http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/hospitals/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/A-heroic-young-Aussie-whose-spirit-lives-on-in-the-Pacific/ Last weekend the Melanie Jewson Foundation was formally launched to honour the life of Melanie Jewson, a Geelong teenager who died tragically in a car accident in 2004. She was about to turn 19. Melanie was a remarkable person who had a zest for life. She was a regular at the Geelong Performing Arts Centre where she loved to perform. She danced and sang like an angel. She had the respect and love of her peers being elected the school captain of Western Heights College in 2003. She had a gift for communication: in movement, in voice and with the written word. On her tribute website melaniejewson.com there is a short piece of her writing which tells the story of a particular performance, of her passion for music and of her love for her father. It is simply impossible to read it with a dry eye. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/A-heroic-young-Aussie-whose-spirit-lives-on-in-the-Pacific/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/A-heroic-young-Aussie-whose-spirit-lives-on-in-the-Pacific/#item8311 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-wants-to-win-200-billion-in-infrastructure/ One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-wants-to-win-200-billion-in-infrastructure/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-wants-to-win-200-billion-in-infrastructure/#item8287 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/home-births-are-prone-to-many-complications/ Once upon a time, home births were the only option, and mothers and babies frequently died. Things have changed dramatically since then. Home births are much safer, and much, much rarer. The latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare statistics show in 2009 just 0.3 per cent of women had a planned home birth – a total of 863 births. Two babies died. But home births are still the source of simmering tension; the powerful Australian Medical Association is dead set against them, a very vocal lobby group is angry at recent changes that make them harder, and parents are left to choose between conflicting views and seemingly conflicting evidence. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/home-births-are-prone-to-many-complications/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/home-births-are-prone-to-many-complications/#item7642 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/medicare-a-very-sick-sacred-cow/ When the Prime Minister was under the gun for her ‘gushing’ speech to the US Congress on Q&A on Monday night, she said that Australians and Americans were very different kinds of people. The former believed in the ‘fair go’, whereas the later were individualistic and distrusted government. To illustrate her point, she reached into the standard playbook of the Left and pointed to the different attitudes that prevail in each country regarding health care. According to the PM, when Australians look at the debate that has raged in the US over ‘Obamacare’, they wonder what on earth Americans are going on about. Because here in this country, we know that ‘Medicare works’. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/medicare-a-very-sick-sacred-cow/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/medicare-a-very-sick-sacred-cow/#item5391 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/for-taxpayers-and-patients-health-reform-is-essential/ There’s a reason health reform has featured in our national debate for decades. There’s a reason it is contentious, difficult and often tops out surveys as the biggest concern for Australians. It’s because if we don’t get it right then it hits our family members directly – everyone wants the best care when they’re sick. Queues and waiting times that go for too long. More suffering than is necessary. Every family knows a situation where the care of a loved one could have been improved if doctors, nurses and health staff had better support, more resources and bureaucracy didn’t get in the way. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/for-taxpayers-and-patients-health-reform-is-essential/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/for-taxpayers-and-patients-health-reform-is-essential/#item5177 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/roxon-promises-but-she-doesnt-deliver/ Just how Nicola Roxon took her seat at the head of the Health Ministers’ meeting in Hobart last week beggars belief. Ms Roxon’s position as Federal Health Minister is now untenable. Her strident and consistent advocacy for the Rudd health ‘reforms’ leave her now embarrassed, discredited and renders her impotent and therefore unable to remain in the health portfolio. Just as Peter Garrett had to be separated from the disastrous pink batts scandal and other wasteful green energy schemes (he should have been sacked), so too Nicola Roxon must be dispatched from health. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/roxon-promises-but-she-doesnt-deliver/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/roxon-promises-but-she-doesnt-deliver/#item5185 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/health-labors-dead-canary-in-the-hospital-hall/ There’s an odd kind of acquiescence to broken political promises. It’s considered almost narky to politely point out to politicians that they have in fact broken a promise that helped have them elected. Following the big sell the Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Health Minister Nicola Roxon are embarking on after the COAG health agreement, its worth remembering what we were actually promised in back in Kevin07 days. Despite the celebrations that Gillard and Roxon are asking us to partake in, the ‘deal’ it represents is a failure of Rudd, Gillard and Roxon to implement what was supposed to be a revolutionary health agenda. It’s symptomatic of the kind of inertia Labor has encountered across its policy agenda and, consequently, its support base. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/health-labors-dead-canary-in-the-hospital-hall/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/health-labors-dead-canary-in-the-hospital-hall/#item5142 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hospital-reform-your-questions-answered/ The Federal Government has branded it “historic” and “a major achievement”, but big questions hang over Julia Gillard’s multi-billion dollar hospital reform deal. Here are the answers to some of the most likely questions: HOW DOES IT WORK? The deal turns on two key things from the Commonwealth: money, and national control. More of one, less of the other. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hospital-reform-your-questions-answered/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hospital-reform-your-questions-answered/#item5129 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/sydney-sparkles-to-hide-the-rot-beneath/ Tonight, the City of Sydney will squeeze into its glad rags and put on the pyrotechnic razzle dazzle that has become the standard way to see in the New Year. As always, event organisers have promised this year it’ll be bigger, bolder and with added bang for our $5 million bucks.  In recent years, they city’s grandiose flair for making stuff explode and decorating the Harbour Bridge has given Sydney a cocky strut. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/sydney-sparkles-to-hide-the-rot-beneath/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/sydney-sparkles-to-hide-the-rot-beneath/#item4797 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myhospitals-mychoice/ Governments treat their employers (us) with such contempt. They genuinely think we can’t handle the truth, that they need to control the information flow so our little heads don’t explode, or our little worlds implode. No - not the Wikileaks saga. The MyHospitals debacle. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myhospitals-mychoice/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/myhospitals-mychoice/#item4686 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country.