippie numbers. Cr Cadwallader welcomed extra patrols planned for both beaches next financial year, but said that wasn’t enough and suggested a permit system be added to South Ballina Beach, similar to the permit for Seven Mile Beach.

Councillors agreed the matter was complex in that the National Parks and Wildlife Service had care of South Ballina’s beach, and that a co-ordinated approach would be needed with the Richmond Valley Council to cover the entire beach to Evans Head.

“There’s got to be a concerted effort,” Cr Cadwallader said.

“We’re not just going to sit by and watch this beautiful beach of ours become desecrated.”

She showed her fellow councillors photos, taken on the weekend, of the southern beach trashed with rubbish including dumped tents and camping chairs.

Other images showed the dunes at Seven Mile Beach riddled with tyre marks.

Cr Ben Smith said the State Government was “very much aware” of the dilemma and pointed out it “didn’t really get much traction” in the lead up to the March state election, despite noise from the council.

Many councillors saw the need for action and Cr Cadwallader’s motion was carried unanimously.

Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government May 2019: new crew on the political ‘Titanic’

With no plans to genuinely address climate change mitigation, in denial concerning the slowing national economy and pretending that Australia is not in breach of its human rights obligations on two fronts (treatment of Aboriginal adults & children and detained asylum seekers), Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott 'Liar from the Shire' Morrison released his new ministry list on 26 May 2019.

Australian Government Ministry List for the 46th Parlaiment, 26 May 2019 by clarencegirl on Scribd

https://www.scribd.com/document/411541377/Australian-Government-Ministry-List-for-the-46th-Parlaiment-26-May-2019

Coal Seam Gas: Queensland supplies a timely lesson for the rest of Australia

ABC News, 26 May 2016:

The risk of spreading toxic groundwater from one of Queensland's worst environmental contaminations has prompted a ban on coal seam gas drilling in an area where companies are already extracting gas.

The State Government quietly created a no-go zone for gas extraction 10 kilometres around the former Linc Energy site in the Southern Inland, at Hopeland, burying the decision in an environmental approval issued to Arrow Energy in December.

Despite the ban, Arrow and QGC still have permission to extract gas within the zone.

On a separate, neighbouring mining lease — approved in August — Arrow gained approval to ramp up six existing "pilot" wells for commercial production.

Farmers said they were alarmed by the revelation and want state officials to come clean about the risks of groundwater contamination spreading under prime grazing and cropping land.

The ban is the first public admission that a burgeoning CSG industry could aggravate the Linc contamination, where toxic gases were released into groundwater by a now-illegal process called underground coal gasification.

Cotton grower Brian Bender's Hopeland property is split by the two Arrow tenements — where CSG extraction is banned on one side but not the other.

"I think it's a bit of a joke, really — there are no lines underground," Mr Bender said….

The ABC understands tests on groundwater contamination were being examined by a trio of experts who would be called as state witnesses in a criminal prosecution of five former Linc executives next month.

The failed company was convicted and fined a record $4.5 million last May for causing serious environmental harm through its underground coal gasification (UCG) plant.

The District Court heard in that trial that it could take up to 20 years for groundwater to recover from Linc's attempts at the now-illegal UCG process, which allowed toxic gases to escape through fractured rock.

At the time, the state's then-environment minister described the contamination as "the biggest pollution event probably in Queensland's history".

A week before Christmas, Arrow gained approval for 70 wells on a gas tenement to the north-east of the former Linc site.

It is part of its $10 billion Surat Gas Project, which Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promoted in a February media release as Queensland's "biggest resources project since 2011".

Ms Palaszczuk's release made no mention of the gas extraction no-go zone.

But the state's Department of Environment and Science approval said Arrow "must not locate any [CSG] production wells within 10 kilometres [of the Linc site]".

"The extraction of groundwater as part of the petroleum activity(ies) from underground aquifers must not directly or indirectly influence the mobilisation of existing groundwater contamination on [the Linc site]," the environmental authority said.

It said the department may force Arrow to model CSG impacts on "groundwater contamination around [the Linc site] at any time" and present its findings within a month.

But there were no such conditions for gas drilling in the neighbouring Arrow tenement that surrounds the former Linc site, where six wells were approved in August…..

But will the Morrison federal government or the remaining seven state and territory governments learn from Queensland's disasterous mistakes?

Apparently not.........

2GB Radio, 24 May 2019:

The Minister for Resources is urging the New South Wales government to approve the state’s biggest gas project.

Santos Narrabri Gas Project is aiming to develop gas reserves in northwest New South Wales that could supply half of the state’s gas needs.

The Resources Minister Matt Canavan tells Ray Hadley almost all of NSW’s gas comes from other states.

“The problem with that is, of course, it costs a lot of money to transport gas long distances, so that has pushed the price up for Sydney based users of gas.

“Things have changed and we need to reflect that.”

The Canberra Times, 18 April 2019:

Federal Resources and Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan was in Darwin on April 17 to publicise an April 2 federal budget announcement of $8.4 million in funding to fast-track development of gas reserves in the Northern Territory's Beetaloo Basin.

"We want to get on with the job. We want to get the gas up out of the ground and into people's homes and businesses as quickly as we can," Senator Canavan said in a statement….

The Beetaloo Basin is about 500km south-east of Darwin in the Sturt Plateau region between the towns of Katherine and Elliott and includes pastoral land and indigenous communities. Around 70 per cent of the Territory's shale gas resources are estimated to lie in the Beetaloo Basin, reserves that could potentially raise Australia's global ranking of gas resources from seventh to sixth. Farmers, businesses and industry are divided over whether fracking should be permitted because of the risk of pollution to rivers and bores. Pro-fracking advocates argue it will be a boon for jobs and economic growth.

Australia 2019: women are still dying violently in unacceptably high numbers

Counting Dead Women, 25 May 2019

On average at least one woman a week is dying violently in Australia this year.  

I say "at least" because the figure above is mainly based on media reports of deaths - how many go unnoticed by the nightly news or daily newspapers is unknown.

Looking back on past posts on North Coast Voices it appears that an average of 1 to 2 female deaths by violence per week is how the years since 2014 have ended.

Despite the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government periodically talking up its approach to ending violence against women the situation is littled changed because women are still dying in unacceptably high numbers.

Byron DA for largest coastal solar farm in NSW being progressed

Myocum district, Byron Shire

The Northern Star, 25 May 2019, p.8:

A solar farm flagged for Byron Shire would be the biggest of its kind east of the ranges in New South Wales, according to Byron Shire mayor Simon Richardson.

Cr Richardson said the “massive” five megawatt solar farm planned for land adjacent to the shire’s tip at Myocum would be a wise investment.

Coolamon Energy lodged a development application for the $6.5 million project last month, which proposes building the large-scale facility at Grays Lane, with the solar panels covering 6.3ha of the 73.53ha site.

At a meeting on Thursday councillors voted to spend $465,000 on a final feasibility study for the project.

Cr Richardson said the council had already done a lot of business modelling and cost-benefit analysis for the project.

In the DA, construction is estimated to take 12-14 weeks.

The applicant claimed the project would create jobs and help meet Byron Shire’s electricity demands.

via @AnitaHess

Anniversary of the 1997 report Bringing Them Home: National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families