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Following the swearing-in of the full ministry today we announce the following departmental and administrative changes that will help deliver better government for all Australians. These changes will take effect on 1 July 2022.

A new Department of Employment and Workplace Relations will be created to implement and administer the Government’s workplace relations, jobs, skills and training agenda.

A new Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will be created to deliver the Government’s job-creating climate change and energy agenda and give Australia’s environment the protection it deserves.

Reflecting key priorities of the Government the Department of Health will be renamed the Department of Health and Aged Care and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications will be renamed the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.

The Department of Finance will gain responsibility for data policy, including the Digital Transformation Agency, as well as de-regulation.

The Department of Home Affairs will gain responsibility for natural disaster response and mitigation, including the National Recovery and Resilience Agency.

The Attorney-General’s portfolio will gain responsibility for criminal law enforcement and policy, including the Australian Federal Police.

The new Administrative Arrangements Orders will be published on Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet later today.

Australia’s private hospital sector looks forward to working with Mark Butler, the new Minister for Health and Aged Care, to set Australia’s health care system up for post-COVID-19 recovery, with the first policy priority being the critical healthcare workforce shortage, says Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) CEO Michael Roff. 

 Mr Roff said after 12 months as Shadow Minister, Mr Butler has a good understanding of the issues facing the health system and previous experience as a Minister and Assistant Health Minister.

 “Mr Butler is taking on the health care portfolio at an important time for the sector, as elective surgery backlogs continue to escalate and the workforce shortages affecting the entire health and aged care system. 

 “The private hospital sector alone has a shortfall of 5,500 nurses and urgently needs at least 1000 skilled migrant nurses. We want to work with the new Federal Government to enhance incentives for nurses to come to Australia – by improving residency options and reducing the red tape from the process.

 “In turn, private hospitals have an important role to play in training Australia’s emerging local health workforce, they already do this, at some considerable cost to themselves, but they have capacity to do more, and we welcome an opportunity to discuss how we can contribute.”

 Mr Roff said the latest Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data showed that in the last two years more than 390,000 anticipated private hospital admissions did not occur. Over 100,000 of these ‘missing episodes’ were added in the first three months of 2022 alone, further increasing elective surgery wait times.

 “All of the gains made in reducing the elective surgery backlog in 2021 have been wiped out by surgery restrictions put in place during the Omicron wave. Now we must start again.

 “Private hospitals cannot do this without a healthcare workforce and we are in an international fight to attract them. The UK, Canada and France are all offering enhanced residency pathways for health care workers who choose to move there, and Australia needs to follow suit or our whole health system will suffer.

 “We already raised health workforce shortages with Mr Butler when he was Shadow Minister and addressing these issues will be the first and most important policy priority we raise when we meet with him as Health Minister,” Mr Roff said.

 Mr Roff also welcomed Ged Kearney as Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care. Ms Kearney has also held this portfolio in Opposition and will have an excellent understanding of issues impacting nurses following her years as Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation and as a nurse who started her career in a private hospital.

 “APHA looks forward to working with the new Federal Health team to advance the issues of Australia’s health care system and the post-COVID-19 recovery,” Mr Roff said.

Dementia Australia welcomes the announcement of the new Federal Ministry, including the appointment of The Hon Mark Butler MP as Minister for Health and Aged Care; The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP as Minister for Social Services; The Hon Bill Shorten MP as Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme; The Hon Anika Wells MP as Minister for Aged Care; and The Hon Ged Kearney MP as Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care. 

Dementia Australia CEO, Maree McCabe AM said she is looking forward to working with Minister Butler, Minister Wells and other key Ministers to ensure quality dementia care is top of the agenda for Federal Cabinet in the 47th parliament. 

“We have worked closely with Minister Butler for many years, and he has met with Dementia Advocates who have shared their stories and discussed why quality dementia care is needed for people of all ages, living with all forms of dementia, their families and carers,” Ms McCabe said.

“Getting quality care right for people living with dementia will have a profound and lasting impact for all.

“There is still much to be done to fulfill the recommendations of the Royal Commission and we look forward to continuing our discussions with Minister Butler and his team.”

It has been more than three and a half years since the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was called and 16 months since the Final Report was handed down which stated, ‘dementia care should be core business for aged care services, and particularly residential aged care services.’ 

“Delivering quality dementia care is not yet core business across the aged care system and it needs to be,” Ms McCabe said.

“We need to maintain the momentum and focus on aged care and dementia, especially in relation to workforce issues and the need for compulsory dementia education.”

Throughout the election campaign, Dementia Australia called for a focus on quality dementia care given its prevalence across the country, specifically seeking a commitment to implementing compulsory dementia training for the aged care workforce, a national dementia palliative care program and renewed funding of the Dementia-Friendly Communities program.

“We welcome the appointment of Ms Wells as the new Aged Care Minister, and we look forward to working with her to ensure quality dementia care remains top of the agenda in the aged care system reforms.”

Dementia Australia is the source of trusted information, education and services for the estimated half a million Australians living with dementia, and the almost 1.6 million people involved in their care. We advocate for positive change and support vital research. We are here to support people impacted by dementia, and to enable them to live as well as possible. No matter how you are impacted by dementia or who you are, we are here for you.

For support, please contact the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. An interpreter service is available and the Helpline is open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday excluding public holidays. The National Dementia Helpline is funded by the Australian Government. People looking for information can also visit dementia.org.au 

Australia’s private hospitals stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking on almost a third more public hospital patients than 2019-20 to ease the burden on the public system, according to newly released data.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) ‘MyHospitals’ update releases data on hospital admissions in 2020 – 2021, the first of the COVID-19 pandemic data.

Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) CEO Michael Roff said the data shows the significant contribution of private hospitals to the pandemic response.

“We said at the time the private hospital viability guarantee was announced that private hospitals were ‘stepping up to the plate and doing whatever is required to help the country get through this pandemic’. And the data shows that’s exactly what we did.

“The number of public patients treated by private hospitals increased from 236,515 to 312,527. This amounts to private hospitals increasing public patient separations by 32 percent in 2020-21.

“In addition, private hospitals increased the number of patients they treated in intensive care units from 36,387 separations to 52,518 separations. Private hospitals provided one in three of all ICU separations, an increase of 44 percent, and 18 percent of all separations where patients required continuous ventilatory support, up from 16.5 percent.”

Mr Roff said the data does not separate COVID-19 ICU days from those occurring from other surgery, but says the significant increase shows the public system would not have coped without private hospital assistance.

“Despite private hospitals getting back to performing procedures as quickly as possible following restrictions on surgery, with surgical interventions up almost 15 percent, from 1,473,605 admissions in 2019-20 increasing to 1,691,215 in 2020-21, much of this progress has already been wiped out.

“Data released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority last week showed more than 390,000anticipated private hospital admissions in the past two years did not occur. Over 100,000 of these “missing episodes’ were added in the first three months of 2022 alone, further increasing elective surgery wait times.

“All the gains made in reducing the elective surgery backlog in 2021 have been wiped out by surgery restrictions put in place during the Omicron wave. Now we must start again.

Mr Roff said the elective surgery backlog would continue to be a concern in both public and private hospitals for the foreseeable future with the issue exacerbated by critical health workforce shortages.

“Addressing health workforce shortages will be the first and most important issue we raise when we meet with incoming Health Minister, Mark Butler,” Mr Roff said.

On the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, the Governor‑General today appointed Professor Glyn Davis AC as the new Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Professor Davis currently serves as CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, Australia’s largest philanthropic trust. Professor Davis served on the panel led by David Thodey to review the Australian Public Service.

Professor Davis has had a long and distinguished career in both academia and public service, having served as Director-General of the Queensland Department of Premier and Cabinet from 1998 until 2002, before moving to Vice-Chancellor roles at both Griffith University and the University of Melbourne. He holds emeritus roles at universities around the world, and has served as Chair of the Group of Eight, Chair of Universities Australia and Chair of Universitas 21. In 2010, Professor Davis delivered the Boyer Lectures on the theme The Republic of Learning.

Prime Minister Albanese has welcomed the appointment of Professor Davis.

“Professor Davis will bring to the role of Secretary a deep understanding of public policy and will work with my Government in bringing about positive change for the Australian people,” he said.

The Prime Minister thanked Philip Gaetjens for his service to the Australian public, both as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet since August 2019, and across a distinguished 45-year career of public service.

Professor Davis will commence his five-year appointment on 6 June 2022.

In a legal first, Traditional Owner Traditional Owner Jiritju Fourmile will give evidence to the Land Court of Queensland of Queensland on his Country tomorrow, 31 May 2022. Evidence will be given in accordance with First Nations protocols about speaking for Country, elders’ authority and revealing traditional knowledge. He will describe the impacts of climate change on his Gimuy Country. 

The Queensland Land Court will travel to Gimuy (Cairns) for the sixth week of Youth Verdict’s challenge to Palmer’s proposed Coal Project. Jiritju, a Gimuy Walubara man from the Yidinji Nation, will deliver cultural evidence about climate change impacts on his Country in combination with site visits where he will explain how climate change is already having impacts. 

Last week, the court travelled to Erub and Poruma on Zenadth Kes (the Torres Strait) and heard evidence from members of the community about how sea level rises due to climate change are impacting their culture and Country.

Represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, Youth Verdict is arguing that coal from Waratah’s proposed Galilee Coal Project will impair the human rights of First Nations Peoples, especially their cultural rights, by contributing to dangerous climate change. 

Youth Verdict’s First Nations-led argument is the first time in Australia a coal mine has been challenged on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural and human rights grounds. 

Youth Verdict and Bimblebox Alliance’s closing arguments are set to be heard 15th until 18th June. However due to illness, the applicant’s closing arguments will not be heard until the 20th and 21st of July. 

Murrawah Johnson, Co-Director and First Nations Campaign lead said:

“Youth Verdict is a small team led by our First Nations’ members fighting for climate justice grounded in respect for First Nations rights.

“First Nations peoples and our cultural rights must be prioritised in discussions around climate change solutions. The most important aspect of this case is making sure First Nations voices are front and centre in the conversation about the impacts of coal-fuelled climate change upon Country and culture.

“We know how to take care of Country. Our knowledge has been passed down for thousands of generations. It’s about time our voices are heard in decision making processes that allow others to harm our Country and our young people’s future.”

Serena Thompson, Gimuy (Cairns)-based Youth Verdict member said:

“I am a Waribarra Mamu woman from far north Queensland and my Country is around Millaa Millaa, up in the tableland region. I joined Youth Verdict because I refuse to sit idly by while the human rights of all First Nations people are being encroached upon.” 

“The changes that we are seeing to Country and Waters because of climate change are devastating and quickly becoming irreversible. For First Nations people, our ability to connect and physically be on Country is becoming more and more uncertain as climate change worsens. The only certainty in our future is that we must suffer the worst of the impacts before politicians will start to pay attention.

“First Nations people have been looking after Country for tens of thousands of years; in the last 234 years, colonisation has undone so much of that work. 

“Climate change fuelled by coal and gas mining is the violent legacy of colonisation. And while its impacts will reach far beyond just our First Nation communities, we will undoubtedly suffer the first and most extreme repercussions.

“We, as a whole Australian society, need to embody the ideology that has existed amongst blackfullas for thousands of generations: ‘when Country suffers, we suffer’.”

EDO Managing Lawyer Sean Ryan said:

“It’s of the utmost importance that those whose human rights are already being impacted by the effects of climate change, have a say over proposed fossil fuel projects which will make that climate change even worse. 

“This hearing puts the lived experience and knowledge of First Nations witnesses at the heart of our client’s arguments against this mine. We argue that this project will further impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ ability to practice their culture and is therefore a limitation of their human rights under Queensland law. 

“From a legal perspective, this case is groundbreaking. Never before has the Land Court of Queensland, taken evidence on-Country from First Nations cultural witnesses in a mining objection hearing. We are looking forward to representing our clients and presenting these compelling stories to the court.”