Catherine King

Catherine King

CATHERINE KING MP
Federal Member Ballarat
Shadow Minister Infrastructure, Transport & Regional Development

T (03) 5338 8123
Email: Catherine.King.MP@aph.gov.au

Catherine King MP
<strong>Electorate Office</strong><br>5 Lydiard Street North<br>Ballarat, VIC 3350<br><br><strong>Bacchus Marsh</strong><br>(every Friday from 10am to 3pm)<br>Lerderderg Library<br>Geoffrey Hine Room<br>215 Main Street<br>Bacchus Marsh, VIC 3340

Open in Google Maps
  • ABOUT
  • BALLARAT
  • MEDIA
    • LOCAL MEDIA
    • NATIONAL MEDIA
  • POLICY
  • CONTACT US
Friday, 07 April 2017 / Published in MEDIA, NATIONAL MEDIA

WORLD HEALTH DAY A CHANCE TO REFLECT ON OUR HEALTH SYSTEM AND COMMIT TO FUTURE PROGRESS

This World Health Day, Labor is thanking the health professionals across the country who make Australia’s health system among the best in the world.

World Health Day is a good opportunity to reflect on the strength of our universal health care system in ensuring every Australian has the health care they need. It is also an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to addressing the challenges facing our health care system, and looking at how we will respond to our future health needs.

A particular priority must be addressing the clear and persistent health inequality gap with people living in rural and remote areas, people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas, and people living with disability all having lower health outcomes.

This is also the case with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who have a lower life expectancy at birth than their peers. The gap in life expectancy between ATSI and their non-ATSI peers in 2010–2012 was around 10 years. Around 81 per cent of deaths among ATSI people occurred before the age of 75, compared with 34% of deaths for non-ATSI Australians during the period 2009–2013 and the rate for ATSI Australians who died by intentional self-harm or suicide was more than double the rate for non-ATSI Australians.

We also acknowledge the powerful role the ATSI health workforce plays in harnessing improvements in our First Nation population.

This year’s World Health Day focus is depression – something that far too many Australians are familiar with. Nearly one in five Australian adults will experience mental ill health each year and nearly half of our adult population will experience a mental illness at some point during their lives, with depression among the most prevalent mental disorders in Australia.

Once again, Labor calls on the Government to ensure that the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan effectively supports long-term mental health reform – and we must have a suicide prevention target.

While our health system has much to celebrate, there is also much to do. Malcolm Turnbull can make this task easier by dropping his cuts to health – including the Medicare freeze – and giving our health system the investment it needs.

 

FRIDAY, 7 APRIL 2017

What you can read next

LABOR’S INVESTMENT PLAN FOR ILLAWARRA/SHOALHAVEN HOSPITALS
CHALMERS & KING – TRANSCRIPT – DOORSTOP – CANBERRA – MONDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2020
CATHERINE KING – TRANSCRIPT – DOORSTOP INTERVIEW – PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA – WEDNESDAY, 10 JUNE 2020

FILTER BY TYPE:

  • MEDIA
    • LOCAL MEDIA
    • NATIONAL MEDIA

FILTER BY YEAR:

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

© Catherine King. Authorised by Catherine King, Australian Labor Party, Canberra

Noise Birds

TOP