Category: Australian News

New Medicare items will encourage eligible health providers to work together more closely to support the health of vulnerable Australians.
From today, allied health professionals will – for the first time – be reimbursed through Medicare for taking part in case conferences to support people with chronic diseases or young children with developmental disorders like autism.
To date, allied health professionals could take part but were unpaid. These additional items will improve care coordination and deliver better outcomes to patients with complex needs who have multiple care providers.
Working together, health care teams can make an enormous difference to the diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care of many vulnerable Australians.
The Morrison Government committed $13.7 million in the 2021–22 Budget to create the new Medicare items – in response to recommendations to the MBS Review – which will also increase the number of doctor-led multidisciplinary case conferences in primary care.
Under the change, allied health professionals will be paid to attend multidisciplinary conferences held by the patient’s regular doctor – in person, via video conference or phone –to discuss diagnosis, care and treatment plans.
The new items are for eligible allied health professionals participating in multidisciplinary case conferences for people with chronic disease under the care of a General Practitioner as part of Team Care Arrangements, as well as children aged under 13 years under the care of a specialist, consultant physician or GP to provide early diagnosis and treatment of autism or any other pervasive developmental disorders.
For chronic disease management, eligible professionals include: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners and health workers, audiologists, chiropractors, diabetes educators, dietitians, exercise physiologists, mental health workers, occupational therapists, osteopaths, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists and speech pathologists.
For children with pervasive developmental disorders: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners and health workers, audiologists, mental health nurses, mental health workers, occupational therapists, optometrists, orthoptists, physiotherapists, psychologists and speech pathologists can take part.
More information can be found on MBS Online.

The Morrison Government has accepted all 38 recommendations from a review into COVID-19 outbreaks in residential aged care facilities.
The Independent Review of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities, will underpin continued improvements as the Government and aged care sector prioritise the health and wellbeing of senior Australians in care.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, and Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck said the review was an important blueprint as we navigate the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
“It has been an extremely challenging time for all of us, but particularly senior and vulnerable Australians and those who care for them,” Minister Hunt said.
“The review’s 38 recommendations will help aged care facility administrators better prepare for and respond to future COVID-19 outbreaks and will assist the Government in monitoring and evaluating these measures.”
Minister Colbeck said the review was already guiding measures for the protection of aged care residents and workers in the current New South Wales, Victoria and ACT outbreaks.
“Importantly, the findings show that while community transmission is the biggest predictor of COVID‑19 outbreaks in aged care settings, effective leadership at all levels is the most critical factor in defending against the virus,” Minister Colbeck said.
He said the information in the report will also provide input and guidance into the principals required as we move towards living with COVID-19 in residential aged care.
The report outlines nine key lines of defence to minimise risk of COVID-19 outbreaks:

• Built environment and infrastructure;
• Clinical care;
• Effective interagency communication;
• Emergency response;
• Infection prevention and control;
• Leadership, management and governance;
• Planning and preparation;
• Preventing social isolation; and
• Workforce and staff mental health.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and its Aged Care Advisory Group have considered the recommendations.
Minister Hunt said the Government will continue to adapt the way it prepares for and responds to an outbreak, based on what has been learned.
“This will be done in collaboration with the aged care sector, state and territory governments and health authorities,” Minister Hunt said.
“It will also be important that, as the community transitions to living with COVID, we continue with critical strategies such as vaccinations and testing, so that aged care residents and staff are protected.”
Minister Colbeck said since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Morrison Government has committed over $2.1 billion in funding for aged care COVID support.
“We have listened to the experiences and stories of those living, working and caring in the aged care sector throughout the pandemic,” Minister Colbeck said.  “We are committed to improving our preparation for and response to outbreaks, and better supporting our most vulnerable Australians.”
The Ministers thanked the authors of the review and the residents, families, friends, carers, providers and workers who contributed to this and the previous four independent reviews.
The full report can be found here.
Please note that the release of the report may be confronting for anyone affected by the impact of the pandemic on Australia’s aged care sector. The following support is available:

• The Older Persons Advocacy Network can be reached on 1800 700 600
• The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement can be reached on 1800 22 22 00
• The Essential Network for health professionals– a website and mobile app by the Black Dog Institute available at blackdoginstitute.org.au/ten or via the Google Play and Apple Store
• Smiling Mind – a mobile application with practical tools to support good mental health during challenging times, available via the Google Play and Apple Store.

Aged care workers can also access mental health support available to all Australians including:

• Beyond Blue Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service can be reached on 1800 512 348 or at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au.
• Lifeline can be reached on 13 11 14
• Head to Health provides access to free and low cost digital and phone mental health services and supports, available at headtohealth.gov.au

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has today announced the ALP’s candidate for Reid, Sally Sitou.
Sally and her husband are Homebush locals, where they live with their young son Max. Sally is the daughter of hardworking Chinese parents who fled Laos after the Vietnam war.
She believes passionately in the education and work opportunities that allowed her family to thrive and prosper in Australia.
Sally is a doctoral researcher at the University of Sydney Business School where her focus is the finance industry and how to strengthen leadership in this sector by empowering more women and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.
Before commencing her PhD, Sally worked in the international education and international development sectors, including stints with AusAID in Samoa and with a not-for-profit advocating for the elderly in China as an Australian Government Youth Ambassador for Development.

Anthony Albanese said:

“Sally is an exceptional candidate. She joined the Labor Party because she believes that with hard work, a good education, strong community support and secure employment, everyone can build the life they want for themselves and their children – regardless of their background or where they come from.
“Sally knows what matters to the working families of Reid and she will work hard every day to elect a Labor Government focused on affordable housing and childcare, a stronger Medicare, quality aged care and cheaper power bills.’’

Today, the Productivity Commission released their research paper: Australia’s Prison Dilemma. The paper reports that imprisonment rates have increased by more than 35% despite crime rates dropping.
“Our legal system fails too many people. It fails First Nations people regularly, and the consequences can be a matter of life or death.” Said the Greens spokesperson for Justice, Senator Lidia Thorpe.
“Our country needs a smarter, more ambitious approach to fixing our criminal legal system. First Nations people in particular are being disproportionately targeted by the system, often with devastating effects on people and their communities.
“The Australia’s Prison Dilemma report shows us that 42% of imprisoned people are serving non-violent offences, 15% are considered low risk. It’s astonishing that a third of all imprisoned people are on remand.
“The report echoes what First Nations people have been saying for decades, that we need to prioritise our self-determination and properly resource our community-run services like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, health and social support services. Our people are the most effective at prevention and building strong and healthy communities.”
“Ultimately, the best way to reduce crime is to prevent it. We must reform the criminal legal system by preventing people getting caught up in it in the first place. Prioritising strong communities over prisons and other punitive measures is also known as justice reinvestment.”
“If we want justice in our communities, we need to look at alternatives to prison. The report recommends culturally safe, community-based programs, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sentencing courts, diversion and trauma-informed wrap-around services.” Said Thorpe

The Morrison Government has welcomed the formal submission of the final report from the Disability Royal Commission on Public Hearing 12, which examined the experiences of people with disability through the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout.
The Disability Royal Commission held a public hearing focusing on the vaccine program in May 2021. Since then, vaccination rates among Australians with disability have significantly increased with an ongoing focus on supporting access to ensure maximum protection from severe outcomes of COVID-19.
More than 77 per cent of NDIS participants in shared residential accommodation are fully vaccinated, and more than 217,000 (77 percent) NDIS participants 16 years and over have received at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 66 percent fully vaccinated. This is an increase of more than 186,000 NDIS participants since late May.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the Government has accepted six of the seven recommendations and noted the seventh, emphasising that significant progress in the vaccination rollout for people with disability has already been made.
Recommendation 4 concerns the easing of restrictions in line with vaccination thresholds being reached, which the Minster noted is the responsibility of state and territory governments.
“Many of the recommendations from this report go to measures which have already been put in place – the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has always demanded quick assessment, response and action,” Minister Hunt said.
“Our Government will approach these recommendations as important pointers to supporting Australians with disability to access and rely on the protection of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“The health response to COVID-19 and the vaccine rollout have both demanded quick action and continue to be shaped by expert advice and direct feedback to deliver the greatest possible protection and support to all Australians.”
The Morrison Government has led significant consultation with people across the disability community, including active and regular engagement with people with disability, their families, carers, NDIS providers and unions. This work has helped drive vaccination rates and deliver support for people with disability and workers within the disability sector to access vaccines.
The Morrison Government refutes many findings in the report, including criticism of the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Strategy. As a high-level document, the strategy provided an overview and pathway forward which has been adapted and updated following consultation and expert advice throughout the vaccination program.
Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC said Australians with disability have been a priority throughout the rollout.
“Since commencing as the Minister for the NDIS I have very actively engaged with disability representative organisations, NDIS providers, sector peaks, states and territories and other disability stakeholders in relation to the vaccine rollout, “ Minister Reynolds said.
“This engagement with the disability sector has directly informed portfolio actions to support people with disability to have the opportunity to access COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible,” Minister Reynolds said.
“Since the commencement of the vaccine program, people with disability in residential accommodation settings of 2 or more people, and the workers supporting them, have been prioritised in Phase 1A, with access to vaccines from February 2021 which now sees more than 77 percent of NDIS participants over 16 years of age living in shared residential accommodation now fully vaccinated.
“Many other people with a disability joined the priority list from March 2021 under Phase 1B, which specifically focused vaccine access on people with underlying medical conditions. This prioritisation is reflected in the high vaccination numbers amongst all NDIS participants, with 77 percent of NDIS participants over 16 years having received at least one dose, and impressively nearly 60 per cent of NDIS participants aged 12-15 years having received at least one dose, since becoming eligible in late-August.
“In addition, from 8 November 2021 people in high priority groups, including residents of disability facilities, will be the first eligible for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots. The booster program will roll out directly to people living in disability facilities through an in-reach program.”
Resources about the vaccine strategy and how it relates to people with disability are readily available. Disability peak bodies and providers have also provided support to the Government’s communication efforts, disseminating accurate and accessible COVID-19 disease and vaccine information.

From 1 November 2021, Australians with a respiratory illness, early onset puberty and blood cancer will have improved access to subsidised medicines through new and amended listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable lung disease, which causes the airways in the lungs to narrow, making it difficult to breathe.
About 1 in 20 Australians aged 45 years and over have COPD, tragically, in 2018 it was the fifth leading cause of death.
Breztri Aerosphere^® (budesonide + glycopyrronium + formoterol) will be available from November 1, 2021 on the PBS to treat COPD.
The three ingredients of Breztri Aerosphere^® work to reduce swelling and irritation in the lungs and relax the muscles in the airways. Together, they act to relieve and prevent shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing.
Without PBS subsidy, around 68,000 Australians per year might pay more than $1,000 per year for treatment.
Also from 1 November 2021, Diphereline^® (triptorelin) will be expanded to include the treatment of central precocious puberty (CCP).
In Australia, the average age for the onset of puberty is around 10 years for girls and 12 years for boys. In central precocious puberty, this onset occurs earlier – before 8 years of age in girls and before 9 years in boys.
More common in girls, CCP can cause physical, emotional, behavioural and social problems. Diphereline is a new treatment option, which will help children manage the condition and reduce the number of consultations needed.
Diphereline^® works by lowering the levels of the hormone oestrogen for females and testosterone in males that lead to puberty-related changes to the body.
Without PBS subsidy, around 800 Australians per year might pay more than $3,600 per year for treatment.
Earlier this year, Darzalex^® (daratumumab) was listed on the PBS for the first time for use in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone, as a second-line treatment for around Australians with multiple myeloma.
Myeloma is a type of blood cancer that develops from plasma cells in the bone marrow and it is estimated that around 2,423 Australians will be diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2021. Darzalex® is a ground-breaking treatment mobilises the patient’s own immune system to fight the disease. This treatment will bring improved clinical outcomes and quality of life for those affected by this disease.
From 1 November 2021, these patients will now have access to a new subcutaneous form of Darzalex®, which means it can be given as an injection under the skin.
This additional treatment option for patients will provide a more convenient alternative, delivered as a 5‑minute injection that can be administered at home compared with the intravenous infusion which is given over several hours in a healthcare facility.
Without PBS subsidy, around 1,165 Australians per year might pay more than $136,000 per course of treatment with this new subcutaneous form.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said thousands of Australians and their families will benefit from these new and expanded listings, which will also reduce out of pocket costs.
“Since 2013, the Coalition Government had approved more than 2,700 new or amended listings on the PBS. This represents an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month – or one each day – at an overall investment by the Government of $13.9 billion,” Minister Hunt said.
“Without PBS subsidies many Australians would be thousands of dollars out of pocket, instead they’ll only pay $41.30 per script or $6.60 with a concession card for these medicines.
“The Morrison Government’s commitment to ensuring Australians can access affordable medicines, when they need them, remains rock solid.”
Also available from November 1, 2021, Verzenio® (abemaciclib) will be expanded for use in combination with fulvestrant through the PBS. A new treatment option for Australians battling advanced forms of breast cancer.
These PBS listings have been recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.

The Greens say proposed voter identification laws are a solution in search of a problem that will only serve to disenfranchise voters who are already largely excluded from the political process.
The mooted laws, which have long been championed by the far right, could wrongly exclude eligible voters, including First Nations voters, young voters, homeless or itinerant voters, and voters escaping domestic violence.
Greens deputy leader and democracy spokesperson Senator Larissa Waters said:
“Voter identification laws are a purely political tactic from a government that’s sliding in the polls and desperate to ignite a culture war to boost its electoral fortunes.
“Voter ID laws are a solution in search of a problem. At the last federal election there were a total of 19 verified instances of double voting. There is zero credible evidence that election outcomes are being corrupted by voter fraud.
“Recent legislative changes allow the Australian Electoral Commission to identify voters suspected of multiple voting and require their future ballots to be cast by declaration. This reform is more than enough to address any perceived risk of multiple voting.
“Far from safeguarding our elections, voter identification laws would in fact be likely to make them less democratic, disenfranchising many citizens who are entirely eligible to vote.
“The government is insisting on seeing voters’ IDs, but won’t try to find out the ID of Porter’s donors. And while they’re rushing through a bill to deal with imaginary integrity issues, the Australian people are still waiting on an ICAC bill to deal with real integrity issues.
“This is cynical Trumpian politicking on the eve of an election, designed to inflame culture war tensions, undermine confidence in our electoral systems and suppress the vote.”

With Scott Morrison’s fraudulent plan setting us up for climate failure, Greens Leader Adam Bandt has outlined the essential components of a Net Zero strategy that will reduce emissions, protect regional communities, and meet an emissions reduction strategy consistent with the science, following a UN Emissions Gap Report showing that the gap between submitted emissions reduction targets and the required action is on track for a catastrophic 2.7 degrees of warming.
Under such a rise Australia, the driest inhabited continent, will suffer extreme heat waves, bushfires, floods and more than twice as many droughts.
Even though many countries have stepped up to the Paris goal, weak targets like those Scott Morrison is taking to Glasgow are responsible for the ‘gap’.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP said: 
“We needed a plan based on science but instead we got science fiction, a story where someone rides in on a unicorn in 2049 with technology that doesn’t yet exist and somehow saves us,” Mr Bandt said.
“The United Nations has today rung the alarm bells, warning that with the current lack of political leadership, the world is on track for 2.7 degrees of warming.
“Scott Morrison’s fraudulent plan will cost 64,000 people dependent on a healthy Great Barrier Reef their jobs, see thousands die from heatwaves and dry up Australia’s agricultural food bowls.
“If we keep mining and burning coal and gas, we won’t stop the climate crisis.
“The government’s non-binding projections count for nothing and anything less than a full NDC pledge for 75% reduction by 2030 is giving up on the Paris goal of 1.5 degrees of warming.
“Coal and gas are the major causes of the climate crisis, but both Liberal and Labor want more, with plans to dig up coal beyond 2050.
“The only way to get climate action is by kicking the climate-denying Liberals out and putting the Greens into balance of power, so we can push the next government to take the climate action the science requires.”
Essential components of a plan for Net Zero:

1. No new coal and gas
2. End fossil fuel subsidies
3. Significant public investment to hit 100% renewable electricity by 2030
4. 100% of new light vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, including consumer subsidies and a national buildout of the fast charging network
5. Phase out of thermal coal exports by 2030 with a plan to transition workers into new mining and manufacturing jobs
6. Restore the price on carbon, which was successfully reducing emissions until its destruction by the Liberals
7. Home electrification and subsidies for domestic and community batteries to supplement utility scale development
8. $12bn to transform Australia into a green hydrogen and green manufacturing export powerhouse
9. Immediate end to native forest logging and broadscale land clearing to keep our existing carbon sinks intact
10. Net-zero by 2035 with net-negative in the years beyond until we return the world to a safe climate

The Greens say the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Voter Integrity) Bill 2021, introduced to parliament today, is more cynical Morrison Government politicking that will make our elections less democratic.
Greens deputy leader and democracy spokesperson Senator Larissa Waters said:
“These laws are pure politics, designed to fix a fictional problem dreamed up in the fevered imaginations of the most extreme right wing fantasists.
“Pauline Hanson is gleefully taking credit for this bill, even though it’s exactly what the right wing reactionaries in the Morrison Government have wanted all along. The public has had a gutful of collusion between One Nation and the Morrison Government.
“The Australian Electoral Commission itself has said there is no evidence that systemic, widespread voter fraud exists in Australia and there were no there no prosecutions for multiple voting at the last election.
“Fixing this imaginary problem will create real ones. Many Australians do not have driver’s licences or know where their birth certificates are, and obtaining ID can be very difficult and expensive.
“Requiring voters to produce ID won’t make our elections fairer, it will disenfranchise thousands of voters, undermine electoral outcomes and damage public faith in our democracy.
“The PM is clearly taking his cues from Trump’s Republican Party, whose attempts to suppress the vote in many states have led to rancour and division.
“The Morrison Government is desperate. It’s deeply unpopular and flagging in the polls and an election is around the corner.
“Australians see through the government’s cynical attempt to import US-style segregationist politics and open up a new front of the culture wars to boost its fading electoral prospects.”

Angus Taylor was today quoted in The Australian saying, “no affordable, practical and large-scale way exists to reduce [methane from agriculture] other than by culling herd sizes”.
This is simply negative politics and scaremongering. Exciting opportunities exist to tackle this problem, creating new industries and jobs. We just need to get on with it.
Researchers found cows belched out 82% less methane after putting a small amount of seaweed in their feed for five months. Recent trials of Tasmanian red seaweed – Asparagopsis – show methane can be reduced by up to 98%.
Greens spokesperson for Agriculture, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said: 
“Agriculture in Australia is responsible for about 13.5% of the country’s emissions, most of them coming in the form of methane produced by burping livestock.
“Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has a goal to reach net zero emissions across the industry by 2030.
“This week I asked MLA at Senate Estimates about the potential for large scale applications of methane reducing seaweed as cattle feed, and they said they hold high hopes for this future.
“Rather than playing unhelpful cynical politics, the Minister should focus on urgently funding more innovation for fledgling businesses like Tasmanian company Sea Forest, that are emerging to solve these problems. These are the industries of the future, and the Minister knows that, but it just doesn’t suit the Liberal Party’s self serving rhetoric.”