Health

Related Policies

Background

At the outset, it is important to dispel the myth that population ageing is a big threat to the sustainability of our health system.

"The ageing population will not cause a collapse of the healthcare system because it is not the primary cause of increased health costs." The Guardian

Policy

Achieve a healthy and long living Australian population, supported by an innovative and universal health system.

Policy Methods (Federal & State)

To help achieve this Sustainable Australia Party will:

  • Enshrine into Australian law the fundamental human right of a healthy natural environment for its citizens and prioritise this in all policy and development decisions (also see Environment policy)
  • Better promote preventative health care through healthier lifestyle choices, including:
    • Appropriate food and beverage choices, particularly at primary and secondary schools;
    • A national physical activity plan promoting and supporting regular exercise including accessible community-led sporting groups;
    • A ban on junk and high sugar content food and beverage advertising to children during children’s television viewing hours;(1)

"The Australian government is “lagging behind” other countries when it comes to restricting junk food marketing, taxing unhealthy foods and labelling." The New Daily

    • Proper government assessment of appropriate dietary requirements and intakes including sugar levels
    • An excise on products containing high levels of sugar, with the revenue raised from such a sugar excise to be directed to subsidising appropriate fresh fruit and vegetables, and funding public health awareness campaigns and anti-obesity health care
    • Affordable access to primary health care
  • Provide an unconditional universal basic income (UBI) - or citizen dividend - of $500+ per week ($26,000+ per annum, indexed from 2021) to every Australian to help prevent people from living below the poverty line and therefore address a range of mental health issues (also see Welfare & Wellbeing policy)
  • Expand support for bulk billing and prescription medicines
  • Expand Medicare to include all basic dental services
  • Provide free universal access to contraception and related family planning, reproductive and sexual health services, to help prevent unwanted pregnancies
  • Properly review the health care system to identify and eliminate waste and mismanagement.
  • Better invest in medical and nursing training in urban, regional and rural areas as well as scientific research and cost-effective medical technology in order to bring down the cost of healthcare(2)
  • Mandate best-practice minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals and aged care
  • Better resource mental health services, including hospital and community-based preventative care, assessment and support services
  • Manage the NDIS with efficiency and priority for Australia’s high-needs individuals and families
  • Treat personal drug use (and abuse) as primarily a health issue and so generally decriminalise personal drug use, while also providing needed support to users via well-funded rehabilitation programs
  • Support scientifically proven quality natural or alternative health care
  • Provide approved immunisation coverage to help prevent diseases(3)
  • Recognise that higher population density leads to greater spread of diseases, including during pandemics

Footnotes:

  1. Children’s viewing hours are Mon-Fri 7:00-8:00, 16:00-20:30, Sat-Sun 7:00-20:30. NB: 91% are concerned about TV food ads directed at children: Coalition on Food Advertising to Children research.
  2. We know from successive Federal Treasury studies that the ever-rising cost of healthcare - caused not so much by the ageing of the population as by the ever-rising cost of advances in medical technology - is the greatest reason for the projected increase in health spending.
  3. SAP has no current policies relating to changing vaccination laws. If elected, issues and legislation outside of our policy platform would be properly reviewed and addressed on its merits, in a science and evidence-based way through appropriate stakeholder engagement - including with a range of experts, the community and our party members.