‘When too much sport is barely enough’ is a much loved satirical credo made famous by the Australian sports comedians Roy Slaven and HG Nelson as they send up obsessed Australian sports fanatics. Something eerily similar seems applicable to the eight ...
More »Author Archives: Michael Fine
Union, peaks ramp up calls for aged care overhaul ahead of Budget
In a fortnight, the government will reveal its Budget response to the royal commission’s final report, and worker and consumer representatives are this week ramping up their calls for government to act now. It’s not too much The Australian Nursing ...
More »‘Fix this mess’: PM slammed over hotel quarantine
Labor’s health spokesperson has slammed the Prime Minister over hotel quarantine, saying Scott Morrison has “done nothing” and urged him “to fix this mess”. It comes as health authorities in NSW and Western Australia investigate virus leaks in quarantine hotels ...
More »Mother’s complaint after child waits hours in hospital ED with head injury
A South Australian mother was left feeling “anxious” and “mad” after her 11-year-old was forced to wait three hours in the emergency department without seeing a doctor. Maria Stevens took her son Stephen Watkins to the Women's and Children’s Hospital ...
More »Aussie vaccine technology ‘promising’ but risks to COVID-19 strategy were too great: study
Australia’s homegrown COVID-19 vaccine candidate had potential but the false positives on HIV tests were too great a hurdle to move it into further trials, a study published this week has confirmed. The University of Queensland vaccine was abandoned last ...
More »Australia’s aged care system needs $10 billion a year: Grattan
The cleaning bill needed to remove the aged care “stain on Australians’ conscience” should total $10 billion a year, a leading think tank says. The Grattan Institute said the extra spending could be funded by some mix of a new ...
More »Game changer: PM on Respect@Work report
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has agreed to or noted all 55 recommendations in a report on sexual harassment in the workplace, one year on from its release. At a press conference, Morrison called the Respect@Work Report a “game changer”. It ...
More »Nurses plea to Health Minister after girl’s death at Perth hospital
Concerned nurses have written an urgent letter to the West Australian Health Minister with a 10-point action plan following the tragic death of a seven-year-old girl. Aishwarya Aswath developed a fever on Good Friday and was taken to Perth Children’s Hospital ...
More »Isn’t it time we took incontinence seriously?
Over five million Australians aged 15 years and over suffer with bladder or bowel control problems, a figure predicted to grow to 6.5 million by 2030, and people with incontinence suffer long-term physical and emotional impact and rarely seek help. ...
More »How toxic and sexist workplaces affect employee health
Overt sexism remains prevalent in many Australian workplaces – and within the political bubble – and its affecting employees’ emotional and physical health, experts warn. Writing for The Conversation, lecturer Xi Wen (Carys) Chan and Professor Paula Brough, who both ...
More »