Australian health organizations are raising alarms about the federal government’s response to avian influenza, arguing that recent funding falls short of the scale needed to protect wildlife. The Federal Government announced $20 million to build wildlife resilience, but conservation groups say the allocation barely offsets this year’s $17.2 million cut to the Threatened Species Program, leaving Australia no better prepared for the growing threats facing native birds and mammals.
BirdLife Australia, the Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA), the Biodiversity Council, and other science and conservation groups have repeatedly called for $200 million in new investment to protect at-risk wildlife. The Biodiversity Council, ALCA, Australian Mammal Society and Southern Australian Aboriginal Land and Sea Management Alliance have released an action plan for how the money should be invested for greatest benefit.
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While the lobbying report provides a grim picture of industry influence, the launch of the Peoples Health Movement Australia offers a counter-narrative focused on collective action. Professor Fran Baum AO, speaking at the launch of PHM Oz as a membership organization, outlined draft priorities that include the anti-privatisation of healthcare and promotion of the Alma Ata vision of primary healthcare for all. Wealth inequities and their impacts on health, especially of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, are also central to their agenda, alongside climate change and imperialism.
The movement aims to mobilize for a PHM Oz Assembly in 2027, developing ideas for the global assembly in Morocco in 2028. Donna Ah Chee, CEO of Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT), presented to the launch by video, describing the history of Aboriginal community controlled health services across the NT.
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A Four Corners investigation into lobbying of Australian MPs highlights the commercial and political determinants of health, and the power and influence of the gambling and other harmful industries. On a single day in August last year, the CEO of Responsible Wagering Australia, Kai Cantwell, met with seven Queensland LNP Government Ministers, including the Premier.
Queensland is relatively transparent in reporting on Ministers’ diaries, which is how the program uncovered this access. However, no such transparency exists around Federal Ministers’ diaries. The program also hears from a number of MPs (independents, Labor and Liberal) who are critical of the current situation and are staunch public health advocates.