Frequency: MTWTFS- Cold comfort as RAH opening pushed...

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Cold comfort as RAH opening pushed out

EXCLUSIVEPAUL STARICKCHIEF REPORTERTHE new Royal AdelaideHospital opening will be fur-ther delayed until after nextwinter, leaving the developersfacing a compensation payoutof about $80 million to theState Government.

It is understood that withindays, Health Minister JackSnelling will announce the$1.85 billion hospital’s sched-uled opening in April next yearwill be pushed out to Septem-ber or October to avoid systemoverload during the winter fluseason.

The Australian Medical As-sociation and Australian Nurs-ing and Midwifery Federationare urging the hospital open-ing be delayed, warning thatshifting patients down NorthTce from the old RAH duringthe winter peak would com-promise their safety and staffworkloads.

They warn that operatingthe new and old RAHs at par-tial capacity during the 45-daytransfer risks overwhelmingsuburban hospitals alreadygroaning with flu cases duringnext winter.

Mr Snelling is likely to pushthis argument when revealingthe latest delay.

The schedule blowout trig-gers $25 million per month – or$850,000 per day – penaltiesfor the consortium financingand building the hospital, SAHealth Partnership.

A likely formula outlined toThe Advertiser was the consor-

tium accepting responsibilityfor 3.5 months’ delay and theState Government 1.5 months,

due to unforeseen contami-nated land clean-up.

Under this formula, the netpayment to the state by theconsortium would be between$75 million and $80 million.

Mr Snelling highlightedprevious comments that an in-dependent report indicated thenew hospital would not beready until the second half ofnext year.

The Government has bud-geted $176.6 million for the ex-isting and new RAH to run intandem.

“I’ve previously said movinga hospital in the middle of win-ter is highly problematic,” Mr

Snelling told The Advertiseryesterday.

Nursing and MidwiferyFederation SA branch sec-retary Elizabeth Dabars, in aletter to Mr Snelling, says cut-ting hundreds of beds from theold RAH during the transitionwould be impossible during thewinter peak.

Associate Professor Dabarswarns that transferring duringwinter would “place intoler-able burdens on the remaininghospital services, undue pres-sure on clinical staff and placepatients and their welfare atrisk” and urges this be delayeduntil October.

AMA state president JaniceFletcher said transferring amajor tertiary hospital intonew premises during peak de-mand would “place an un-

necessary risk across the wholesystem”.

“What we won’t want to seeis the transition during winter– that’s the bottom line,” DrFletcher said.

All emergency depart-ments were operating at ornear capacity last month, andelective surgeries were can-celled as the public health sys-tem struggled with a flupatient influx.PAGE 23: $250M CALVARY PLAN

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OUR NEW HOSPITAL

THE new Royal Adelaide Hospitalis being built by a public-private partnership. SA HealthPartnership is the consortiumresponsible for finance, design, construction and managementuntil the hospital is handed to thestate in 2046.DESIGN and construction is being handled by joint venturersHansen Yuncken and Leighton Contractors (HYLC).2011: Construction starts.June 2014: The Advertiser reveals that HYLC development director Chris Pratt has beenmoved off the project amid

suggestions of timeline blowoutsand personality clashes.July 2014: Senior sources tellThe Advertiser the project will berdelayed by more than a year but contractors insist April 2016 is still the target date.August 2014: The Advertiser reveals contractors face a $25 million per month payout for late delivery and are privately conceding the project will be

about three months late.July 2015: A report finds the trouble-plagued computer system critical to the new RAH’s operation is behind schedule and faces significant challenges to beready for opening.July 2015: The Advertiser revealsthe hospital will open without all beds being available to patients,including 12 in intensive care.August 2015: Health Minister Jack Snelling warns that the hospital system faces a “very rocky” few weeks because of theflu season stretching emergency departments to capacity.

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Adelaide AdvertiserWednesday 16/9/2015Page: 2Section: General NewsRegion: Adelaide Circulation: 136,404Type: Capital City DailySize: 464.00 sq.cms.Frequency: MTWTFS-

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Boxing in spotlightADRIAN WARRENSYDNEY

THE Australian Medical As-sociation has renewed calls fora ban on boxing following thedeath of Sydney fighter DaveyBrowne Jr.

Browne’s family made thedecision to turn off his life sup-port after injuries suffered inhis title bout with Carlo Magalifrom the Philippines on Fridayin Sydney.

The 28-year-old father oftwo was knocked out 30 sec-onds from the end of his 12-round bout and, although heinitially regained conscious-ness, he collapsed and wastaken to hospital in a criticalcondition with brain injuries.

AMA vice-president DrStephen Parnis said Browne’sdeath was an “entirely avoid-able” tragedy.

“One punch can kill -whether you are outside a pubon a Friday night or in a boxingring - and this is the thing thatcauses young lives to be endedso traumatically,” he said.

“The way that boxing is de-signed, there will be thesetimes inevitably where some-one will get bleeding or irre-versible damage to the brainand they will either lose theirlife or end up with brain dam-age.

“That is why the AMAthinks that we cannot continuewith it (boxing).”

Browne’s death continues asad year for Australian boxingofficials .

In March, Queensland-based fighter Braydon Smithdied two days after losing about in Toowoomba, havingcollapsed 90 minutes after thecontest.

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Adelaide AdvertiserWednesday 16/9/2015Page: 61Section: SportRegion: Adelaide Circulation: 136,404Type: Capital City DailySize: 89.00 sq.cms.Frequency: MTWTFS-

Ref:

Achoo! Record fluseason drags onCraig ButtHealth Reporter

If it seems like a lot of people have

been sick lately, you’re not mis-

taken.

This year there have been a re-

cord number of flu cases, with

more than 70,000 struck down by

the disease.

Almost half of this year’s cases

were recorded inAugust, theworst

month on record for flu in more

than two decades.

Things haven’t been looking too

promising so far in September

either. More than 10,000 cases

have been confirmed in the past

fortnight alone.

However, we do have to be a bit

careful about reading too much

into the data. Nationwide monthly

flu data has been compiled since

2001 but it depends on people go-

ing to their general practitioner

when they start experiencing

symptoms, and then on the GPpas-

sing his information along to the

health department.

University of Western Sydney

influenza expert Robert Booy said

the data reflected that doctors

were getting better at taking speci-

mens and sending them to laborat-

ories.

Queensland has been worst hit

state this flu season. Almost a third

of all cases have been recorded

there, even though it is home to

about one in five Australians.

Young children have been badly

hit with flu this year - almost one in

seven cases were among those

aged between five and nine.

Professor Booy said this was be-

cause they were being exposed to

the disease in primary school

classrooms.

Chair of the AMA Council of

General Practice, Brian Morton,

said Australia’s flu season was

mimicking the northern hemi-

sphere’s flu season, which had re-

corded a bad year because of new

strains of the disease emerging.

In Australia flu vaccines were

delayed because protection

against new strains had to be in-

cluded.

But there is some good news - flu

cases tend to drop off during

spring, so the sneezing season is

almost over. At least, until Novem-

ber, when hay fever season peaks.

Nothing to sneeze at …

12501342

196922212481

500813,258

34,51810,222

Reported flu cases so far this yearJanFebMarAprMayJunJul

AugSep

34,518

Reported flu cases by year

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0

* DATA TO SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 SOURCE: HEALTH DEPARTMENT

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AgeWednesday 16/9/2015Page: 11Section: General NewsRegion: Melbourne Circulation: 100,339Type: Capital City DailySize: 307.00 sq.cms.Frequency: MTWTF--

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BAN CALL FOLLOWS BOXER’S DEATHTHE Australian Medical Association has renewed calls for a ban on boxing after the death of Sydney fighter Davey Browne Jr yesterday.

Browne’s family made thedecision to turn off his life support after injuries suffered in his regional title bout with Carlo Magali, of the Philippines, on Friday night in Sydney.

The 28-year-old father oftwo was knocked out 30 seconds from the scheduled end of his 12-round contest.

Although he initially regained consciousness, he collapsed from his stool and was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition with brain injuries.

AMA vice-president Dr Stephen Parnis said Browne’s death was an “entirely avoidable” tragedy.

“One punch can kill — whether you are outside a pub on a Friday night or in a boxing ring — and this is the thing that causes young lives to be ended so traumatically,” he said.

“The way that boxing is designed, there will be these times inevitably where someone will get bleeding or irreversible damage to the brain and they will either lose their life or end up with brain damage.

“That is why the AMA thinks that we cannot continue with it (boxing).”

Browne’s death continuesa sad year for Australian boxing. In March,

Queensland-based fighter Braydon Smith died two days after losing a bout in Toowoomba, having collapsed 90 minutes after the contest.

Former IBF featherweightworld champion Billy Dib, who was Browne’s highest-profile opponent, pointed out boxing was not the only sport that had deaths.

“Things like this happen insport, not just in our sport but in other sports. Things happen in high-contact sports,” Dib said.

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Herald SunWednesday 16/9/2015Page: 73Section: SportRegion: Melbourne Circulation: 344,061Type: Capital City DailySize: 123.00 sq.cms.Frequency: MTWTFS-

Ref:

Abbott pledge not to subvert

Turnbull welcomed as same-sex marriage supporter


ALEX LUTTRELL


THE Tasmanian Gay and Les-bian Rights Group has wel-comed the appointment ofsame-sex marriage supporterMalcolm Turnbull as PrimeMinister, but is disappointedthe issue has been delayed untilthe next election.

Mr Turnbull has reiterated


he is in favour of a nationalvote for gay marriage after thepoll, expected next year. Hehas also stated he is in favour ofa same-sex marriage Bill.

TGLRG spokesman andAustralian Marriage Equalitydirector Rodney Croome saidmarriage equality would be akey election issue.

“It’s a positive step as we, for


the first time in Australia, havethe Prime Minister and Oppo-sition Leader as supporters of


marriage equality,” he said.THE Tasmanian AboriginalCentre has asked Mr Turnbullfor a meeting to restore fund-ing for a Tasmanian Aboriginallegal aid centre.

State secretary Trudy Malu-ga said the decision to cut Ab-


original legal aid was a harmfuldecision by the Abbott Gov-ernment.TASMANIAN Chamber ofCommerce and Industry chiefMichael Bailey has invited thenew PM to visit the state fordiscussion on business issuesand new opportunities in tour-ism, agriculture, aquaculture,retail and construction.


Mr Bailey said it was im-portant Mr Turnbull and hiscabinet understood the state’seconomic circumstances.AUSTRALIAN Medical As-sociation Tasmania chief Tony


Steven says Mr Turnbull hasseveral health issues to resolvein Tasmania, including the pro-posed GP co-payments, thefreeze on Medicare patient re-


bates and cuts to public hospi-tal funding.

“The AMA has already putin a bid for a meeting to get theworking relationship off to aproductive start,” he said.TASMANIAN Small BusinessCouncil chief Robert Mallettsaid Mr Turnbull had a chanceto achieve greater outcomesfor small businesses.

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Hobart MercuryWednesday 16/9/2015Page: 7Section: General NewsRegion: Hobart Circulation: 35,037Type: Capital City DailySize: 146.00 sq.cms.Frequency: MTWTFS-

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Boxer diesafter titlefight atRSL clubMelanie Kembrey

A 28-year-old Australian boxer has

died in a Sydney hospital after

being knocked out in an IBF re-

gional title fight.

DaveyBrowne jnrwas floored by

a punch from Filipino Carlo Magali

on Friday night during the bout at

Ingleburn RSL.

The incident happened in the

12th and final round and, while

Browne appeared to regain con-

sciousness and was seated on a

stool, he suddenly slid off and lap-

sed into unconsciousness.

The father of two from Sydney’s

south-west was taken to Liverpool

Hospital in a critical condition.

Browne did not regain conscious-

ness and his family made the deci-

sion to turn off his life support.

John McDougall, president of

the Australian National Boxing

Federation, said Browne had been

injured in the sixth round of the

fight but told the referee hewanted

to continue. He was about to win,

Mr McDougall said.

The bout was scheduled to go for

12 three-minute rounds.

The fighters completed the 11th

round, but 30 seconds into the final

round Browne was knocked to the

canvas.

‘‘It’s really easy in hindsight for

people to cry that the fight should

have been stopped and unfortu-

nately the officials are in the posi-

tion that they have to make a deci-

sion and they based it on their ex-

perience and that Davey himself

said hewas quiteOKandwanted to

continue,’’ Mr McDougall said.

‘‘Accidents happen in sport and

1HERSA1 A014

boxing is a hard sport and at the

same time it has beenmore than 30

years since the last death or seri-

ous injury has occurred in NSW.’’

Mr McDougall said Browne was

at the top of his game and his death

was a ‘‘tragic loss’’ that had shat-

tered the boxing community.

‘‘It was great to see him climb

back in the ring and he appeared to

be better than he ever was,’’ Mr

McDougall said. ‘‘Big things were

in line for him. This fight would

have placed him in the lower half of

the top 15 rankings in the world.’’

Browne was clearly looking for-

ward to getting back in the ring,

posting about the bout weeks in

advance on his Facebook page.

‘‘This will be my biggest test to

date and a win should open some

doors for some bigger fights,’’ he

wrote on August 5.

He came from a family of boxers,

including his father, David, and

brother Tommy, who boxed on the

undercard on Friday night and

fought for the world title in 2005.

NSW Sport Minister Stuart

Ayres said the Combat Sports

Authority, the government agency

that supervises professional and

amateur combat sports, would co-

operate with the police investiga-

tion.

‘‘I have also written to the Com-

bat Sports Authority asking it to

review this sanctioned event and

the application of the Combat

Sports Act,’’ Mr Ayres said.

‘‘My thoughts are with David’s

family and friends during this

tragic time.’’

An autopsy will be carried out.

Police from Macquarie Fields

Local Area Command will prepare

a report for the coroner.

This month the Australian Med-

ical Association released a position

statement calling on boxing to be

banned from the Olympic Games

and the Commonwealth Games.

The association also recommen-

ded a ban on all forms of combat

sport for people under 18 years.

‘‘Head injuries are essentially in-

visible, and can evolve over time.

Even what may appear to be minor

head injuries can turn serious very

quickly,’’ association president

Professor Brian Owler said.

Boxers and fans from Australia

and around the world have ex-

pressed their sadness at the news

of Browne’s death.

Australian boxerDannyGreen, a

four-time world champion, said he

was ‘‘gutted’’ for Browne and his

family.

‘‘Davey was a great little fighter

with a tonne of skill and heart,’’ he

said. ‘‘Boxing is a very tough game

and they didn’t come tougher than

Davey. Rest in peace, champion.’’

Former world champion and

Commonwealth Games gold

medallist Darren Barker posted on

social media: ‘‘RIP Davey Browne

jnr such sad news. You forget

sometimes just howdangerous this

sport really is. God bless the

friends and family’’.

withDaniel Lane, AAP

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‘This fight would haveplaced him in thelower half of the top 15rankings in the world.’JohnMcDougall, AustralianNational Boxing Federation

Boxers Davey Browne jnr, left, and Jack Brubaker spar at RyanWaters’ gym. Photo: Chris Lane

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AMA CONGRATULATES MALCOLM TURNBULL ON ELECTION AS PRIME

MINISTER

The AMA congratulates Malcolm Turnbull on his election last night as Leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister, and looks forward to a fresh approach to building a strong health system to serve the Australian people.

AMA President, Professor Brian Owler, said that health must be a priority for the new Prime Minister and Cabinet.

-fated GP co-payment and the scrapping of public hospital funding to the States

done to strengthen the health system to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population.

Benefits Schedule (MBS) Reviews; the restoration of public hospital funding; a review of the private health insurance system; significant new investment in general practice; and coordinated medical workforce planning.

challenges facing

The AMA acknowledges the contributions of Tony Abbott as Prime Minister, especially his decision to step in and put an end to the plans for GP co-payments, and his personal commitment to Indigenous health.

15 September 2015

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Ref:

Turnbull must cure the crook Liberal policy horseLeadershipThe challengefor MalcolmTurnbull is todevelop,explain anddeliver a truegrowth-jobsstrategy, builton genuine,broad-basedreform.

John Hewson

Former Liberal leader and inveteratepunter Andrew Peacock was fond of tellingone of his favourite racing yarns about thehorse that was specially bred, trained andgroomed for the Melbourne Cup.

In the big race, the horse started poorlyfrom the widest barrier and, as the racewore on, fell further and further behind,finally finishing hundreds of metres behindthe field. The distraught trainer rushedfrom the stands to yell to the jockey,"Couldn't you have finished sooner?"

The exhausted jockey replied, 'Yes, but Idecided to stay with the horse!"

The Liberal leadership contest was not somuch about the changing of thejockey asimproving the horse. The horse - that isgovernment - is crook.

True, Tony Abbott was never popular andhe made some notable mistakes. But he leda poor government which limped fromissue to issue with no apparent overarchingstrategy, and little or no commitment togenuine policy or reform.

As in opposition, his focus was short-term, opportunistic and negative,attempting to "win" the day-to-day mediacontest by point-scoring and running fearcampaigns at the expense of governing,managing issues and solving problems.

Overall, he squandered his opportunity togovern and as he broke promises, otherwisefailed to match expectations. He and hisoffice mismanaged the cabinet and his

colleagues, and lost the trust ofthe electorate.

In hard political terms, in response to his"near death" experience six months ago,Abbott asked for time to lift his game - theexpectation was for a significant change inhis office and in the way he and it managedcabinet and the backbench. There wereeven hopes for the replacement of JoeHockey with Malcolm Turnbull astreasurer, which would have put Turnbull"inside the tent", making it more difficult forhim to do what he did on Monday.

But the poor polls continued and thegovernment was rocked over and over byleaks and poor strategy and decisions.

All this will not be remedied byjust, as

Turnbull suggested when declaring hiscandidacy, "selling the message better".What message? You must have a clear andconsistent message to sell and you musthave the motivated and disciplined team todeliver it

The Abbott government never had such amessage. Indeed, individual policymeasures (such as a Medicare co-paymentor university fees, etc) were simplyannounced without an overarching healthor education policy against which theycould be explained or judged and, at times,with inconsistent messages.

Similarly, we were promised growth andjobs without an overarching strategy toexplain just how our economy would makethe transition from a resources boom towhatever, such as to demonstrate the newindustries and businesses that wouldproduce that growth and those jobs.

At the same time, the Abbott governmentwas working hard to kill off key new

industries such as renewables, and inrelated technologies, which wouldotherwise have been seen as front-runnersto produce that growth and those jobs.

Debt and deficits were bad, then not sobad. The nation's finances were allegedly incrisis in one budget but not such anemergency in the next

The challenge for Turnbull is to develop,explain and deliver a genuine growth-jobsstrategy built on genuine and broad-basedreform. But he has already seriously

constrained himself in this regard. To beginwith, he will have to deal with the electoralbacklash to the Italian solution - five primeministers in five years.

It is also significant that as Hockey noted,Turnbull had never raised any objections, incabinet or to him directly, concerning the

economic-budget strategy. He too was atleast complicit in the "crook horse". He too,will have to wear the fact that thegovernment has already burned much of itspolitical capital.

It is also obvious that Turnbull did dealsto stitch up some support from someconservatives, such as a commitment toaccept the Abbott emission reductiontargets, a promise not to seek to reintroducean emissions trading scheme and offeringScott Morrison the Treasury, even thoughhe has been unsuccessful in getting thechildcare package through the Senate,funded by the cuts in family benefits.

Sure, Turnbull and Morrison are better"salesmen" and sure, Turnbull has theopportunity to reshape his cabinet withsignificant new blood, weeding out many ofthe old guard. But he was surrounded by a m spretty motley crew that accompanied himto the party?room vote, all of whomundoubtedly expect to be "compensated"with ministerial positions for their role inthe coup.

Turnbull will also carry the baggage of hislast time as leader, with its "captain's calls"and poll collapses, and perhaps some issuesfrom his days in business. His test will bewhether he has learned from his past

In short, Turnbull has it all to do.Although he is popular, this can be short-lived. His focus must be on leading anddelivering electorally acceptable outcomes..In the end, this is how he will be judged.

Turnbull has a unique opportunity to riseabove the short-term daily politics and focuson a number of key, longer-term policychallenges to educate and engage the Ielectorate in the necessary reform agenda -simply to lead.

John Hewson is a former leader of the LiberalParty.

Turnbull will have todeal with the electoralbacklash to the Italiansolution -five primeministers in five years.

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Malcolm Turnbull 'obviously did deals to garner support', PHOTO: ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN

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Australian Financial ReviewWednesday 16/9/2015Page: 51Section: General NewsRegion: Australia Circulation: 57,243Type: NationalSize: 445.00 sq.cms.Frequency: MTWTF--

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Barr, Hanson keep close tabs on state of playTHE A.C.T.By Tom McIlroyAssembly Reporter

Both sides of ACT politics are closelywatching the rise of Malcolm Turn-bull, and considering what role hisnew government could play in nextyear’s territory election.

A year out from the start of the ACTcampaign, Opposition Leader JeremyHanson could be helped by the

removal of Tony Abbott in place of amore popular Liberal leader, whileChief Minister Andrew Barr hascalled for a reset on Commonwealthfunding of health and education.

On Tuesday, Mr Barr said it was anexciting time in Australia. He con-gratulated Mr Turnbull on becomingthe 29th prime minister and calledfor strong leadership from the federalgovernment on key policy areasincluding climate change, same-sexmarriage and growing the economy.

‘‘This offers an opportunity for

significant change in the federalgovernment’s approach in relationswith the states and territories,’’ MrBarr said. ‘‘The first challenge for thePrime Minister will be to reverse thecuts to health and education, torestore funding to hospitals andschools that the former prime minis-ter [Mr] Abbott and Treasurer [Joe]Hockey were responsible for in the

2014 budget.‘‘I’d also like to see some serious

reform on the Australian Federationand for a tax reform debate that

moves beyond slogans. We mighthave that opportunity with the newPrime Minister.’’

It was disappointing that Mr Turn-bull would not change federal gov-ernment policies on climate changeand gay marriage, Mr Barr said. Herefused to comment on how MrAbbott’s demise would help or hinderthe ACT opposition. Accusing theCanberra Liberals of being the party’smost socially conservative branch,Mr Barr said Mr Hanson’s party roomwas out of touch with the Canberra

community. ‘‘Undoubtedly a newLiberal leader will create a bit of asugar hit in the polls for the LiberalParty federally. In the end, people inthe ACT will vote on local issues,’’ hesaid.

‘‘There’s no doubt that there hasbeen instability federally, both fromthe Labor Party and the Liberal Party.I think what people want to see isstability, they want to see goodgovernance and I hope that’s what wesee from now on.’’

He played down differences with

Mr Turnbull on key issues for territ-ory politics, including public trans-port and the opposition’s anti-lightrail stance, and Mr Abbott’s unpop-

ularity.‘‘I think that although there is an

inter-meshing of the federal and thelocal, when it comes down to it, whenpeople go in the ballot box, I thinkthat Canberrans are pretty smart andpolitically educated and they under-stand the difference between thefederal and local domains.

‘‘Certainly it’s my challenge to

make sure people have a very clearunderstanding of the differences be-tween the federal party and the localparty,’’ he said. Mr Hanson wouldn’tcomment on his chances at theelection but predicted the federalelection would fall before the territ-ory vote due in October 2016.

ACT Liberal senator Zed Seseljasaid he was ‘‘very disappointed’’ thatMr Abbott had been toppled, whileEden-Monaro MP Peter Hendy sup-ported Mr Turnbull in Monday’sparty room ballot.

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Canberra TimesWednesday 16/9/2015Page: 4Section: General NewsRegion: Canberra Circulation: 24,765Type: Capital City DailySize: 258.00 sq.cms.Frequency: MTWTFS-

Ref:

Vote-magnet Bairdthe dreammachinesmissingmember

AlanStokes

Nya-nya-nya.My evil plan

is finallyworking. After

donkey’s years of

scheming to getMal-

colmTurnbull into the Lodge . . .

success!

Butmynefariouswork is far

fromdone. The dream teamof

Turnbull and deputy Julie Bishop

ismissing one keymember: a

highly talented treasurer.

EnterMikeBaird.

TheNSWPremier baulked at

the shift to Canberrawhile his

mateTonyAbbottwas in charge.

Nowall bets are off.

Bairdwill soon have three feder-

al seats fromwhich to choose: Joe

Hockey’s, BronnyBishop’s and pos-

siblyAbbott’s. All are a short BMW

drive fromMike’s house on the

northern beaches.

The solution?GiveBaird all

three seats and revive the hashtag

#bairdforcanberra.

Why leave one of the country’s

best politicians in Sydneywhenhe

could be helpingTurnbull revital-

ise the nation?

After all, Baird’swork inNSW is

basically done.

Gee, he’s even left his successor

a to-do list of 12 priorities to get

done in the next decade.

The conservatives in the federal

Liberal Party are a bitworried

aboutTurnbull, too. All this new-

fangled republic, same-sexmar-

riage and equality stuff, you know.

SoBaird offers thema conser-

vative counterbalance to themem-

ber forWentworthwho, after all,

would havemade just as good a

Labor primeminister as a Liberal

one.

Turnbull nowhas the chance to

deliver everythingLabormight be

capable of doing if it were a cent-

rist party and everything theLibs

might offer if theyweren’t behold-

en to right-wing nut-jobs.

What’smost satisfying about

Turnbull’s rise is thatwe didn’t

have to pay for it.

Back in 2012, I said the biggest

issue facing concernedAustralians

was surely how to getTurnbull into

the Lodge.

My solutionwas to collect $1

fromeach of his fans then float him

on the stock exchange. Thatway

we’d ownhimand could force him

to challenge for the Liberal leader-

ship or start his own centrist party.

Youmight recall that as recently

asMarch I supplemented that evil

plan by suggestingwe all vote for

Baird at the state election and

encourage all our friends to follow

suit, nomatter our party allegi-

ances.

The ideawas that federal Liber-

alswere starting toworry about

whether they couldwin the next

election,while divisions between

Hockey andBishop andAbbott

were simmering away.Keeping

this scenario going, the Liberal

party roomwould inevitably look

for a saviour.

I suggested theDreamTeam:

Turnbull as PM,Bishop as deputy

andBaird as federal Treasurer. All

are votemagnets and, as a bonus,

all have a social conscience.

They are even human.

‘‘Politics can be brutal,’’ Baird

wrote on socialmedia about his

mateAbbott’s demise. ‘‘Many of

those throwing stones don’t see the

heart behind themanwhohas

spent decades volunteering at the

local surf club orworking a shift

with theRural Fire Service . . . not

for political gain, but for the simple

reason that he loves his com-

munity.’’

There’s amore practical reason

to getBaird into federal sphere,

though.He has farmore financial

nous than the likelyHockey re-

placement andwannabe futurePM

ScottMorrison.As federal treas-

urerBaird could reverse cuts to

the state’s health and education

funding.With any luck, he’d find

money to fund theGonski educa-

tion reforms aswell.Whilewe’re at

it, if NSWTreasurerGladysBere-

jiklian doesn’twant to replace

Baird as premier, let’s send her to

Canberra too. She’s a goodmate of

fellowArmenian-Australian

Hockey, so she can take his seat of

NorthSydney ifMike prefers

Mackellar orWarringah.

Butwhy, youmay ask,would

anyonewant the Liberal Party to

be entrenched inCanberrawith all

this talent?

BecauseLabor is offering bug-

ger all as an alternative govern-

ment, that’swhy. It has no hope of

being elected as long asBill Shor-

ten remains in lockstepwith the

unions – both the left-wing

CFMEUand the right-wingShop-

pies.

So how’s this for an idea: to get

the best people in the federal gov-

ernment, surelywe need to look

beyond theLiberal Party.

We could start by bringing other

talentedMPs into theTurnbull

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1HERSA1 A023

cabinet. Think independent South

Australian senatorNickXenophon

for starters.

Whilewe’re at it, givenLabor is

stuffed againstTurnbull, let’s bring

some of Labor’s top talent into his

cabinet aswell.

A government of national unity:

now there’s an idea forTurnbull to

ponder.

Such is life . . .

[email protected]

I suggested the dreamteam: Turnbull as PM,Bishop as deputy andBaird as federalTreasurer.

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‘No evidence’ behind quarter of Medicare servicesEXCLUSIVE

SEAN PARNELLHEALTH EDITOR

A quarter of the services listed onthe $21 billion Medicare BenefitsSchedule do not appear to be sup-ported by evidence, while about

30 per cent of all healthcare treat-ments would be of little benefit topatients.

Bruce Robinson, the dean ofthe Sydney Medical School cho-sen by the federal government tolead the Medicare review, said sig-nificant changes would berequired for the 5500 items on theMBS if the health budget were to

become sustainable and thehealth system more responsive.

Professor Robinson said thetaskforce had an opportunity toconvert the MBS from an admin-istrative and accounting system toa clinical tool powerful enough toinfluence how patients are tested,referred and treated.

“We think that roughly 25 per

cent of all items on the scheduledo not have some form of evi-dence to support them,” he said.

“However, absence of evidencedoes not mean no effect. It may beimpossible to gather evidence totest the value of some, while forothers that might be too costly. “

FULL REPORT P11

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THE STATES

Premiers quick to put their hands outRICK WALLACEMEREDITH BOOTH

Demands from states for federalmoney began to be tabled evenbefore Malcolm Turnbull wassworn in as Prime Minister.

Victorian Premier Daniel An-drews yesterday called for an endto federal-state bickering thenused a press conference to table alog of claims for federal money fora host of rail projects.

Mr Andrews, who had a toxicpublic relationship with TonyAbbott, called for Mr Turnbull tocontribute federal funds to the$9 billion expansion of Mel-bourne’s metro system. He alsocalled for a federal contribution tohelp remove 50 level crossings,saying they were of national inter-est given the potential for easingcongestion and boosting safety.

Mr Andrews called for emer-gency talks with the new PrimeMinister on defence jobs.

In South Australia, both sidesof politics used the leadershipchange to push for the state’sinvolvement in the submarinereplacement program. South Aus-tralian Liberal leader Steven Mar-shall, who was given priorityaccess to the new Prime Ministeralongside Victorian leader Mat-thew Guy in Canberra yesterday,said the $50bn future submarinesproject was high on the meeting’sagenda and it would be logical forthe Defence portfolio to go to aSouth Australian.

Labor Premier Jay Weatherillsaid the Liberals could restoretheir fortunes in South Australiaby committing to build 12 new sub-marines in Adelaide, promised bythe Coalition before the election.

Queensland’s Labor govern-ment will push Mr Turnbull to re-verse the federal government’srefusal to fund public transportinfrastructure in the state, ahead ofthe 2018 Gold Coast Common-wealth Games. The state had beenunsuccessfully pushing for Mr Ab-bott to chip in funding for the nextstage of the Gold Coast’s light railproject.

“Mr Abbott was crystal clearthat the federal governmentwould have nothing to do withhelping fund major public trans-port infrastructure,” PremierAnnastacia Palaszczuk said. “Thatmust change.”

In NSW, the dumping of MrAbbott has up-ended a unique per-sonal and political relationshipbetween the NSW and federalgovernments. NSW Premier MikeBaird, who shares an overlappingelectorate and a strong Christianfaith with Mr Abbott, and has simi-lar views on some social issues,said his thoughts yesterday weremostly about the personal disap-pointment the former prime min-ister was enduring.

Mr Baird said he would con-tinue to stand up for NSW over aproposed federal retreat fromcommitments to fund health andeducation.

West Australian Premier ColinBarnett described the leadershipchange as a “traumatic, brutalperiod”. “To topple an elected andserving prime minister ... is notsomething to be proud of,” he said.

“It has damaged our reputationin Asia, in particular.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING:SARAH ELKS, MARK COULTAN,

ANDREW BURRELL

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Little benefit in one-third of treatments: health chiefEXCLUSIVE

SEAN PARNELLHEALTH EDITOR

A quarter of the services listed onthe $21 billion Medicare BenefitsSchedule do not appear to be sup-ported by evidence, while about30 per cent of all healthcare treat-ments would be of little benefit topatients, according to the head ofa federal government taskforce.

Bruce Robinson, the dean ofthe Sydney Medical School cho-sen to lead the Medicare review,told The Australian significantchanges would be required for the5500 items on the MBS if thehealth budget were to becomesustainable and the health systemmore responsive.

Finalising a discussion paperyesterday, Professor Robinson

said the taskforce had an oppor-tunity to convert the MBS froman administrative and accountingsystem to a clinical tool powerfulenough to influence how patientsare tested, referred and treated.

“I’d like the MBS itself tobecome a contemporary tool forhelping drive best practice inhealthcare, not just in primarycare but across the system,” Pro-fessor Robinson said.

“It would change the patternsof referrals of patients to hospi-tals, potentially the interactionbetween GPs and specialists,change the way all medical practi-tioners organise investigations forpatients, it could potentiallychange the way treatment isorganised for patients.”

Professor Robinson said thetaskforce was hoping to drawMBS data to analyse utilisationrates and patient outcomes, not-

ing most items had not been re-viewed since being listed and

others might not be appropriate.“We think that roughly 25 per

cent of all items on the scheduledo not have some form of evi-dence to support them,” he said.

“However, absence of evi-dence does not mean no effect. Itmay be impossible to gather evi-dence to test the value of some,while for others that might be toocostly. We are going to have torely on expert opinion for recom-

mendations where there is no evi-dence available because theseitems will need clear guidelinesfor doctors.”

Professor Robinson said hebelieved better guidelines wouldempower doctors to deny patientsservices that are not justified.

“A lot of doctors do feel pres-sured by patients to organise in-vestigations, and treatments forthat manner, some of which aredubious,” he said. “They would beable to stand beside these guide-lines, and explain the circum-stances in which certain items arenot appropriate, and say ‘If youwant to go ahead, you will have topay for it yourself’.”

Professor Robinson said thetaskforce, due to provide an initialreport this year, wanted the MBSto allow a government to reinvestin the health system as evidenceand practices change. He sugges-

ted electronic health records,which have had a troubled begin-ning in Australia, would be an“integral part” of a modernisedsystem because they could ensurecontinuity and quality of care, andalso help eliminate waste.

“In the US, it’s thought that30 per cent of all care that’s pro-vided is of low value,” he said.“That’s not to say it’s completelyuseless but it is to say that it pro-vides little benefit to the patient’scare. We have no real reason to

expect it would be very differenthere.”

Health Minister Sussan Leyannounced the review, and abroader review of primary carestructures, after the federal gov-ernment dumped the idea of a GPco-payment, suggesting a conten-tious freeze on Medicare rebateswould be reconsidered if suf-ficient savings were found.

Bruce Robinson

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Ref:

CATHERINE KING

SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH MEMBER FOR BALLARAT

TURNBULL MUST IMMEDIATELY DROP HIS GP TAX

Malcolm Turnbull must immediately drop his GP Tax and restore the right of all Australians to access universal healthcare.

s very clear that nothing has changed. Families and the healthcare sector can only expect more of the same.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: I support unreservedly and wholeheartedly every element in the Budget. Every single one.

-payment? MALCOLM TURNBULL: I support every element, of course, including the Medicare co-payment. Do you want to go through the whole list?

-prioritised funding of official development assistance. I support introducing co-payments for general practitioner pathology and diagnostic imaging services in the Medicare Benefits Schedule. I support the reforms to higher education. I support the changes to family payment reform. Do you want me to read through the whole Budget?

MALCOLM TURNBULL 2GB 5 JUNE 2014

Malcolm Turnbull sat around the Cabinet table and endorsed the $57 billion cut from public hospitals, cuts that NSW Liberal Premier Mike Baird has declared to be

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Malcolm Turnbull sat around the Cabinet table and endorsed hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to preventative health programs, kids dental scheme and drug and alcohol programs. Malcolm Turnbull sat around the Cabinet table and endorsed plans to slug all Australians with a $7 GP Tax and then endorsed its replacement with a four year freeze ripping $1.3 billion out of general practice. Just weeks after it was introduced that freeze is already wreaking havoc on patients, with doctors forced to raise fees, cut bulk billing, and in at least one case, shut their practice. Just like the original GP Tax, the rebate freeze imposes an up-front charge between patients and their GP, and Malcolm Turnbull voted for this. At the same time, public hospitals are reporting near record numbers of patients, as people increasingly seek to dodge these new gap payments.

- these cuts to health must go. If Malcolm Turnbull wants to show a new style of leadership he must drop his assault on public hospital and Medicare. No matter who leads the Liberal Party, Labor will continue to fight for Medicare and the right of all Australians to access universal healthcare. TUESDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2015

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One in 10Australianchildrensuffer frommental healthdisorders,study showsSanjana RayDepression is as normal as thecommon cold these days and thenumber of people fighting anxietyhas dramatically increased. Aboutone in ten Australian childrenhas a mental health disorder,according to a national survey.

A ground-breaking nationalsurvey released in early Augustestimated roughly 560,000 youngpeople experienced mental ill-healthin the past year, mainly anxietydisorder and/or depression. Thesurvey is the biggest into child andteenage mental health in Australiaand the first one*"to analyse thepreponderance of anxiety disorders.The study was released by theUniversity of Western Australiaand based on a survey of 6,300families. What makes this studyunparalleled is the methodresearchers used to extractContinued on page 41 •

From Page40

One in 10Australianchildren sufferfrom mental healthdisorders, studyshowsnumbers; the team from theTelethon Kids Institute at theUniversity of Western Australiatalked to the families, but alsogave the children the opportunityto fill in a secret survey. Onlyabout 4.7 per cent of parentsprovided information whichsuggested their children hada major depressive disorder,while the rate from the separatechildren's survey was 7-7 per cent.The lack of awareness emphasizedin the survey is evidence thatAustralia must keep working tospread knowledge.

After sitting on a comprehensivereport prepared by the National

Mental Health Commission andbased on 2,000 submissions which

called for action to improve thesystem, the federal governmentfinally released it in April. Onerecommendation was to redirectsome spending towards preventionand support and stop focusingmainly on emergency and hospital-based responses.

Two years ago, a study by theYoung and Well CooperativeResearch Centre revealed that in thepreceding 12 months about one infive males aged between 16 and 25did not think life is worth living androughly one in ten contemplated

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suicide. Nearly half said they werenot able to cope with stress andmore than one in four were worriedabout depression. Plus, more thanone in four were concerned about

body image.Associate Professor DavidLawrence, the chief investigator ofthe research project emphasizedthat the data indicated a high levelof distress among young people,The Sydney Morning Heraldreported. Major depression wasmore prevalent among the olderteenagers, while all age groupswere facing problems such asanxiety disorders.

Professor Lawrence implied thateven though numbers have changedsince a similar survey 17 years agoand there are fewer children todaywith ADHD, there are also morebattling depression. He believeschanged environments for childrencould be one of the factors that led

to the shift, paired with increasingpressure for academic achievement,as well as competition for bothuniversity places and jobs. Cyber-bullying is another factor, whichmay lead to mental health disorders.Health Minister Sussan Ley said"it's heartbreaking to see theseprevalent stories" of depression,anxiety, as well as self-harm andsuicidal tendencies among youngpeople, but expressed gratitude forthe number of young Australians"bravely opening up about theiremotions and behaviours".

The newspaper also cited ChrisTanti, CEO of youth mental healthgroup Headspace as saying thesheer size of the survey meantmore services were needed. Help

for children under 12 was lacking,along with training and supportfor parents in recognizing mentalillness and knowing where to seek

help.

Frank Quintan, chief executive ofMental Health Australia said moreresearch such as this one shouldbe done regularly and emphasizedthat Australia needed a new mentalhealth plan- such as employing moreschool counsellors, to deal with thisgrowing problem.

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